Leading Tanzanian Women in Financial Services
An examination of gender equality in Tanzania’s financial services sector
June 2021
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June 2021
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This publication was developed under the overall guidance of Henriette Kolb, Manager, Gender & Economic
Inclusion Group and Amena Arif, IFC Country Manager in Tanzania. Overall research supervision was provided
by Anne Njambi Kabugi, IFC’s Regional Gender Lead for Africa. Data collection and stakeholder engagement
in Tanzania was led by Aida Sykes, the Finance2Equal Tanzania Program Officer. The report was edited by Ann
Bishop, IFC Research Consultant.
The report was co-authored by Ann Casanova, IFC Gender Consultant, and the consulting firm, Intellecap
Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd. Vikas Bali provided overall leadership for the Intellecap research team comprised
of Amar Gokhale, Christine Gachui, Agnes Makena, and Tanvi Deshpande. Acknowledgement is also extended
to Saloni Chaturvedi. The project team would like to thank the following IFC colleagues who provided peer
reviews: Frank Ajilore, Colin Daley, Sanola Daley, Yehia El Husseiny, Jaylan Elshazly, Sherrilee Ann Le Motte,
Bhattiprolu Murti, Rudaba Nasir, Charlotte Ntim, and Adaorie Udechukwu. The project team would also like to
thank Hodan Addou and Lilian Mwamdanga of UN Women Tanzania for their peer review.
We would like to thank the management and staff of the companies which completed the staff survey and
participated in focus group discussions: AAR Insurance, Absa Bank Tanzania, Akiba Commercial Bank, Amana
Bank, Bank of Africa, Britam Insurance Tanzania, CRDB Bank Tanzania, Guaranty Trust Bank, Selcom Paytech
Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania, Sanlam Life Tanzania, and TPB Bank Tanzania.
We would like to acknowledge the management and staff of the five Finance2Equal Tanzania program
partners, who filled in company surveys: NMB Bank Tanzania, CRDB Bank Tanzania, Sanlam Life Insurance,
Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania, and TPB Bank Tanzania. NMB Bank is also our lead private sector partner
for Finance2Equal Tanzania, and we acknowledge them for their contribution in terms of resources,
active participation in the platform, sharing knowledge, and leading the way in implementing gender smart
action plans.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1
FOREWORD 6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9
METHODOLOGY 17
INTRODUCTION 19
SECTION I: RESEARCH FINDINGS: OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES IN ACCELERATING WOMEN’S
LEADERSHIP & EMPLOYMENT IN TANZANIA’S FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR 23
SECTION II: LEADING WOMEN IN TANZANIA’S FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR 43
1. DR. NATU EL-MAAMRY MWAMBA 50
2. RUTH ZAIPUNA 53
3. ZUHURA SINARE MURO 56
4. MARGARET IKONGO 59
5. MWANAHIBA MZEE 62
6. VIOLET MORDICHAI 65
7. NANGI MOSES MASSAWE 70
8. CATHERINE N. KIMARYO 73
9. IRENE MADEJE MLOLA 76
10. DR. BLANDINA KILAMA 79
11. MKOLA SALEH TAMBWE 82
12. SYLVIA SHELUKINDO 85
13. NEEMA SIWINGWA 88
14. LILIAN MRAMBA 91
15. NENYUATA MEJOOLI 96
16. MZILASI MBENNA 99
17. NURA MASOOD 102
18. DOXA MBAPILA 105
19. ROSALYNN MWORIA 108
20. ROSE METTA 111
22. JUANITA MRAMBA 114
22. ESTHER CECIL MARUMA 117
CONCLUSION 120
BIBLIOGRAPHY 121
FOOTNOTES 122
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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
ABC African Banking Corporation
ABN-AMRO Dutch Bank (Algemene Bank Nederland - Amsterdamsche en Rotterdamsche Bank)
ABSA Group Amalgamated Banks of South Africa Group
ACB Akiba Commercial Bank
AFI Alliance for Financial Inclusion
BOT Bank of Tanzania
C-suite Senior Executive Level
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CFL Capital Finance Limited
CFO Chief Financial Officer
CIB CRDB Insurance Brokers
CII Chartered Insurance Institute
COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease 2019
CRDB Cooperative and Rural Development Bank
FSDT Financial Sector Deepening Trust
GBF Grassroots Business Fund
IFC International Finance Corporation
IMD International Institute for Management Development
KCBT Kenya Commercial Bank Tanzania
MBA Master of Business Administration
MCL Mwananchi Communications Limited
NBC National Bank of Commerce
NFIF National Financial Inclusion Framework
NIC National Insurance Corporation
NSSF National Social Security Fund
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
PIF Project and Infrastructure Finance
PTA Bank Trade and Development Bank (formerly PTA Bank)
PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers
REPOA Research on Poverty Alleviation
SANLAM South African National Life Assurance Company Limited (Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale
Lewens Assuransie Maatskappij Beperk)
SCBT Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania
SSA Sub-Saharan Africa
TDB East and Southern African Trade and Development Bank
TSH Tanzanian shilling
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
UDSM University of Dar es Salaam
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LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 01: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 10
FIGURE 02: THE BUSINESS CASE FOR HAVING MORE WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS 19
FIGURE 03: WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION ON CORPORATE BOARDS IN SELECT COUNTRIES
IN AFRICA 20
FIGURE 04: GENDER BALANCE BY HIERARCHY 24
FIGURE 05: EMPLOYEE PERCEPTIONS. DOES THE COMPANY PROVIDE TRAINING ON BENEFITS
AND IMPORTANCE OF GENDER EQUALITY TO EMPLOYEES? 25
FIGURE 06: EMPLOYEE PERCEPTIONS: WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PARTICIPATED
IN GENDER EQUALITY TRAINING? 25
FIGURE 07: COMPANY POLICIES AND WORK ENVIRONMENT SUPPORT FAIRNESS
AND EQUALITY FOR EMPLOYEES 26
FIGURE 08: MY COMPANY CAN DO MORE TO PROMOTE EQUALITY AMONG MEN
AND WOMEN EMPLOYEES 26
FIGURE 09: MY COMPANY IS A GOOD PLACE TO WORK FOR PEOPLE WITH FAMILY
CARE RESPONSIBILITIES 29
FIGURE 10: DO YOU MAKE USE OF FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS SUCH
AS WORK FROM HOME OR FLEXIBLE WORK HOURS IN YOUR COMPANY? 30
FIGURE 11: IF I EXPERIENCE A WORKPLACE ISSUE, I BELIEVE MY COMPANY WILL SUPPORT ME 32
FIGURE 12: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS DO YOU AGREE WITH MOST
REGARDING PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS IN YOUR COMPANY? 34
FIGURE 13: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 36
FIGURE 14: PIONEERS, MARKET MAKERS, AND FACILITATORS 47
TABLES
TABLE 1: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 12
TABLE 2: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 38
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FOREWORD
JUMOKE JAGUN-DOKUNMU,
IFC REGIONAL DIRECTOR, EASTERN AFRICA
At IFC, we believe that inclusive growth and economic development cannot be achieved without the
full participation of women. The World Bank Group estimates that globally, countries lose $172 trillion in
wealth due to lifetime earning gaps between women and men. In the 2019 “The power of parity: Advancing
women’s equality in Africa” report, McKinsey estimates that African economies could add up to 10 percent
to their collective GDP by 2025. If women are equally represented as employees, managers, board members,
entrepreneurs, customers, and members of the community, they can help transform African economies. There
is compelling evidence that having women in decision-making roles leads to gross domestic product growth.
Given the importance of the financial services sector, which is the backbone of many economies, and its
catalytic role in increasing jobs, more women are needed in top positions in this sector.
It is against this backdrop that IFC sought to understand the opportunities and barriers that women face
not only in achieving greater participation in the financial services sector workforce, but also in rising,
professionally, as managers in Tanzania’s financial services sector, joining the C-suite, and being appointed
as board members. In 2019, IFC launched the Finance2Equal Tanzania initiative to examine the roles men and
women play in the financial services sector and identify ways to reduce gender gaps and enhance women’s
access to opportunities in the sector. Through Finance2Equal Tanzania, IFC has established a partnership with
five Tanzanian financial services companies to reduce gender gaps in their operations.
This report, as part of Finance2Equal Tanzania, gathered data and assessed employees’ perceptions
of practices that enable and/or limit gender diversity in the workforce. The quantitative analysis was
complemented by a qualitative analysis of 22 women leaders in Tanzania’s financial services sector. Through
their personal stories, these women provide insights about the challenges they encountered, the strategies
they used to overcome these, and the actions they have taken to help the next generation of women to rise.
I am inspired to read the stories of these trailblazing women, who, despite the odds, have risen to the highest
echelons of the financial services sector. They are the Pioneers who have paved the way for other women
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to follow, the Facilitators who have enabled women’s participation and the Market Makers who have driven
corporate equality strategies. These professionals demonstrate how women are making crucial contributions
to financial services sector leadership, as well as to Tanzania’s economy. Based on what these women have
achieved and their contributions, Tanzania clearly needs more women chief executives and board chairs.
The findings of this report make it clear that corporate policies and practices play a big role in enabling
women’s career progression. Policies that address issues such as parental leave, childcare, flexible working
arrangements, bullying, sexual harassment, and equal pay and promotion opportunities for women, are key in
closing the gender gap.
The publication of this report could not have come at a better time, given the enormous consequences of the
global COVID-19 pandemic, and the extra burden this has placed on women. Across the world, studies show
that the pandemic’s lockdowns and other restrictions have forced women to juggle remote work with even
greater responsibilities for childcare and elderly care. Even in countries without lockdowns, like Tanzania,
women work more from home because they take on more care responsibilities.
On behalf of IFC, I would like to thank our Finance2Equal Tanzania partners, all the companies that shared
data and insights, the employees who responded to our survey, and the 22 women who agreed to share their
stories and inspire others. We hope that through these findings and the stories presented in this report we
can promote gender-smart corporate policies, programs, and culture that help women to advance, and that
close the gender gap.
Sincerely,
Jumoke Jagun -Dokunmu,
IFC Regional Director for Eastern Africa
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Executive Summary
There is a strong business and economic case for increasing women’s equality (McKinsey Global Institute 2019). ILO’s
women’s representation in companies’ leadership, globally, 2019 study found that Africa’s GDP was more sensitive
and especially in Africa. In 2019, the International Labour to changes in female employment than anywhere else in
Organization (ILO) conducted a worldwide survey on the world (ILO 2019). However, effective organizational
the impact of gender diversity initiatives on 13,000 policies are critical to reap these profitability and
enterprises. In the study, ILO found that approximately productivity gains, as was found by ILO and is reiterated
90 percent of companies track the quantitative impact by this study. A gender-balanced workforce (defined by
of gender diversity initiatives around promoting women ILO as 40-60 percent of one gender), and a gender inclusive
in management, and of those nearly 74 percent saw an culture are essential to create a pipeline of qualified women
increase in profits of between 5 and 20 percent. In Africa, who can rise to become decision-makers.
the gains in profitability were even higher, with 30 percent
of companies who track gender diversity reporting a profit Given how critical the financial services sector is to
increase of 10 to 15 percent (ILO 2019). economic growth, to help accelerate its progress, IFC
has launched several initiatives to better understand the
As well as earning greater profits, the companies surveyed opportunities and constraints to increasing the recruitment,
by ILO reported additional benefits from having women retention, and promotion of women. In Tanzania, for
in senior leadership roles. About 65 percent of companies example, IFC’s Finance2Equal gender program is working
reported achieving better business outcomes, including in partnership with a selection of companies to reduce
higher productivity. The African companies reported being gender gaps in the financial services sector through
better able to attract and retain talented staff and achieve research, peer learning, and firm-level support. Under this
greater creativity, innovation, openness, an enhanced initiative, the study summarized in this report investigates
corporate reputation, and a better ability to gauge gaps in workplace policies and practices as well as
consumer interest and demand (ILO 2019). Further, in its differences in the roles of women and men, and makes
2018 study, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) recommendations to reduce gender gaps.
found that having women on boards enhanced governance
practices, improved risk management, increased returns
on invested capital and equity, and strengthened ethical
conduct and overall reputation (IFC 2018).
These gains have profound implications for economies
as well. In 2019 (pre-COVID-19), McKinsey estimated
that by 2025, Africa’s GDP could increase by about $316
billion, or 10 percent, if countries continue to advance
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Figure 1: Findings and Recommendations
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Key Findings and Recommendations
Although, historically, Tanzania’s financial services sector has been male dominated, it provides significant professional
opportunities for women to enter, thrive, and lead. However, although women have been progressing in the sector, the
findings of this study show that structural barriers in the workplace continue to persist.
