Woman, your true potential is waiting in the wings

By Anna Lawi

New York City, March 8, 1908. A deafening chorus of women’s voices rang in the air as a wave of 15,000 garment workers marched to demand fair pay, shorter working hours and the right to vote. A decade later in Russia, and following the ravages of the first World War in which two million soldiers died, tens of thousands of women were on the streets of Saint Petersburg with the same demands: fair pay and the right to vote, or as they called it a strike for “bread and peace”. Despite tremendous political opposition, the women persisted for four days, swelling in number, growing in power and ultimately catalysing the Russian revolution which brought down the powerful Tsar, and ensuring women’s voting rights.

March 8, 2011 was the first year of celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) which has continued to be celebrated annually. Since then we have made tremendous progress on gender equality, but we still have a number of battles to fight - not least inner battles such as against outdated views, imposter syndrome, and deep-set biases. And so, IWD is not only a time to reflect on women’s progress and to celebrate women’s achievements and character, but also a time to reflect on remaining challenges. Indeed, since it became an official UN-recognized holiday, it has been celebrated with events centred around campaign themes such as: Each for Equal (2020), Choose to Challenge (2021) and this year’s Break the Bias (2022).

A quick glance at these surely jolts you into a trip down memory lane. Haven’t we been here before? Time and time again, gender has proven to be a tough to overlook social construct creating a framework for expectations among men and women in the world. Regardless of race, religion, and other unique factors that shape our individuality, each of us holds personal opinions on the roles of men and women often assigning expectations without even knowing it. To illustrate, consider the following riddle.

RIDDLE: One Saturday afternoon a father and his child embark on a journey to see the land with hopes of encountering adventures. Before their dreams were realised, they were victims of a horrible car crash. The father sadly passed away while the son was taken to the nearest hospital to be operated on. When the boy was taken to surgery, the surgeon refused to perform the operation, proclaiming: “I can’t operate on him, he’s my son.”

QUESTION: Who is the surgeon to the child?

Think about this for a few seconds before reading further. While the answer seems obvious to some, this is not the case for most people who hear this riddle. In this case, the surgeon is the boy’s mother, however a woman being present in an operating theatre is not something that immediately springs to mind - a vivid illustration of how gender bias is still relevant in the 21st century.

There is a wall of silence that surrounds us with a deeper acquaintance of our own biases. This is why we find it challenging to acknowledge our own biases, even when we are only moderately or inconsistently so. The common preconceived notion that a man’s capabilities supersede those of a woman is a prevailing bias rooted in traditional gender constructs. This deep-seated and unconscious reference frame is fuelled by stereotypes manifested through mass acceptance of traditional gender roles. No wonder we often find ourselves having the same conversations about workplace inequalities, gender-based pay gaps and question why leadership roles are dominated by men.

While there are a myriad cognitive biases that do not necessarily threaten generational progress, this is not the case for gender biases. Women have to consistently fight the urge to give in to the notion that we lack the drive and intellectual capabilities to pursue the same interests as men. So, how can both women and men unlearn their gender biases?

“Weeding” is fundamental, check your own biases. So as a first step, acknowledge that unconscious bias exists and that we all have preconceptions about people. While we might be quick to assume that unconscious biases imply our identities are flawed, the reality is far more complex. Human beings are naturally biassed. We instinctively place people into categories using criteria such as gender or religion to establish how to associate with them. While there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach to overcoming unconscious gender constructs, the only effective way to override them is to continually practise questioning the assumptions we make about ourselves and others.

Although even in the 21st century gender balance remains a challenge to women’s advancement to leadership positions, I take encouragement not least from role models who have succeeded particularly in Tanzania - closest to home would be Zainab Msimbe, an Assurance Partner at PwC, and PwC alumna Ruth Zaipuna, CEO of NMB Bank Plc. Most inspiring of course for me is that we have Tanzania’s first female president Mama Samia Suluhu holding the torch high, and demonstrating (to quote Hillary Clinton) that “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world”.

In summary, although we still have a long way to go, we must recognise and acknowledge how far we have come. Lastly, I invite women excelling in their respective fields to reach back as they climb the ladder. In a world fuelled by the desire to realise our ambitions, the need to give back is unparalleled. In what areas of your life can you provide guidance to someone who needs it? Whether it’s through mentoring or granting opportunities, let us take the initiative to inspire people who believe in the same causes we do.