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Table 1: Findings and Recommendations
Topic KEY FINDINGS
Findings
1.0 1.1 Corporate Leadership/ Recruitment
Corporate Four of the five companies surveyed make gender equality a top priority but only a few have time-
Commitment bound targets and accountability mechanisms for appointing women to corporate boards, executive
to Gender committees, and including them in senior management. However, all companies have targets for
Equality entry- and mid-level positions.
1.2 Gender Balance Across the Workforce
Despite having achieved nearly equal gender balance at the entry and administrative levels, the share
of women in senior management and on boards is substantially lower in comparison to men. In the five
companies surveyed for this study:
• 46 percent of 8,000 employees were women.
• 30 percent of executive committee and board members were women.
• Between 28 percent and 38 percent of middle and senior managers were women.
• Half of entry level and mid-level administrative roles were held by women.
Employees in the 12 companies surveyed were optimistic about the potential for women becoming
senior managers and leaders in the financial services sector. A large number of respondents (91 percent
of women and 92 percent of men) indicated that being a good manager is not related to gender.1
Furthermore, 60 percent of the employees surveyed consider women in senior leadership to be role
models.
1.3 Internal Awareness about Gender Equality
Three of the five companies surveyed provide training on gender equality, but some staff may not be
aware of this non-mandatory training and, consequently, do not participate.
2.0 2.1 Recruitment, Retention & Promotion
Workplace Most of the employees surveyed believe that access to opportunities is fair in their company, but some
Policies indicated that more could be done to promote gender equality. Companies reported that their hiring
& Practices practices achieve gender balance, but some employees disagreed with this.
Employees’ survey responses were mixed regarding the fairness of performance evaluations and
promotions when women were on maternity leave. Some employees expressed concern that they
were penalized for taking maternity leave, while others indicated that they were promoted.
2.2 Remuneration and Pay Parity
Four of the five companies surveyed have formal pay structures and pay men and women the same
salary for similar work. However, only one company had an equal-pay-for-equal-work policy and only
two companies conducted an annual analysis to identify discriminatory pay gaps.
63 percent of men believed there is pay parity, compared to 39 percent of women who believed the same.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
1.1 Corporate Leadership/ Recruitment
• Champion the business case for more gender-inclusive leadership. level to board level.
CEOs and board members should present the business • CEOs should cultivate a corporate culture that involves
case, set targets, and hold management accountable for men as well as women in helping women to advance.
implementing gender-smart strategies and targets that • Boards should request periodic reports on gender equality
include having women at all levels of the company from entry targets and make the results public.
1.2 Gender Balance Across the Workforce
• Close the gap between policy and practice. Put a clear
accountability mechanism in place that uses key performance
indicators for gender equality targets such as the number of
women in senior leadership positions and make management
responsible for achieving these targets.
• Protect the talent pipeline for women leaders. Identify issues
that cause “pipeline leakage” of capable women, and develop
strategies to address these.
• Promote positive perceptions of women in management in the
corporate culture by advancing greater gender balance and
highlighting women role models.
1.3 Internal Awareness about Gender Equality
• Provide compulsory training for all employees and managers on Global Compact. The WEPs are seven principles that
critical gender equality issues. These should include the business guide businesses on how to promote gender equality
case for gender equality, and key gender issues such as and women’s empowerment in the workplace, the
unconscious bias against women, common misconceptions marketplace, and the community. The WEPs are based on
about women, and bullying and sexual harassment. international labor and human rights standards, and they
Investigate why employees lack awareness about gender assert that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility
issues and/or do not participate in gender equality training. for, gender equality and women’s empowerment. The
• Make training convenient: Leverage technology to make gender WEPs also promote HeforShe, a UN global solidarity
equality training virtual, flexible, and available on-demand. movement that recruits all genders, but especially men, to
• Share best practices and join voluntary corporate initiatives. take action to achieve gender equality.
These include adopting the Women’s Empowerment
Principles (WEPs) championed by UN Women and the UN
2.1 Recruitment, Retention & Promotion
• Identify how access to opportunities could be improved—for prohibit penalizing women who take maternity leave and
example, by surveying employees about this. prorate targets to only include the period when women
• Identify and address biases in hiring and hiring processes. Ensure were working. Provide managers and all performance
that interview panels have an equal number of men and reviewers with training on how to fairly evaluate, as
women, and prohibit panels from asking questions concerning well as consider promotions for women who have taken
marital status, pregnancy, and family care responsibilities. maternity leave.
• Remove biases from performance evaluations that impact pregnant
women and new mothers. Establish policies that explicitly
2.2 Remuneration and Pay Parity
• Review corporate compensation pay structures and practices effect of such perceptions on employees’ morale and
annually or biennially to remove potential gender biases and engagement.
ensure equal pay. • Governments should consider a mandatory reporting
• Ensure transparency by publishing salary information internally requirement such as the one the United Kingdom uses. This
for all grade levels. requires all government and private sector employers with
• Conduct periodic anonymous assessments to identify if 250 or more staff to report on the differences between what
employees perceive unfair wage gaps and avoid the corrosive male and female employees are paid.
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Topic
TOPIC AND FINDINGS
Findings
2.0 2.3 Parental Leave
Workplace One company exceeds the statutory four months of maternity leave, offering five months. Companies
Policies believe that paid paternity leave could be longer than the statutory three days, however, only one
& Practices company out of the five surveyed offers men two weeks of paid paternity leave.
2.4 Support for Returning Mothers
Programs that help women adjust to working again after maternity leave are rare. However, some
companies allow new parents to work from home and/or vary their work hours, although men do this
more than women.
Tanzanian law requires that employers allow women who are breastfeeding two working hours per
day for breastfeeding or expressing milk to take home. Only one company of five had a lactation room,
although another company was in the process of preparing one. Due to lack of facilities, mothers
express breastmilk in sub-optimal, and potentially unsanitary and unsafe places such as bathrooms and
kitchens.
2.5 Parental Needs
One of the biggest barriers to women’s advancement is the lack of employer-supported childcare;
however only one company out of the five surveyed offers short-term on-site childcare.
Both the companies and the employees surveyed indicate that companies are not proactively
consulting employees about their parental needs.
2.6 Bullying and Harassment
All the companies surveyed have policies to prevent bullying and harassment, but only half of the
women surveyed said they felt safe at work. Also, internal justice systems for addressing bullying and
harassment are perceived to be ineffective which discourages employees from making a complaint and
reduces trust in their employer.
3.0 3.1 Career Advancement Programs
Access to Career All five companies have programs that cultivate a pipeline of high-performing women who have the
Advancement capacity to become managers and rise to top leadership positions. These women are provided with
Programs technical and leadership training, capacity developing assignments, as well as individual coaching and
mentoring.
Only a few companies have an internal women’s network. Externally, women with family
responsibilities struggle to attend networking events because they are held after work.
4.0 4.1 Reporting
Reporting & Three companies provide sex disaggregated data to their board, and even release these data to the
Transparency public on the percentages of women and men at different levels, and the percentages of women and
men who are promoted and participate in training.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
2.3 Parental Leave
• Expand parental leave. Allowing both men and women with leave may reduce absenteeism, staff turnover, and improve
children to take at least the statutory amount of parental leave, employees’ morale. If working fathers lack the option of
as well as short-term emergency leave to care for a sick child as taking extended paternity and short-term emergency leave,
a long-term investment in employees that will yield dividends they will be unable to share childcare responsibilities, which
in future. Both mothers and fathers need flexible leave so that perpetuates women’s unequal responsibility for childcare.
they can meet their family care responsibilities. Allowing such
2.4 Support for Returning Mothers
• Support women employees in making the transition to work after • Suggestions to help women employees with children to
their maternity leave. Such support could include: a program for cope with the challenges resulting from COVID-19 can be
returnee mothers to help them adjust to combining work with found in the 2020 study undertaken by IFC and UN Women:
parenting; work-sharing; flex work such as working from home “Bridging the Gap: Emerging Private Sector Response and
and/or flexible hours; leave to care for a sick child; a lactation Recovery Measures for Gender Equality amid COVID-19”
room; and on-site childcare or an allowance to cover part of the • Allow women employees who are breastfeeding to work
cost of childcare. from home.
• Allowing staff with children to work at home can be highly • Create a lactation room with comfortable chairs, a sink,
effective for both men and women, but especially for women and refrigerator where breastfeeding mothers can store
who are transitioning back to work after maternity leave. expressed milk.
2.5 Parental Needs
• Invest in childcare systems for employees. With the • Institute a formal system for regularly asking employees with
disproportionate responsibility for childcare falling on women, children what type of support they need. Tools for getting
companies should assist them by supporting childcare either feedback from parents include surveys and conversations
through an on-site crèche or an allowance that helps to pay for between line managers and parents, and the results are then
quality and convenient childcare. communicated to human resources personnel and senior
• Finance providers should consider investing in MSMEs in the care management.
economy including those that provide a crèche, daycare, early • Create programs that address the differing challenges
childhood education/kindergarten, and other childcare services. and increasing needs of working parents. As noted above,
• Employers should participate in the development of regulations providing such support will encourage and facilitate male
and enforcement mechanisms that ensure that childcare employees in playing an equal role in caring for their
providers meet high standards. children.
2.6 Bullying and Harassment
• Create and implement respectful workplace policies and programs. and make this training mandatory for all employees.
Strong policies coupled with effective communications • Hold managers accountable for ensuring a safe workplace.
campaigns and employee training are needed to ensure that • Strengthen the internal justice system to build credibility
the work environment is safe for all. and trust and use conspicuous locations to communicate to
• Develop effective respectful workplace policies and programs make sure that all staff know about the system.
3.1 Career Advancement Programs
• Provide high-performing women with technical and leadership assigning them to shadow senior managers, giving them
training, assignments, and mentoring: Engage both female and challenging assignments that increase their capacity, and
male employees in mentoring high-performing women (See mentors who can coach them effectively. Also, ensure
1.2 above). that women have the same opportunities for promotion as
• To enable women with family responsibilities to participate in men, and encourage women to apply for senior positions.
training and other capacity development opportunities, these • Support women’s internal and external networks. Support
should be offered during working hours. programs and women’s networks that provide women
• Provide women with opportunities to gain experience that with career enhancement opportunities, boost women’s
develop their confidence. Help mid-level female staff to gain confidence in applying for higher positions and negotiating
the experience needed to become higher-level managers by raises; and improve women’s work-life balance.
4.1 Reporting
• Corporate boards should encourage the gathering of sex managers, promotions, and participation in training to
disaggregated data on key indicators such as new hires, provide insights on reaching corporate targets.
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Methodology
1. A Literature Review to understand existing information transitioning staff to working remotely. Thus, as more
and data regarding the topic and to build on these data to financial services companies are represented in the
further strengthen the evidence for the business case was employee survey than is the case with company survey,
undertaken. responses in the employees’ survey do not necessarily align
with the responses in the companies’ survey. Nevertheless,
2. Surveys: Two surveys were conducted. One with financial although COVID-19 impacted the sample size of
services sector companies and one survey was anonymously both surveys, the results provide relevant findings and
conducted with employees in the sector. recommendations.
(a) Company Survey: Five financial services sector
companies (three banks and two insurance companies) 3. Employee Focus Group Discussions: Given concerns about
provided information on 25 types of workplace policies the spread of the COVID-19 virus, two separate focus
and programs, and 20 processes related to employee group discussions were held, virtually, with female and
recruitment, turnover, training and other forms of male employees. These focus groups provided insights
employee development, compensation and benefits, and on employees’ assumptions, attitudes, and perceptions
workplace safety and security. The companies reported about: gender equality, women in leadership, differences
on the existence or absence of all of these with Yes/No in the leadership styles of male and female managers,
responses. The companies also provided sex disaggregated interpersonal dynamics of employment.
data on their workforce.
4. Profiles of Selected Tanzanian Women Leaders: In-
depth interviews were conducted with 22 outstanding
(b) Employee Survey: An anonymous online survey was
women leaders in Tanzania’s financial services sector.
conducted with 196 employees in 12 financial services
These women work across the financial services sector in
companies (nine banks, two insurance companies, and one
regulatory agencies, commercial and development banks,
payments company). These surveys gathered employees’
insurance companies, telecommunications companies
perceptions about their employment conditions: the roles
that offer mobile money products, financial consulting
played by women and men in the company, the impact
companies, and academia. They were selected for their
of corporate culture and policies in promoting gender
contributions to the sector, their personal achievements,
equality, the factors that facilitate women’s success in
and their inspirational stories. Some of the women featured
the company or pose barriers, and the impact of family
were the first women to hold a leadership position in
responsibilities on work.
their sub-sector, and they have overcome a wide range of
personal, professional, and gender-related barriers. These
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the response rate for
women have also made significant contributions to the
both surveys was lower than expected as the companies
growth of the financial services industry and paved the way
were focusing on stabilizing corporate operations and
for more women to join the upper ranks of the industry.
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18 |
Introduction
GENDER EQUALITY IS GOOD FOR ECONOMIES AND addition, the surveyed companies reported having a better
GOOD FOR BUSINESS corporate reputation and greater ability to gauge consumer
interest and demand. In 2018, an International Finance
There is a strong business and economic case for improving Corporation (IFC) study corroborated this evidence and found
women’s representation in company leadership globally, but that having women on corporate boards improves governance
especially in Africa. Recent studies show that increasing the practices and risk management, returns on invested capital and
number of women in corporate leadership positions benefits not equity, and interpersonal board dynamics (IFC 2018).
only the businesses concerned, but the economy as a whole.
In a 2019 report that was prepared before the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic, McKinsey estimated that by 2025, Figure 2: The Business Case for Having More
Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) could increase by Women in Leadership Positions
about $316 billion, or 10 percent, if countries continue to
advance women’s equality (McKinsey Global Institute 2019).
An International Labour Organization (ILO) 2019 study also
found that Africa’s GDP was more sensitive to improvements in
female employment than other regions in the world (ILO 2019).
In this 2019 study, 2019, ILO conducted a worldwide survey of
the impact of gender diversity initiatives on 13,000 enterprises.
It found that approximately 90 percent of companies track
the quantitative impact of gender diversity initiatives around
promoting women in management, and of those nearly 74
percent saw an increase in profits of between 5 and 20 percent.
In Africa, the gains in profitability were even higher with 30
percent of companies who track gender diversity reporting a
profit increase of 10 to 15 percent (ILO 2019).
The ILO study also found that about 65 percent of the business However, to reap these profitability and productivity gains, ILO
it surveyed reported better business outcomes after increasing found, and this report reiterates: organizational policies matter.
the number of women in management, and this included A gender-balanced workforce, defined as 40-60 percent of one
productivity gains (Figure 2). In Africa, in addition to greater gender, and a gender inclusive culture is essential to create a
profits, the gains comprised greater ability to attract and retain pipeline of qualified women who can become decision makers.
talent, and greater creativity, innovation, and openness. In
| 19
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP IN AFRICA: There is encouraging evidence of (CEO). The Boardroom Africa found that women
progress in Africa as more women break the glass ceiling and join corporate held 19 percent of board positions in Tanzania’s
boards. Between 2018 and 2020, The Boardroom Africa studied 1,091 publicly listed companies in 2019. Tanzania was
listed companies in 11 African countries, and found that at least half of all on par with the regional average of 18 percent,
the companies had at least one woman on its board (The Boardroom Africa and the G-20 average of 20 percent, but it trailed
n.d.). In Rwanda and Uganda, all 25 of the listed companies had more than regional peers such as Kenya with 24 percent,
one woman on its board, and in Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa, more than Rwanda with 27 percent, and South Africa, which
half of the 804 listed companies had female board members. increased from 22 percent in 2019 to 29 percent
in 2021 (The Boardroom Africa) (United Nations
In Tanzania, of the 28 publicly traded companies in all sectors, 75 percent Sustainable Stock Exchanges ) (Figure 3). Overall,
had between one and three women on their boards, but only two had female there is room for improvement in all countries
chairs (The Boardroom Africa). This study also showed that although more since gender balance is reached when there are
women have joined corporate boards in Tanzania, only a tiny fraction (4 between 40 and 60 percent of men and women at
percent) of companies across all sectors have a female Chief Executive Officer each level of the organization (Equileap).
Figure 3: Women’s Representation on Corporate Boards in Countries in Africa:
Percent of Listed Companies with More than One Woman on Boards
Sources: The Boardroom Africa and UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges (2019-2021)
WOMEN IN TANZANIA’S FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR: Tanzania’s Between 2009 and 2017, the percentage of female
financial services sector is an important engine of economic growth that consumers rose from 16 to 65 percent. However,
includes commercial banks, development banks, community banks, across the whole financial services sector (finance,
microfinance institutions, savings and credit cooperative societies, pension insurance, and pension providers) there were
funds, financial technology companies, financial leasing companies, insurance more male than female consumers. In the case
companies, and credit reference bureaus. In addition to these, several mobile of banks, the Finscope study found that only
phone companies offer mobile money products that have helped to drive about 12 percent of Tanzanian women had a
financial inclusion for women and people with a low income. All these bank account or used banking services. About 50
finance industry actors are providing opportunities that enable women to percent of women used formal non-bank channels
play important roles as managers and corporate leaders. such as MFIs and mobile money providers, while
the other 50 percent of women relied on informal
A 2017 study by Finscope shows that Tanzania’s banks, microfinance financial services.
institutions (MFIs), and mobile money providers have made considerable
progress with regard to women’s financial inclusion (Finscope 2017). Some of the women profiled in Section II noted
20 |
a correlation between more women joining the leadership ranks in the conditions as she had prior to her maternity leave.
financial services sector and an increase in women’s financial inclusion A breastfeeding mother may feed her child or
through research, the provision of financial products, and innovations that express milk during working hours for up to two
cater to women’s needs. Thus, there is a compelling reason to redouble hours per day, and a mother may take up to four
efforts to ensure that qualified women gain seats in corporate boardrooms, days of paid leave to care for a sick child.
become senior managers and CEOs, and move up the ranks in government
regulators. However, measuring the extent of such progress is challenging Violations of the Act are addressed through the
because publicly available data on women in leadership positions is limited. Labor Courts or arbitration, and the Act provides
specific remedies.
Legal reforms can help accelerate women’s rise in financial services sector
leadership. According to the 2021 edition of the World Bank’s report, WORKPLACE POLICIES: In addition to Labor
Women, Business, and the Law, in 2019 and 2020, despite the challenges and Employment Laws, workplace policies can
brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, 12 percent of economies in Sub- play an important role in both protecting and
Saharan Africa (SSA) introduced reforms that had a positive impact on supporting women. These include policies and
women’s advancement in the financial services sector. For example, in 2020, grievance procedures concerned with sexual
Benin introduced transport mobility reforms, Senegal and Sierra Leone harassment and policies that facilitate childcare,
introduced regulations to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, and which is increasingly shared between both parents.
Ethiopia introduced reforms to improve conditions for working parents. Providing female employees with mentors and
sponsors should also be considered.
More broadly, Tanzania’s legal framework is creating a supportive
environment for working women. For example, the Constitution and the The rapid shift toward remote work, which
Employment and Labor Relations Act of 2004 (the Act), among others, has been stimulated by COVID-19, has led to
prohibit any form of discrimination on the basis of gender. Regarding sexual reconsideration of corporate policies, which could
harassment, the Act identifies harassment as a form of discrimination. improve the work-life balance and productivity
Additionally, the Code of Ethics and Conduct of Public Servants states that a of both women and men, while also improving
public servant must refrain from having sexual relationships in the workplace corporate performance. Corporate training may
and avoid all types of conduct that could constitute sexual harassment. be needed to support the management of people
who are working remotely.
Concerning protection for expectant mothers, the Act explicitly prevents
the termination of employment because of pregnancy. Also, employees
with more than six months of service in a company, as well as its seasonal
employees are eligible for paid maternity leave. In addition, the Act requires
paid leave of 84 days (12 weeks) after the birth of a single child, and 100
days (14 weeks) after the birth of multiple babies. Paternity leave, however,
is only three days.
By way of comparison, the ILO convention on maternity leave recommends
that new mothers have at least 14 weeks of leave (ILO n.d.). Among
countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), the average for paid maternity leave is 18 weeks,
while paid paternity leave it is 1.4 weeks. Some OECD countries offer
the option of taking extended maternity and paternity leave at a reduced
compensation rate (OECD n.d.).
In Tanzania, the Act expressly prohibits a new mother from working within
six weeks of the birth of her child, unless a medical practitioner certifies
that she is fit to do so. Following the conclusion of her maternity leave,
when a mother resumes employment, she must have the same terms and
| 21
22 |
SECTION I
RESEARCH FINDINGS:
Opportunities & Challenges in Accelerating
Women’s Leadership & Employment
in Tanzania’s Financial Services Sector
OVERVIEW: This section integrates quantitative and workplace policies, and the challenges that women encounter
qualitative data from a literature review, a survey of managers on the job such as the lack of childcare, bullying and sexual
in five companies, employees working in 12 companies, two harassment, and inflexible work arrangements.
employee focus group discussions, and 22 interviews with the
women leaders who are profiled in Section II of this report. The anonymous employee survey was conducted in mid-2020
Overall, this study found that despite having a financial with the employees of 12 financial institutions and insurance
services sector that is profitable, adequately capitalized, companies. Of the 196 respondents, 114 were women and 80
and performing well from a regulatory perspective (Bank of were men. About 85 percent of the respondents were between
Tanzania 2019/2020), barriers persist that prevent women from the ages of 25 and 40. 60 percent of the women and 70 percent
developing successful careers and rising to leadership positions. of the men were married. The parents surveyed had children
under the age of 18, and about half of these children were
STUDY BACKGROUND: The five companies surveyed for this below age five. Regarding higher education, women lagged
study provided information on their human resources policies, behind men (59 percent of women and 83 percent men had a
employee training, and other career advancement offerings. post-secondary degree). However, with regard to post graduate
The companies also provided sex disaggregated workforce education, almost double the number of women had attained
data. In analyzing these data, key factors were identified that a master’s degree (39 percent of women versus 18 percent of
affect women’s recruitment, retention, and promotion. These men).
comprise corporate leaders’ commitment to gender equality,
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1.
CORPORATE LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT
TO GENDER EQUALITY
1.1. CORPORATE LEADERSHIP/RECRUITMENT. With regard to hiring women in senior management and on corporate
women in decision-making positions and developing a pipeline of high boards was substantially lower, compared to the
performing women, leadership from the CEO and the board of directors is percentage of men (See Figure 4).
a key element in setting the right tone and direction for the company. This
strategic commitment needs to be backed up with data on key performance Employees in the 12 companies surveyed were
indicators that measure gender equality, as well as policies that remove the optimistic about the potential for women
barriers that hinder women’s advancement in the workplace. becoming senior managers and leaders in the
financial services sector. A large number of
Corporate leaders in four of the five companies surveyed have made gender respondents (91 percent of women and 92 percent
equality a strategic priority, either at the corporate group or the national of men) indicated that being a good manager is
level. However, only three of the five companies had incentives and/or not related to gender.2 Furthermore, 60 percent of
accountability mechanisms to accelerate their gender equality strategy. These the employees surveyed consider women in senior
same three companies have established time-bound targets for recruiting leadership to be role models.
a specific minimum number of women in senior management, and on the
board of directors and the executive committee. All five companies had
targets for hiring women and promoting them to mid-level positions so that
the company develops a pipeline of capable, qualified women for future
management-level positions.
1.2. GENDER BALANCE ACROSS THE WORKFORCE: Of the five
companies surveyed, out of a total of about 8,000 employees, 46 percent
were women. At the executive committee and board levels, one third of
the members were women. Regarding senior and middle management,
respectively, between 28 and 38 percent of managers were women. Entry
level and mid-level administrative roles were split nearly equally between
men and women. However, despite having achieved nearly equal gender
balance at the entry and mid-administrative levels, the percentage of
Figure 4: Gender Balance in the Corporate Hierarchy
60%
OF THE EMPLOYEES
SURVEYED CONSIDER
WOMEN IN SENIOR
LEADERSHIP TO BE
ROLE MODELS
24 |
1.3. DEVELOPING CORPORATE AWARENESS ABOUT training” on gender equality, about 64 percent of men and
GENDER EQUALITY. In addition to informing employees women responded either “no” or “do not know” (Figure
about company policies and corporate practices that promote 7). Similarly, when asked “when was the last time you
gender equality, and ensuring that they comply with these, “participated in gender equality trainings,” 65 percent of
training helps to enhance employees’ commitment to gender men and 57 percent of women reported that they had never
quality. With regard to raising awareness about gender equality participated in such training (Figure 8). There are several
(women’s empowerment, non-discrimination, and ensuring possible reasons for this low participation rate: lack of
equal rights, regardless of gender) three of the five surveyed awareness about training offerings on gender equality because
companies provide training on gender equality. this training was not mandatory, or the survey was undertaken
prior to the company’s six-month or annual training cycle,
However, when employees working for the set of 12 companies which included gender equality training. These results indicate a
were asked if their company “provided employees with potential training gap that should be closed.
Figure 5: Does the Company Provide Training for Employees on the Benefits and Importance of Gender Equality?
Figure 6: When Was the Last Time You Participated in Gender Equality Training?
| 25
2. WORKPLACE POLICIES & PRACTICES
Workplace policies that explicitly treat all employees equally and diversity and inclusion policies. All five companies also
with regard to recruitment, promotion, and compensation are had a human resources (HR) policy document in place to guide
fundamental for leveling the playing field for all employees. recruitment and promotion practices, and all had an Employee
Similarly, policies on maternity and paternity leave, mentoring, Code of Conduct policy.
flexible work hours, and the prevention of sexual harassment
are crucial for creating a work environment that is conducive Access to Opportunities: Over 75 percent of women and 84
for women to thrive as employees and leaders. percent of men responded that company policies and the work
environment were fair and promoted equality (Figure 9).
2.1 RECRUITMENT, RETENTION & PROMOTIONS: Although the responses about access to opportunities were
positive, 87 percent of women and 86 percent of men reported that
Non-Discrimination Policies: All five surveyed companies had their company could do more to promote equality (Figure 10).
non-discrimination policies, equal employment opportunity,
Figure 7: Company Policies and the Work Environment Support Fairness and Equality
Figure 8: My Company Could Do More to Promote Equality between Men and Women Employees
26 |
Hiring: All five of the companies surveyed reported that they performance reviewers are trained not to discriminate on the
provide job descriptions for each of the positions to be filled, basis of gender when measuring the performance of employees
and all reported that current employees are informed about job who take maternity leave. One company explained that the
opportunities. All five companies also reported that they use performance evaluation period is prorated according to the time
gender neutral language in their job descriptions. Four of the that the employee is away on maternity leave. An employee
five companies responded that both male and female candidates could only be evaluated for the period during which work was
are short listed for all interviews, and that interview panels have performed and, as a result, the employee’s performance targets
a gender balance. All five companies responded that certain would be adjusted. However, when female employees were
questions are prohibited in interviews—for example questions asked about performance evaluations, some women responded
about marriage, pregnancy, and care responsibilities, however, that they believed that their performance review had suffered
one company reported that for relocation purposes, a question due to not meeting their targets while on maternity leave.
is asked about marital status. Four out of the five companies However, one woman reported that while she was on maternity
report periodically to their board and to company stakeholders leave, on the basis of her previous performance, she was
on the gender of new hires. promoted to a higher level, and she took this position when she
returned to work.
Senior Management Recruitment: When employees were
asked about gender inclusive recruitment and opportunities
for promotion to senior management positions, the responses
were mixed. One third of the men and one third of the women
confirmed that such policies were in place, however, 15 percent
of women and 11 percent of men responded that their company
had no such policies, and 33 percent of women and 38 percent
of men responded that they did not know about such policies.
However, on average, nearly 60 percent of surveyed employees
were aware of an increase in the number of women in senior
management roles.
Training: When the five companies were asked if all supervisors
and managers were trained on HR policies, four out of five
responded “yes”, but when asked whether the supervisors and
managers involved in recruitment and interviewing receive
training on these skills, only three responded “yes”. If such
training is not provided, unconscious bias could negatively
influence both recruitment and interviewing.
Performance Evaluations and Promotions: Regarding
promotion, respondents in all five companies strongly agreed
that their company did not discriminate on the basis of gender,
and that equal opportunities were provided for all employees,
regardless of gender. The five companies also reported that they
provide comprehensive information to employees about the
pathways to higher grade levels, including the duties, skills, and
competencies required for each grade level. In addition, all five
companies reported having an employee recognition program in
place.
Concerning performance evaluation and promotion while
women are on maternity leave, the outcomes were inconsistent.
Four out of the five companies responded that managers and
| 27
2.2 REMUNERATION AND PAY PARITY: Of the five companies surveyed,
four had a formal pay structure. All five companies reported that men and
women received the same salary for similar work, four of the five companies
reported conducting a pay gap analysis, and two companies indicated they
were undertaking this analysis, annually. However, when asked whether
their company had an official policy regarding equal pay for equal work,
only one company had such a policy, three did not, and one company did
not respond to the question. All five companies reported that they offer
additional benefits and incentives on an equal basis.
When employees of the 12 companies were asked if men and women
were paid the same base salary for the same position or type of work, the
responses of men and women differed significantly. Although 63 percent
of men responded that they believe that their company ensures pay parity,
only 39 percent of women gave the same response. With regard to salary
WHEN ASKED
negotiations, 45 percent of men and 39 percent of women responded that
both genders could negotiate their salary. However, about 15 percent of all WHETHER THEIR
respondents stated that they believe that women rarely negotiate to improve
COMPANY HAD AN
their salary.
2.3 PARENTAL LEAVE: Tanzanian law has provided 84 days OFFICIAL
POLICY
(approximately 12 weeks) of maternity leave since 1975’s Employment
Ordinance (Amendment) Act. This is two weeks shorter than the ILO
recommendation of 14 weeks, and four weeks shorter than the OECD
average of 16 weeks. The 2004 Labor Act saw the addition of paternity leave
of three days, which is considerably shorter than OECD countries, which
REGARDING
average 1.4 weeks for paternity leave.
EQUAL
All five companies have maternity leave policies that align with Tanzanian
law, and some exceed it. One company offers about 20 weeks (about five PAY FOR
EQUAL
months) of maternity leave and another plans to extend leave to five months.
Some companies also allow mothers to combine their annual leave with
WORK,
maternity leave. Additionally, two out of the five companies surveyed offer
special arrangements or adjustments for pregnant women and/or disabled
employees. Regarding fathers, one company offers two weeks of paternity
leave. ONLY ONE COMPANY
Despite advances in parental leave, the perceived costs of maternity leave can
HAD SUCH A POLICY,
weigh on staff and employers. One company confided that while maternity THREE DID NOT, AND
leave policies are extremely important, problems have arisen when hiring
new staff. In some cases, hiring managers have selected a male candidate over
ONE COMPANY DID
a preferred female candidate because business continuity was a concern. One NOT RESPOND TO THE
respondent noted that hiring a replacement for a week was far easier than
hiring a replacement for several months. This concern was particularly an
QUESTION
issue in units with a high percentage of female employees. One suggestion for
overcoming this problem, and “leveling the playing field”, was to increase
the amount of paternity leave, to share the burden of newborn care and
normalize both parents taking time away from work for childcare.
28 |
Parental Support Programs: Affordable childcare services, facilities, or
subsidies. Having access to reliable and affordable childcare is crucial to
enable women to ascend the career ladder. Surveyed employees reported
that childcare responsibilities are one of the biggest barriers to women’s
advancement in the workplace; however, few employers appreciate the
business case for employer-supported childcare. Only one company of
the five surveyed indicated that it has an onsite childcare facility, and it is
for short-term use. However, half of both the surveyed female and male
employees responded that their workplace is a good one for people with
family care responsibilities (Figure 9).
Figure 9: My Company is a Good Place to Work for People with Family
Care Responsibilities.
A RELIABLE AND
AFFORDABLE
DOMESTIC
SUPPORT
SYSTEM IS
CRUCIAL
IN ENABLING WOMEN
TO ASCEND THE
CAREER LADDER.
| 29
2.4 SUPPORT FOR RETURNING MOTHERS
Formal programs that help women adjust to working again after maternity WHEN COMPANIES
leave are rare. However, some companies allow new parents to work from HAVE A FLEXIBLE
home and/or vary their work hours, although men do this more than women. WORK POLICY, ONLY
1/3
Three of the five companies surveyed have a general flexible work policy that
helps staff to achieve a good work-life balance. This includes flexible work
hours, a compressed work week, and allowing staff to work from home.
Of the employees surveyed, 34 percent of women and 51 percent of men
reported taking advantage of flexible work arrangements such as working OF WOMEN USE IT.
from home or flexible work hours. (Figure 10)
Figure 10: Do You Make Use of Flexible Work Arrangements Such as Working from Home and Flexible Work Hours?
Pandemic Lessons: The partial lockdowns that have occurred to government-mandated period is over, can privately and safely
prevent the spread of COVID-19, have resulted in a rapid shift express breastmilk. This is of particular importance, given
to allow many employees to work from home. In many cases, that the World Health Organization recommends that infants
employees also have flexible works hours. The large-scale, shift continue to feed breast milk for at least two years. In response
to flex-work that has resulted from COVID-19 has not had any to new mothers’ need to breastfeed while working in the office,
adverse impacts on employee productivity as some companies one of the companies surveyed for this study had a lactation
(self-reported), and this, in turn, could lead to greater flexibility room equipped with chairs, a sink, and a refrigerator.
in future that benefits parents with children.
Employees who responded to the survey emphasized the
Lactation Facilities: Regarding returning to work after importance of the policies and measures that their company
maternity leave, Tanzanian law allows women two hours per has taken to ensure that their transition back to work after
day for breastfeeding or pumping their breast milk, for up maternity leave is smooth. However, some mothers voiced
to six months, and companies are offering this to mothers. concerns that they had to express their milk in a restroom,
Traditionally, new mothers are allowed to leave work to go kitchen, vacant office, or closet, and that using such facilities
home to breastfeed, or they can leave work two hours early. could result in contamination that is a health risk. Mothers who
However, there are signs of innovation in the form of on-site had the opportunity to work from home were pleased that they
lactation rooms, where new mothers who cannot go home, could easily breastfeed their baby.
or those who continue to breastfeed after the six-month
30 |
Many companies do not offer any benefits that facilitate women’s smooth
transition back to work after maternity leave. For instance, out of the five
surveyed companies, only one company had a returnee mothers program that
supports mothers with flexible work hours. One company offers the option
of part-time work, while another company allows staff to work from home,
provided their role allows this option. Only two out of the five companies
surveyed for this study provide training and other processes that support
women who are returning from maternity leave.
2.5 PARENTAL NEEDS
None of the five companies surveyed employees to find out about their
needs as parents, or what changes the company could make to help working
parents. This employee survey did identify some needs that include: an
urgent request for a lactation room; longer maternity and paternity leave,
including during employees’ probationary (new hire) period; flexible working ONE OF
hours; and an allowance to help pay for children’s school fees. More general
requests included gender equality training, women’s forums, employee THE FIVE
assistance programs, a mentoring program for women, and creating internal COMPANIES SURVEYED
resource groups for women. HAD A LACTATION
ROOM AND A
TEMPORARY ONSITE
2.6 BULLYING AND HARASSMENT
CHILDCARE FACILITY,
As discussed above, when it comes to tackling bullying and sexual
FOR ONE-OFF USE
harassment at work, this is legally covered under a law concerned with (E.G. IN-BETWEEN
“protection from any form of harassment.” All companies reported having CHILDRENS’ DOCTORS’
policies in place to prevent bullying and harassment, however, such problems APPOINTMENTS)
persist. Three out of the five companies offer training to improve employees’
awareness about sexual harassment.
| 31
All five companies have an internet/computer use policy covering
inappropriate emails and accessing prohibited internet sites, but only two
companies have a policy with guidelines on visiting social networking
websites during working hours, and managers “friending” or “following”
employees on their social media websites.
The following percentages of employees reported that they had experienced
or witnessed the following problems at work: gender discrimination (about
17 percent of women and 10 percent of men); bullying (about 16 percent
of women and 9 percent of men); and sexual harassment (about 10 percent
women and 6 percent of men).3 Only half of the women surveyed and 66
percent of the men responded that they felt safe and comfortable at work
25 percent of women and 26 percent of men left this question blank).
ONLY HALF
Only three out of the five of the companies surveyed reported that they offer
training to improve employee awareness about sexual harassment.
OF THE WOMEN
All the companies surveyed have an internal grievance mechanism; however,
only about half of the male and female employees responded that they
SURVEYED SAID THEY
believe their company would support them if they raised a workplace issue FELT SAFE AT WORK.
(Figure 13). Of the employees who reported that they had raised a complaint,
57 percent of women and 36 percent of men were satisfied with how their ONLY THREE OUT
complaint was handled. The mixed perception of the effectiveness of internal OF THE FIVE OF THE
justice systems could deter employees who want to make a formal complaint, COMPANIES SURVEYED
and this undermines trust in the system.
REPORTED THAT THEY
OFFER TRAINING TO
IMPROVE EMPLOYEE
AWARENESS ABOUT
SEXUAL HARASSMENT.
Figure 11: If I Experience a Workplace Issue, I Believe that My Company Will Support Me
32 |
| 33
3. ACCESS TO CAREER ADVANCEMENT PROGRAMS
3.1. CAREER ADVANCEMENT PROGRAMS: All five companies indicated outside the workplace. They understood the importance
that they provide training for employees on the processes and procedures required of women in the financial services sector playing a role
to do their jobs, and for improving their skills. Additionally, all five companies in helping female employees to navigate and advance
reported having a range of technical and leadership training, coaching, and in the sector. One of the 22 women leaders spoke with
mentoring programs that are developing a pipeline of high performing women for pride about her role in facilitating networking events
future promotion to management and senior leadership positions. All the companies and organizing a platform for senior women to connect
surveyed reported that an equal number of men and women enroll in training and with younger women who are beginning their careers.
participate in other professional development opportunities. Concerning employer-
sponsored educational opportunities, two companies provide these specifically for
women, while one company offers support for all employees, regardless of gender.
Mentoring and Sponsorship Programs: Mentoring, sponsorship, and having
supportive male allies at work and at home are critical in opening up leadership
opportunities for women. Formal and informal mentoring programs and coaching
arrangements play an important role in helping women find avenues for career
growth, navigate unknown terrain, and gain insights from those who have climbed
the corporate ladder before them. All five companies reported having a mentorship
program in place. Some of the 22 women in senior leadership positions interviewed
for this study stated that support from formal and informal mentors was crucial
for their career success. Some also spoke about how either a supervisor or a family
member urged them to apply for a higher-level position, which they did despite their
reservations about doing so.
MENTORING,
SPONSORSHIP, AND
Access to Professional Networks: Having access to professional networks and
establishing connections with other women leaders is important for women to rise HAVING MALE
professionally. Of the five companies surveyed for this study, three have an internal
women’s network. In the focus group discussions with employees, both men and
ALLIES AT WORK
women spoke about the critical importance of networks in advancing their careers. AND AT XHOME ARE
However, in the employees’ survey, 22 percent of female employees responded that CRITICAL IN HELPING
they believe that their male counterparts find it easier to establish personal and
WOMEN TO CLIMB THE
professional networks (See Figure 14).
CORPORATE LADDER.
Most of the 22 women leaders stressed the importance of networking both inside and
Figure 12: Which of the Following Statements Do You Agree With the Most Regarding Personal
and Professional Networks in Your Company?
34 |
4. REPORTING & TRANSPARENCY
4.1 REPORTING TO THE BOARD: To monitor progress in reaching by gender and employees’ level, three companies
corporate targets for women rising to higher levels within the corporation, responded that they provide this information
more and more boards require tracking and reporting on the total number to their board, one company does not, and one
of employees promoted annually, and that these data be disaggregated by company was unsure about the answer.
gender. With regard to whether the five companies surveyed for this study
report to their boards on the average number of training hours disaggregated
| 35
Figure 13: Findings and Recommendations
36 |
Key Findings and Recommendations
Although, historically, Tanzania’s financial services sector has been male dominated, it provides significant professional
opportunities for women to enter, thrive, and lead. However, although women have been progressing in the sector, the
findings of this study show that structural barriers in the workplace continue to persist.
| 37
Table 2: Findings and Recommendations
Topic KEY FINDINGS
Findings
1.0 1.1 Corporate Leadership/ Recruitment
Corporate Four of the five companies surveyed make gender equality a top priority but only a few have time-
Commitment bound targets and accountability mechanisms for appointing women to corporate boards, executive
to Gender committees, and including them in senior management. However, all companies have targets for
Equality entry- and mid-level positions.
1.2 Gender Balance Across the Workforce
Despite having achieved nearly equal gender balance at the entry and administrative levels, the share
of women in senior management and on boards is substantially lower in comparison to men. In the five
companies surveyed for this study:
• 46 percent of 8,000 employees were women.
• 30 percent of executive committee and board members were women.
• Between 28 percent and 38 percent of middle and senior managers were women.
• Half of entry level and mid-level administrative roles were held by women.
Employees in the 12 companies surveyed were optimistic about the potential for women becoming
senior managers and leaders in the financial services sector. A large number of respondents (91 percent
of women and 92 percent of men) indicated that being a good manager is not related to gender.1
Furthermore, 60 percent of the employees surveyed consider women in senior leadership to be role
models.
1.3 Internal Awareness about Gender Equality
Three of the five companies surveyed provide training on gender equality, but some staff may not be
aware of this non-mandatory training and, consequently, do not participate.
2.0 2.1 Recruitment, Retention & Promotion
Workplace Most of the employees surveyed believe that access to opportunities is fair in their company, but some
Policies indicated that more could be done to promote gender equality. Companies reported that their hiring
& Practices practices achieve gender balance, but some employees disagreed with this.
Employees’ survey responses were mixed regarding the fairness of performance evaluations and
promotions when women were on maternity leave. Some employees expressed concern that they
were penalized for taking maternity leave, while others indicated that they were promoted.
2.2 Remuneration and Pay Parity
Four of the five companies surveyed have formal pay structures and pay men and women the same
salary for similar work. However, only one company had an equal-pay-for-equal-work policy and only
two companies conducted an annual analysis to identify discriminatory pay gaps.
63 percent of men believed there is pay parity, compared to 39 percent of women who believed the same.
38 |
RECOMMENDATIONS
1.1 Corporate Leadership/ Recruitment
• Champion the business case for more gender-inclusive leadership. level to board level.
CEOs and board members should present the business • CEOs should cultivate a corporate culture that involves
case, set targets, and hold management accountable for men as well as women in helping women to advance.
implementing gender-smart strategies and targets that • Boards should request periodic reports on gender equality
include having women at all levels of the company from entry targets and make the results public.
1.2 Gender Balance Across the Workforce
• Close the gap between policy and practice. Put a clear
accountability mechanism in place that uses key performance
indicators for gender equality targets such as the number of
women in senior leadership positions and make management
responsible for achieving these targets.
• Protect the talent pipeline for women leaders. Identify issues
that cause “pipeline leakage” of capable women, and develop
strategies to address these.
• Promote positive perceptions of women in management in the
corporate culture by advancing greater gender balance and
highlighting women role models.
1.3 Internal Awareness about Gender Equality
• Provide compulsory training for all employees and managers on Global Compact. The WEPs are seven principles that
critical gender equality issues. These should include the business guide businesses on how to promote gender equality
case for gender equality, and key gender issues such as and women’s empowerment in the workplace, the
unconscious bias against women, common misconceptions marketplace, and the community. The WEPs are based on
about women, and bullying and sexual harassment. international labor and human rights standards, and they
Investigate why employees lack awareness about gender assert that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility
issues and/or do not participate in gender equality training. for, gender equality and women’s empowerment. The
• Make training convenient: Leverage technology to make gender WEPs also promote HeforShe, a UN global solidarity
equality training virtual, flexible, and available on-demand. movement that recruits all genders, but especially men, to
• Share best practices and join voluntary corporate initiatives. take action to achieve gender equality.
These include adopting the Women’s Empowerment
Principles (WEPs) championed by UN Women and the UN
2.1 Recruitment, Retention & Promotion
• Identify how access to opportunities could be improved—for women and new mothers. Establish policies that explicitly
example, by surveying employees about this. prohibit penalizing women who take maternity leave and
• Identify and address biases in hiring and hiring processes. prorate targets to only include the period when women
Ensure that interview panels have an equal number of men were working. Provide managers and all performance
and women, and prohibit panels from asking questions reviewers with training on how to fairly evaluate, as
concerning marital status, pregnancy, and family care well as consider promotions for women who have taken
responsibilities. maternity leave.
• Remove biases from performance evaluations that impact pregnant
2.2 Remuneration and Pay Parity
• Review corporate compensation pay structures and practices effect of such perceptions on employees’ morale and
annually or biennially to remove potential gender biases and engagement.
ensure equal pay. • Governments should consider a mandatory reporting
• Ensure transparency by publishing salary information internally requirement such as the one the United Kingdom uses. This
for all grade levels. requires all government and private sector employers with
• Conduct periodic anonymous assessments to identify if 250 or more staff to report on the differences between what
employees perceive unfair wage gaps and avoid the corrosive male and female employees are paid.
| 39
Topic
TOPIC AND FINDINGS
Findings
2.0 2.3 Parental Leave
Workplace One company exceeds the statutory four months of maternity leave, offering five months. Companies
Policies believe that paid paternity leave could be longer than the statutory three days, however, only one
& Practices company out of the five surveyed offers men two weeks of paid paternity leave.
2.4 Support for Returning Mothers
Programs that help women adjust to working again after maternity leave are rare. However, some
companies allow new parents to work from home and/or vary their work hours, although men do this
more than women.
Tanzanian law requires that employers allow women who are breastfeeding two working hours per
day for breastfeeding or expressing milk to take home. Only one company of five had a lactation room,
although another company was in the process of preparing one. Due to lack of facilities, mothers
express breastmilk in sub-optimal, and potentially unsanitary and unsafe places such as bathrooms and
kitchens.
2.5 Parental Needs
One of the biggest barriers to women’s advancement is the lack of employer-supported childcare;
however only one company out of the five surveyed offers short-term on-site childcare.
Both the companies and the employees surveyed indicate that companies are not proactively
consulting employees about their parental needs.
2.6 Bullying and Harassment
All the companies surveyed have policies to prevent bullying and harassment, but only half of the
women surveyed said they felt safe at work. Also, internal justice systems for addressing bullying and
harassment are perceived to be ineffective which discourages employees from making a complaint and
reduces trust in their employer.
3.0 3.1 Career Advancement Programs
Access to Career All five companies have programs that cultivate a pipeline of high-performing women who have the
Advancement capacity to become managers and rise to top leadership positions. These women are provided with
Programs technical and leadership training, capacity developing assignments, as well as individual coaching and
mentoring.
Only a few companies have an internal women’s network. Externally, women with family
responsibilities struggle to attend networking events because they are held after work.
4.0 4.1 Reporting
Reporting & Three companies provide sex disaggregated data to their board, and even release these data to the
Transparency public on the percentages of women and men at different levels, and the percentages of women and
men who are promoted and participate in training.
40 |
RECOMMENDATIONS
2.3 Parental Leave
• Expand parental leave. Allowing both men and women with leave may reduce absenteeism, staff turnover, and improve
children to take at least the statutory amount of parental leave, employees’ morale. If working fathers lack the option of
as well as short-term emergency leave to care for a sick child as taking extended paternity and short-term emergency leave,
a long-term investment in employees that will yield dividends they will be unable to share childcare responsibilities, which
in future. Both mothers and fathers need flexible leave so that perpetuates women’s unequal responsibility for childcare.
they can meet their family care responsibilities. Allowing such
2.4 Support for Returning Mothers
• Support women employees in making the transition to work after • Suggestions to help women employees with children to
their maternity leave. Such support could include: a program for cope with the challenges resulting from COVID-19 can be
returnee mothers to help them adjust to combining work with found in the 2020 study undertaken by IFC and UN Women:
parenting; work-sharing; flex work such as working from home “Bridging the Gap: Emerging Private Sector Response and
and/or flexible hours; leave to care for a sick child; a lactation Recovery Measures for Gender Equality amid COVID-19”
room; and on-site childcare or an allowance to cover part of the • Allow women employees who are breastfeeding to work
cost of childcare. from home.
• Allowing staff with children to work at home can be highly • Create a lactation room with comfortable chairs, a sink,
effective for both men and women, but especially for women and refrigerator where breastfeeding mothers can store
who are transitioning back to work after maternity leave. expressed milk.
2.5 Parental Needs
• Invest in childcare systems for employees. With the • Institute a formal system for regularly asking employees with
disproportionate responsibility for childcare falling on women, children what type of support they need. Tools for getting
companies should assist them by supporting childcare either feedback from parents include surveys and conversations
through an on-site crèche or an allowance that helps to pay for between line managers and parents, and the results are then
quality and convenient childcare. communicated to human resources personnel and senior
• Finance providers should consider investing in MSMEs in the care management.
economy including those that provide a crèche, daycare, early • Create programs that address the differing challenges
childhood education/kindergarten, and other childcare services. and increasing needs of working parents. As noted above,
• Employers should participate in the development of regulations providing such support will encourage and facilitate male
and enforcement mechanisms that ensure that childcare employees in playing an equal role in caring for their
providers meet high standards. children.
2.6 Bullying and Harassment
• Create and implement respectful workplace policies and programs. and make this training mandatory for all employees.
Strong policies coupled with effective communications • Hold managers accountable for ensuring a safe workplace.
campaigns and employee training are needed to ensure that • Strengthen the internal justice system to build credibility
the work environment is safe for all. and trust and use conspicuous locations to communicate to
• Develop effective respectful workplace policies and programs make sure that all staff know about the system.
3.1 Career Advancement Programs
• Provide high-performing women with technical and leadership assigning them to shadow senior managers, giving them
training, assignments, and mentoring: Engage both female and challenging assignments that increase their capacity, and
male employees in mentoring high-performing women (See mentors who can coach them effectively. Also, ensure
1.2 above). that women have the same opportunities for promotion as
• To enable women with family responsibilities to participate in men, and encourage women to apply for senior positions.
training and other capacity development opportunities, these • Support women’s internal and external networks. Support
should be offered during working hours. programs and women’s networks that provide women
• Provide women with opportunities to gain experience that with career enhancement opportunities, boost women’s
develop their confidence. Help mid-level female staff to gain confidence in applying for higher positions and negotiating
the experience needed to become higher-level managers by raises; and improve women’s work-life balance.
4.1 Reporting
• Corporate boards should encourage the gathering of sex managers, promotions, and participation in training to
disaggregated data on key indicators such as new hires, provide insights on reaching corporate targets.
| 41
42 |
SECTION II:
LEADING WOMEN IN TANZANIA’S
FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR
To gain career and personal insights from exemplary women over the course of their career, these leaders remain optimistic
leaders in Tanzania’s financial services sector, this report about women’s opportunities and future in the financial
profiles 22 successful women. Over the course of their careers, services sector. All the women profiled in this publication are
all these women have had to overcome substantial challenges unanimous in stressing the importance of government and
to advance in leadership. Many were the first woman to reach corporate policies that enable women to join the financial
the heights in their organization, and as they have risen, services sector, as well as thrive as their careers progress.
these women have opened doors for more women. Many
have also influenced government and corporate policies to The women leaders also agree on the factors that helped
improve women’s prospects, throughout their careers they them to achieve success, including believing in themselves,
have encouraged and coached other women, and many have having a supportive family, getting a good education, finding
played a role in developing and marketing financial products capable and willing mentors, working hard, seeking out new
that are tailored to the needs of women. Their titles today opportunities, and overcoming their fears about applying for
include former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, former higher positions.
Managing Director of the National Insurance Company, and
All the women profiled in this study have had long and
first Tanzanian Chief Executive Officer of NMB Bank.
exceptionally successful careers, and they serve as role models
Despite the pressures and isolation that they have faced at times for younger women who are entering the sector and want to
| 43
build a successful career. However, their inspiring stories provide stark
reminders of the socio-cultural challenges that women need to overcome,
despite doing exceptional work. Proactiveness in seeking new opportunities,
commitment to excellence at work, and developing effective interpersonal
skills were some of the qualities highlighted by these leaders.
Rising to the top has not been easy for most of these women, whose
challenges have included personal and family obstacles, societal expectations
to care for family as well as work, inadequate supportive policies on the job,
and lack of access to professional networks. Instances of sexual harassment
and gender discrimination have also held some of these women back. Their
stories highlight that women must not only have considerable expertise and
leadership traits, but also access to professional and personal enablers who
provide social support, mentorship, and, of course, good policies.
In addition to the corporate findings discussed above, the women leaders
WOMEN PROFILED
profiled in Section II offer key insights on the importance of higher
education, developing confidence, working hard, and having a capable CITED PERSONAL
domestic support system at home.
AND FAMILY
OBSTACLES, SOCIETAL
HIGHER EDUCATION AND LIFE-LONG LEARNING
EXPECTATIONS TO CARE
One area of unanimous agreement among the women profiled in Section
FOR FAMILY AS WELL
II was that higher education and lifelong learning are essential for career
advancement. However, higher education remains difficult to access for both AS WORK, INADEQUATE
men and women in Tanzania. In 2019, the gross enrollment rate for tertiary
SUPPORTIVE POLICIES
education in Tanzania was only 3 percent, with only 2.5 percent of the
total female population, and only 3.7 percent of the total male population ON THE JOB, AND
enrolling in post-secondary education within five years of leaving secondary
school (World Bank 2019). Nevertheless, some of the women leaders were
LACK OF ACCESS
able to pursue educational opportunities inside and outside Tanzania at TO PROFESSIONAL
different stages of their career.
Continuing education can make up for women’s lack of opportunity during
KEY
NETWORKS AS
their youth, and it can help them to upskill to gain new opportunities.
Several women leaders noted that continuing education helped them navigate CHALLENGES
a particular challenge in their career when they needed the benefits of higher
THEY FACED IN THEIR
education. They took courses or pursued post graduate degrees either
part time, in person, or through distance programs. Several also earned QUEST TO LEAD
specialized certificates to advance their careers.
44 |
CONFIDENCE & LEADERSHIP SKILLS GAPS
For the women profiled in this report, overcoming their lack of confidence
has not only been crucial for achieving success, this has enabled them to
move to higher professional levels. In addition to continuing to learn,
many of the women recommended investing in training in leadership
and communication skills, whether individually, or through a corporate
initiative. However, even with good qualifications and strong motivation,
the lack of women role models led some women to be cautious about
taking up new opportunities. They confided that they had fears about the
challenges of leadership or concerns about the workload, which caused
them to consider turning down invitations to join corporate boards or
not apply for senior management jobs. At these junctures, thanks to
encouragement from family and mentors, they accepted the opportunities
before them, and became the roles models, which they had lacked.
A number of these women leaders are now helping the next generation of
women to develop their strengths and build confidence with challenging
CONFIDENCE
assignments and learn from their successes and failures. Some women
leaders are also coaching a pipeline of talented women who will be able to
IS WHAT
assume senior management roles in future. The more opportunities women
have to succeed, the more their confidence will grow, and so will their
“TURNS
willingness to take risks. Here, both companies and senior managers have
important roles to play. THOUGHTS
All these efforts to develop confidence are critically important to help
greater numbers of qualified women to reach the upper echelons because
INTO
confidence is what “turns thoughts into action.” As confidence accumulates
through hard work, success, and failure, women need such opportunities to
ACTION.”
build their confidence, and people who will support them in doing so (Kay IT ACCUMULATES
and Shipman 2014).
THROUGH HARD
In Tanzania, civil society and development partners have been working
WORK, SUCCESS, AND
with schools and employers to nurture confidence in Tanzanian girls and
women. Examples of this include CRDB Bank’s partnership with IFC FAILURE. WOMEN NEED
through Finance2Equal Tanzania, which offered confidence and capacity-
OPPORTUNITIES TO
building training to 100 women in middle management from December
2020 to March 2021, and Female Future, the Confederation of Norwegian BUILD CONFIDENCE
Enterprises’ partnership with the Association of Tanzanian Employers,
AND PEOPLE TO
which has been offering leadership and skill development training to high-
potential women in Tanzania’s private sector since 2015, and UNESCO’s SUPPORT THEM.
five-year Joint Program on Empowering Adolescent Girls & Young Women
through Education, which began in 2020.
| 45
PROFILE CLASSIFICATIONS sectors. The Facilitators are creating an enabling environment
that provides greater opportunities for women by developing
Although each woman leader’s journey to the top has been policies, conducting research, and deploying development
unique, their profiles have been grouped into three categories capital. The Market Makers are competing for commercial
that reflect their career career impact, stage and sector. success, and they are laser-focused on growing the bottom line
The Pioneers have paved the way for other women to follow. in their companies and their teams (Figure 14).
They are at the top of their field, in both the private and public
46 |
Figure 14: Pioneers, Market Makers, and Facilitators.
THE PIONEERS THE FACILITATORS THE MARKET MAKERS
• These women were the first to break • These women are building equal • These women, who are at the heart
the glass ceiling in the financial services opportunities in Tanzania’s financial of the private sector, are the second
sector as high-ranking regulators in services sector, and through their generation of women to create corporate
the public sector, CEOs, Chairs, and research, policy development, business strategies that are gender equal, and
members of Boards of Directors. advisory services, and impact funds, that prove the business case for gender
they are expanding the reach and equality with every promotion of a
• These women succeeded in an use of financial services for women woman.
environment where laws did not protect entrepreneurs, and for women, in general.
women from harassment, corporate • They are creating value for their
policies did not address the gender gap, • These women are instrumental in organizations, while also redefining
and the cultural norms for women were a driving financial inclusion, and they corporate leadership to accommodate
substantial hinderance. influence the macro environment through women at different stages of their
their work in development finance. lives, and without compromising the
• Today, these women are pillars in progression of their careers.
Tanzania’s financial services sector. • They are the guardrails, creating a
more secure financial services sector for • They are the future leaders of the
women, and for all. financial services sector.
| 47
The Pioneers
The Pioneers have paved the way for other women to follow.
They are at the top of their field, across private and public
sectors.
48 |
| 49
DR. NATU EL-MAAMRY MWAMBA
In 2011, the Board of Directors of the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) agreed on the need to
achieve gender diversity at the deputy governor level, particularly since other African
central banks had already elevated capable women. Dr. Natu El-Maamry Mwamba, a
faculty member at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), who had served on BOT’s
board on the monetary policy and audit committees for seven years, was well qualified
for the role. In June 2011, President Jakaya M. Kikwete, appointed Natu as BOT’s first
female Deputy Governor, overseeing the Economic and Financial Policies portfolio.
OPENING DOORS FOR OTHER WOMEN: One of the first increase women’s financial inclusion.
internal issues Natu addressed was the dearth of women
directors across the central bank, which had resulted in a After returning to her job at UDSM in 2017, Natu was eager to
significant gender gap in the central bank’s management share her experiences. “My time as Deputy Governor showed
committees. “Although I was focused on managing my me the importance of raising women’s voices and sharing their
portfolio, as the first woman ever to reach such heights, I felt perspectives in high places. The inclusion of women in every
responsible for opening more doors for women. Imagine the aspect of the financial sector is an urgent priority. Even on
chilling effect on a woman who wants to bring a case to the issues that are considered gender-neutral, it is important for us
disciplinary committee, but all the members are men.” Natu to dialogue with our male colleagues as equals. This helps to
raised the issue of the gender gap with the central bank’s normalize female leadership.”
Executive Office, and a new policy was developed to appoint a
LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR SUCCESS THROUGH
female senior manager to the internal committees that lacked
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: When Natu was finishing
female director representation. This allowed the committees to
secondary school, she knew that achieving a high level of
be more inclusive while giving leadership experience to female
education would open doors throughout her career. However,
senior managers.
in the 1980s and 1990s, less than 1 percent of Tanzania’s
Throughout her time at the bank, Natu vigorously promoted population was enrolled in tertiary education. In 1986,
women’s career advancment. She identified high performing Natu completed her master’s degree, and in 1994, she won
female staff; developed a portfolio that showcased their a scholarship to pursue her doctorate in economics at the
expertise, skills, and performance; and presented them as University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Despite
candidates for promotion. By the time Natu completed her having three children under the age of 7, thanks to her husband
tenure at BOT in 2017, one third of its management positions who continued to work in Tanzania to support the family; her
were occupied by women. scholarship; the support of her sister who relocated with her;
a stipend to help pay for childcare; and an on-campus creche;
Externally, Natu brought greater visibility to issues preventing Natu was able to focus on her PhD, knowing that her children
women from gaining access to finance. As lack of data made it had good care.
difficult to determine the right policy, Natu contributed to the
government-wide effort to establish Tanzania’s first National After completing her PhD in 1998, Natu returned to Tanzania
Financial Inclusion Framework—an initiative that requires to teach economics at USDM. Along with teaching, she
financial institutions to provide sex disaggregated data. These conducted research on subjects ranging from agricultural
data now show the percentage of women with a bank account, finance to transport and women’s issues, and she facilitated
a loan, or other type of financing—an important step to large academic events—all of which contributed to her success.
50 |
The central bank regulator now requires banks
and other financial institutions to provide sex
disaggregated data. This visibility allows us to
steer financial sector policy to increase women’s
inclusion.
| 51
In addition, she chaired the governing council of the Institute of Finance One thing that I always do when I
Management, and served on several boards of directors, including that of the enter a boardroom is conquer the
space. I ensure that I have ample
Bank of Tanzania. In 2006, she was one of 20 women selected from across the
space to sit, with all my prepared
world for a year-long fellowship offered by the International Women’s Forum, materials and references placed
financed by the Carnegie Corporation. Along with studying, debating key in front of me. This means that
issues, and improving her writing and public speaking skills, Natu was matched everyone who looks at me can
see that I am comfortable and
with a high-profile American mentor who is still her valued advisor today.
confident at the table.
In 2016, in her role as Deputy Governor, Natu was invited to speak about
the state of the African Region at the World Bank Group’s Annual Meeting in
Washington, D.C. “That experience drew on the technical expertise I gained
ABOUT DR. NATU EL-
as a regulator, two decades as an economist, my leadership and coaching
MAAMRY MWAMBA
experience, as well as many years of courses and on-the-job training.” Being
selected as a speaker was tangible proof that Natu was a global leader, and that
opened new leadership opportunities. Shortly after this, Natu was asked to join
the board of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank.
CURRENT ROLE:
OWNING SUCCESS AND CONTINUOUS GROWTH: Looking back on the • Senior Lecturer,
last 40 years, Natu is proud, as well as grateful, for all that she has achieved. University of Dar es Salaam
However, there have been dark moments. At times she has been marginalized • Chair, Kilimanjaro International
Airport (KADCO)
in the decision-making process because she was not a member of the boys’
club” that met after work, and she has also been insulted because of her gender.
Despite such challenges, over the years, Natu has seen progress in gender
equality, including the election of Tanzania’s first female Vice President in
2015, Samia Suluhu Hassan, who became Tanzania’s first female President in
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
March 2021. Natu has also witnessed an increase in the number of women
• Former Deputy Governor, Bank
serving on corporate boards, teaching in universities, and earning scholarships of Tanzania
for undergraduate and graduate degrees. • Board Member, Eastern and
Southern African Trade and
For her part, Natu regularly mentors students, staff, and other women in the Development Bank
• Board Member, Bank of Tanzania
financial sector, including Nangi Massawe, who is featured in this report. She
• Chair, Governing Council of the
advises women who are taking up leadership positions to be confident, never Institute of Finance Management
compromise their integrity, and believe in their success. “Today I’m conscious
of this great confidence in myself. I also carefully consider what I say “yes”
to, so I make sure it fits with my personal goals. I want to follow my passions,
and I also still want to grow. That is my best advice to everyone, but especially
to women—keep growing and do not bend to other people’s deadlines. If you
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
stay true to your values and vision over your lifetime, things will happen at the • Deutscher Akademischer Austausc-
perfect time for you.” hdienst (DAAD) scholarship winner
for an MA in Economics, 1984
• African Economic Research
• Consortium scholarship winner
for a PhD in Economics, 1994
• International Women’s Forum –
Leadership Foundation, one-year
Fellowship Program, 2006–2007.
• Financial Women Forum –
Lifetime Achievement Award
– Recognition and Appreciation
for being the First Female Deputy
Governor, Bank of Tanzania,
52 | October 2020
RUTH ZAIPUNA
In 2020, Ruth Zaipuna became the first Tanzanian and second woman CEO of NMB
Bank, one of Tanzania’s largest banks. This was just two years after she was recruited
as NMB’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Over the preceding two decades, Ruth had
cultivated deep technical and strategic skills, and as CFO, these skills, plus her ability to
lead, garnered the attention of NMB’s board members, who promoted Ruth to CEO.
GROW YOUR INFLUENCE BY DISPLAYING STRATEGIC WORKPLACE POLICIES AND CULTURE CAN PLAY A KEY ROLE
PROWESS: Soon after Ruth started working at NMB as CFO in IN ACCELERATING WOMEN’S CAREERS: Ruth’s experience
2018, she leveraged her prior experience to begin transforming illustrates that supportive employers can be instrumental
the finance department from its traditional role as the custodian in enabling women to succeed, even when they are most
of assets into a strategic business partner. The new strategy vulnerable. In 2006, when Ruth was a Senior Associate at
enabled the finance department to work closely with the PwC, and expecting her third child, she became quite ill, which
bank’s other departments, and begin identifying revenue and affected her ability to contribute at work. Feeling that this
expenditure trends, and developing cost-efficiency strategies for was unfair to the company, Ruth resigned. However, three
each department. months after her baby was born, PwC asked her to return, and
promoted her the day she rejoined. Her employer’s faith in
The finance department used the insights it gathered to her integrity and hard work, as well as the company’s sense of
help the bank’s business functions devise growth strategies. fairness, all contributed to this outcome. “They believed in my
“This changed the performance and cost trend of the bank. potential to deliver, and it inspired me to work even harder for
Altogether, it helped us understand what was financially the firm. Supportive employers are essential in helping women
sustainable, and what was not, and this drastically improved to succeed.” Ruth worked for PwC for a decade.
our cost-to-income ratio. For a big bank, this was quite an
achievement.” This strategy demonstrated that Ruth was a When Ruth was preparing to take her fourth maternity leave,
skilled leader who understood the banking business, which gave she was CFO at Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania (SCBT).
her an advantage when competing for the role of CEO. Demonstrating that maternity leave policies work even for
C-suite employees, she developed a plan that enabled the
As CEO, Ruth has used her in-depth finance industry department to function while she was on leave. Since her
knowledge to develop a visionary, long-term approach to department was undergoing a period of transformation, the
banking. Today, she drives the bank’s growth agenda, and its regional office brought in a CFO from the Gambia to take on
long-term sustainability strategies, innovation capabilities, and some of Ruth’s responsibilities.
overseas operations. “I can anticipate issues and opportunities
beyond the numbers to make viable decisions for the bank’s Another factor enabling women to rise to leadership positions
future. This has allowed me to challenge our teams to are performance evaluations that are free of bias. Ruth praises
generate growth and apply tactics that close revenue gaps. My the performance management system at PwC that evaluates
accounting background has helped me to run the bank as a staff members’ performance based on feedback not only
business, but with a strict code of ethics.” from their immediate superior, but also from the other teams
they work with. This broader type of evaluation mitigates
the bias that an immediate superior may have. “At PwC,
associates work with many partners, and as they all contribute
to performance evaluations, PwC provides a more wholistic
| 53
If you have a finance department that challenges
business, you will see results.
54 |
evaluation. This system enables women to progress without doing much of the The sense that a good education
after-hours networking that is difficult for women with a family at home.” would help us make something of
our lives was instilled in me from
a young age.
Another important element for career success is support from both formal and
informal mentors and leadership programs. Ruth was selected to participate
in the Standard Chartered Group leadership initiative, which helped her
develop the skills that leaders need, and she was also given progressively more
challenging responsibilities. As the CFO, she worked closely with the CEO, and ABOUT
this gave her insights and a thorough understanding of various departments’
RUTH ZAIPUNA
operations. When serving as acting CEO at SCBT, Ruth was able to gain
knowledge about how to manage a bank, which further honed her leadership
skills.
CAN WOMEN HAVE IT ALL? YES, WITH EDUCATION, MENTORS, AND THE
CURRENT ROLE:
RIGHT SUPPORT SYSTEMS: From an early age, Ruth realized that education • CEO, NMB Bank, Tanzania
could change lives. Growing up in rural Tanzania, she had to walk several
kilometers per day to collect water. Also, she had to be disciplined to complete
her homework before leaving school because with no electricity at home, she
could not study at night. As a result of working hard on her education, she
earned scholarships to the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) both for her
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
undergraduate degree and her MBA. • CFO, NMB Bank, Tanzania
• CFO, Standard Chartered Bank,
Once she had a family of her own, Ruth realized that balancing personal life Tanzania
with a career is challenging for women. She says that she has been able to have • CFO, Standard Chartered Bank,
• Tanzania and Business Finance
a family and a career thanks to her supportive husband and colleagues, as well
Lead, East African Cluster
as domestic help at home. She emphasized the importance of enabling corporate • Associate Director, PwC, Tanzania
policies and supportive colleagues who help women progress at work.
Based on her own experience, Ruth realized that women often do not apply for
leadership positions, despite being very qualified and well suited. In 2018, when
Ruth was offered the CFO position at NMB, she debated whether to accept the
AWARDS
opportunity, even though she had the qualifications, experience, and abilities
• CEO of the Year, Financial
required. “Although, I ticked 99.9 percent of the requirements for the job, I Women Forum Awards 2020
still asked myself if I could take on the challenge.” In addition to participating • Top 50 Women in Management
in formal mentorship programs, Ruth recommends that women build informal Award 2019
networks of mentors and sponsors at work, as well as through industry
associations. “You need people who will advise you based on their experience
and wisdom. You have to make deliberate efforts to build these relationships.
It is about commitment, hard work, and the value that you are able to deliver.
If you really contribute, people will notice. People will only advocate for you if
they trust that you will not let them down.” Ruth is proud of having mentored
numerous women and men. “It inspires me to see that the people I coached and
mentored are doing well, and this makes me happy.”
| 55
ZUHURA SINARE MURO
As an entrepreneur, board member, certified director, and mentor, Zuhura Sinare Muro
considers it her mission to develop the next generation of women leaders in Tanzania’s
private sector. Her people-centric philosophy of empowering employees and
purposeful leadership have made her a trusted advisor to CEOs who want to develop
their company’s most valuable asset—the staff. Over her decades-long career, Zuhura’s
approach has fueled her ascent to boardrooms in banking, telecommunications, and
academia.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTORING IN PROFESSIONAL DRIVING GENDER EQUALITY: While on the board of KCBT,
DEVELOPMENT: Zuhura’s journey to the boardroom began Zuhura made the business case for putting people first,
in 2004 when she was selected as an Aspen Global Leadership prioritizing gender equality, and investing more in developing
Network Fellow. “This opportunity opened up my world the bank’s staff. “I became very involved in the HR strategy,
because I gained access to a global network of leaders. Many and with the support of the KCB Group chair, Ngeny
of these leaders, who were diverse in terms of their age, vision, Biwott, we rewrote about 18 HR policies, and required equal
and personality, became my mentors. These men and women of opportunities for both male and female employees. We also
valor helped guide my professional development.” developed a succession strategy to promote qualified women.
In addition, we strengthened the relationship between the
In 2006, in collaboration with one of her mentors, Ali board and the leadership team by encouraging partnership.”
Mufuruki, a leadership pioneer in East Africa, Zuhura These changes were successful, and the KCBT quickly became
mobilized the Aspen Fellows in East Africa to establish the profitable again for the first time in eight years.
Africa Leadership Initiative’s East Africa Foundation, and
served as its Executive Secretary for 10 years. Recognizing By 2015, Zuhura became the Chair of KCBT’s Board of
Zuhura’s talent, Ali recommended that she succeed him as Directors. She encouraged both the company’s management
chair of Mwananchi Communications (MCL)’s board. In team and the board’s human resources committee to seek
2008, her work on MCL’s board opened the door for her to out local candidates for positions, and to hire more qualified
join the boards of the Nation Media Group, and the Aga Khan women in key roles. The effort was successful. With a sense
University Thinking Group. of pride, Zuhura recalls: “In 2019, during my tenure as chair,
and for the first time in the company’s history, three women
In 2011, she was asked to join the board of Kenya Commercial board members signed off on our financial statements. Seeing
Bank Tanzania (KCBT). Despite her growing prominence and those statements published in national newspapers was
professional acclaim, she was unsure about accepting this tangible proof of my success in helping the KCBT to be both
role because she lacked experience in the financial sector. She financially successful and more gender equal.” Also, during her
overcame this worry, and joined the board after her husband tenure, KCBT’s profits increased from TSH 630 million (about
counselled her, saying: “They believe in you. You can do $396,000) in 2012 to TSH 18.2 billion (about $7.9 million)
this, so give it a try.” Soon after joining the board, she rose in 2018.5 When she retired from KCBT’s board in 2019,
to become the chair of KCBT’s Human Resources Board Zuhura’s legacy was an improved corporate culture and a high-
Committee. performing organization.
56 |
In difficult times, I always rely on my strong inner
compass, which guides me to the right course of
action, no matter how hard it may be.
| 57
NAVIGATING GENDER BIAS WITH ASSERTIVENESS AND INTEGRITY: If you have a deep sense of
Early in her career, Zuhura experienced firsthand the challenges and purpose and a laser sharp focus,
there is nothing you cannot do.
limitations that women in management often encounter. After the birth of her
two sons, Zuhura returned to work, fully expecting to continue her career as an
administrator in higher education. However, while pursuing a master’s degree
in education administration, she faced gender discrimination and harassment,
so she switched to a general management diploma program. ABOUT
ZUHURA SINARE MURO
Over the years, there have been several other incidents of sexism that tested her
resolve. In each of these situations, Zuhura either firmly condemned the bad
behavior, and was prepared to quit if she did not receive an apology, or she
adopted a wait-and-see attitude, and let her work speak for itself. “In difficult
times, I always rely on my strong inner compass, which guides me to the right
course of action, no matter how hard it may be.” CURRENT ROLES:
• Founder and Managing Director,
Lindam Group
Today, Zuhura is focused on impacting gender equality across the financial
• Founder and Board Director,
sector, not just at one company. “In workplaces, it boils down to how Legacy Capital Partners
we develop our leaders. Sexism and gender biases are real and need to be • Board Director, Plasco
addressed. Management matters immensely, but we focus too much on creating
supervisors, and not enough on building true leaders—those with the right
mindset to lead. If management doesn’t have the right mindset, sexism and
other inter-personal problems have fertile ground to flourish. Policies help, but
implementation matters the most.” Her advice to CEOs and boards is to put in CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
the work. “Change can be achieved—you just need political will and focus.” • Chair of the Board, Kenya
As KCTB’s board chair, Zuhura exercised these values, actively tapping female Commercial Bank, Tanzania
• Chair of the Board, Mwananchi
talent, and creating a culture that is welcoming and supportive of women.
Communications
• Board Director, Nation Media
Supporting the Next Generation of Female Leaders: Her advice to women is Group
simple: “If you have a deep sense of purpose and a laser sharp focus, there • Board Member, Tanzania National
is nothing you cannot do. In practice, this means working hard, always Business Council
• Board Chair, Resolution Health,
being prepared, and staying open to learning new things. You may face
Tanzania
gender discrimination along the way, so in these situations use your voice to • Vice Chair of the Association of
advocate for yourself strategically and assertively. You can only do this if you Tanzania Employers
are standing on a strong foundation of knowledge and have a strong moral • Vice Chair and Trustee, National
Social Security Fund
compass to guide you.”
• Board Member, Labor, Economic
and Social Council
• Founding member, African
Leadership Institute in East Africa
58 |
MARGARET IKONGO
While rising to the highest echelons, Margaret Ikongo has torn down barriers for
women in Tanzania’s financial sector. She is a former Managing Director of the
National Insurance Corporation (NIC), and the first, and the only woman, so far, to
attain this position. Currently, she is also a board member for three major Tanzanian
corporations—NMB Bank, Vodacom Tanzania, and AAR Insurance Tanzania. Previously,
from 2013 to 2016, she was a Trustee at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). As a
result of her extensive knowledge of insurance and risk management, she is a highly
sought-after executive.
Margaret’s journey to the top of the NIC was built on decades Margaret had to set aside her fear that she could lose her job
of experience in the insurance sector. In 1999, because of her for breaking protocol and going over the heads of those above
success with challenging assignments, which helped her to her.
rise through the ranks early in her career, the then President
of Tanzania, the late Benjamin William Mkapa, appointed After his meeting with Margaret, the Prime Minister called the
Margaret as the Managing Director of the NIC. As she was Parastatal Sector Reforms Commission and paused the NIC’s
only a manager at the NIC, Margaret was shocked by her sale until further discussions could be held about whether its
high-level promotion. “I had never been a director, or attended sale was a good idea. Eventually the decision was made to
a management meeting, let alone a board meeting, and I was keep the NIC as a state-owned enterprise. Margaret also kept
suddenly the CEO.” Some others in the NIC were also very her job as the NIC’s Managing Director until 2009, when she
surprised by her promotion. “I overheard one of the staff say: transferred to the Insurance Regulatory Authority.
‘They’ve made a mistake; it can’t be her.’ That pushed me to
BECOMING A CONFIDENT LEADER: Margaret attributes
prove that I deserved the position.”
her confidence and courage to her education, and 42 years
STANDING UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE: By 2006, Tanzania’s of experience in the insurance field in Tanzania. In 1987,
insurance sector had been liberalized for eight years, and the she spent five months in the Netherlands earning a Diploma
public behemoth, the NIC, was rapidly losing business to in Management Information Systems—her first trip outside
private sector competitors. As a result, the government decided Tanzania. “When I returned, I wrote a report recommending
to privatize the NIC. However, Margaret did not agree with two new ideas that could be adopted immediately by the NIC,
this decision; she believed that the NIC played an important and the CEO was very impressed. Not only did he adopt my
role by offering affordable insurance to a significant portion recommendations, and set up a team to implement them,
of Tanzania’s population. Although she could lose her job by he wrote me a letter saying that I had a bright future in the
speaking up, Margaret believed that she must stand up for her corporation.”
principles, and this gave her the courage and strength to do the
In 1990, Margaret enrolled in the United Kingdom’s Chartered
right thing.
Insurance Institute (CII) certification program, and in 1995,
When a person of influence heard about her point of view, he she was only the third person in Tanzania to obtain CII
offered to secure an audience with the Prime Minister. “I was certification, and the first woman to do so. However, Margaret
told that I would only get five minutes to explain my concerns.” attributes her success not only to her formal qualifications,
In preparing for her brief meeting with the Prime Minister, but also to learning from her managers and colleagues, and
| 59
It didn’t matter if I could be fired for standing up
for principles. I believed the NIC should not be sold,
and I was willing to defend my position.
60 |
taking on challenging projects. “Whenever someone couldn’t do something, my Building relationships with fellow
supervisor passed it on to me. At first, I resented this, but then I realized this board members is easier for
women, and their participation
was my supervisor’s way of helping me to grow.” Since she did not want to fail
enables the board to function
as others had, Margaret worked hard on solutions. better as a team.
Margaret also continued to enroll in additional education. In 2008, even
though she was already the NIC’s Managing Director, Margaret began part-
time studies for an MBA at the Open University of Tanzania. “I knew that I
needed an MBA to become the leader I wanted to be.” In addition to her MBA, ABOUT
Margaret has taken several professional courses, including ones that helped her MARGARET IKONGO
to become an effective board member.
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP: When Margaret took over as Managing Director at
the NIC, there were very few women in decision-making roles. She attributes
this to women not getting the right opportunities to learn on the job, or to gain
CURRENT ROLES:
the qualifications needed to compete successfully for leadership positions. She
• Independent Non-Executive
stresses that taking on challenging assignments is important for helping women Director, NMB Bank
to advance their careers. • Independent Non-Executive
Director, Vodacom, Tanzania
In her role as Managing Director, Margaret has encouraged young women • Director, AAR Insurance,
Tanzania
to take on additional responsibilities that demonstrate their skills and
• Independent Non-Executive
competencies. She also pushes female colleagues to continue lifelong learning Director, Continental
by pursuing additional certifications. “I allocated a budget for female staff to Reinsurance, Kenya
enroll in professional courses, and I have actively ensured that women receive
the promotions they deserve.” In addition, she has striven to achieve gender
balance at the senior management level, and she often nudges women to apply
for decision-making roles and board positions. “I tell them to stop pre-judging
themselves and doubting their ability.” CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
• Managing Director, National
Based on her experience on boards of directors, Margaret believes that boards Insurance Corporation, Tanzania
perform better if women are members because women can view issues with a • Special Advisor to the
Commissioner of Insurance,
holistic perspective. Also, women often form deep and lasting relationships,
Tanzania
and they can leverage their unique strengths and leadership capabilities.
“Building relationships with fellow board members is easier for women, and
their participation enables the board to function better as a team.”
THE BALANCING ACT: Margaret attributes her success in balancing
AWARDS
responsibilities at work and home to her strong faith in God and having
• 2020 Women in Finance Forum
a supportive husband. She believes that both government and company Lifetime Achievement Award
policies are important to enable women to balance their careers and family • 2019 Women in Insurance and
responsibilities more easily. She praises those companies that allow women Banking Lifetime Achievement
Award
to take the nationally mandated three months of maternity leave with pay,
regardless of the gap between their pregnancies. However, she feels strongly
that maternity leave should be six months rather than three.
| 61
MWANAHIBA MZEE
When Mwanahiba (Hibba) Mzee became the Managing Director of Ecobank Tanzania
in 2017, she broke many institutional barriers to become one of the first women
managing directors, and the first Tanzanian in Ecobank’s regional network of 39
countries. In her current role at Ecobank, she heads strategic regional projects across 18
countries in the Central, Eastern, and Southern African regions. Throughout her career,
she has ascended the corporate ladder at several marquee banks in Tanzania, including
Stanbic, Standard Chartered, Bank of Africa, Azania, and Ecobank.
LAYING A STRONG FOUNDATION AND REALIZING HER After the birth of her child, and when she was ready to
POTENTIAL: Hibba’s willingness to take on additional start working again, Hibba was determined to pursue her
responsibilities has aided her in her professional journey. professional goals and joined Stanbic Bank Tanzania as a
Throughout her career, she has gained knowledge and credit analyst. She worked hard to meet targets and went on to
experience in functions that were beyond her immediate become the youngest Senior Corporate Manager at the bank’s
responsibilities, including operational risk management, branch in Dar es Salaam.
retail products, and retail liabilities. As a result of her strong
work ethic at Standard Chartered, her manager often left In 2004, Hibba moved to Standard Chartered as General
her in charge of the department when he was traveling. This Manager of Small and Medium Size Enterprise Banking. She
helped Hibba to realize that she was ready to take on greater went on to head a mortgage project, unsecured lending, and
responsibilities, and in 2012, when she was asked to lead a then operational risk and retail liabilities for East Africa. When
reorganization at Bank of Africa, she accepted. she joined Bank of Africa at the executive level, she led retail
banking and later, risk and compliance. Her next job was
At Bank of Africa, Hibba found herself handling sensitive leading strategy and business development at Azania Bank for
projects and representing the Managing Director on various two years, after which she was hired by Ecobank Tanzania as
boards, committees, and in meetings. As her knowledge and its Managing Director.
experience grew, Hibba was asked to consider leadership
positions at a number of other banks. “I applied for very few BREAKING SEXISM AND DEEP-ROOTED GENDER BARRIERS:
jobs. Most of the time, I was handpicked to participate in Despite her rapid rise, Hibba’s career in banking has not always
interviews. This was because of the knowledge, skills, and been smooth. She has had to contend with patriarchal attitudes,
integrity I have cultivated over the years. I am a no-nonsense and unfounded insinuations that she was promoted because
person, and I produce results.” of inappropriate relationships with her male supervisors.
Similarly, navigating client-facing roles was sometimes
OBSTACLES ALONG THE JOURNEY: Hibba believes that she a challenge for a young, extroverted woman. Hibba also
missed out on several opportunities due to favoritism and encountered many instances when her female colleagues were
corporate policies. She encountered the first of these obstacles bullied and harassed. Each time this happened, she stood up for
in 1997, just four months into her first job at an international the young woman. She also coached her female colleagues on
bank. She was pregnant with her first child and, at the time, how to deal with patriarchal attitudes.
the bank did not provide maternity leave unless an employee
had completed a six-month probationary period. “I was Hibba is well aware that sexual harassment hampers
disappointed, but I had no choice, and I had to quit.” productivity. “In the long term, companies where such behavior
is unchecked will not achieve the profitability they aspire to.”
62 |
While my colleagues were playing cards, I was
asking relationship managers to work on their
spreadsheets and new business cases.
| 63
She emphasizes that to be effective, sexual harassment policies must be more I made sure work did not suffer
than policy—they must also be implemented in practice and internalized by when I was on maternity leave.
In fact, I was paid some of my
both men and women. This can be done by encouraging conversations in the
highest bonuses in the years
workplace about gender discrimination and sexual harassment. “You need to when I had my children.
create a secure environment where women can share their experiences and build
platforms where they can support each other. Such forums can help women
learn to identify behaviors that amount to sexual harassment. Men, too, will
benefit from such conversations. When men make inappropriate remarks, and
then laugh about it, they don’t realize the implications; therefore, we need to ABOUT
educate both men and women.” MWANAHIBA MZEE
WOMEN MUST DREAM BIG: In discussing the low percentage of women in
leadership positions, Hibba acknowledges that women often do not aspire to
the C-suite because of their family responsibilities. She recalls many times when
she was the only woman interviewing for a leadership position. “Being the
Managing Director of a commercial bank is a tough job. Fortunately, I have CURRENT ROLE:
grown up children. If they were younger, it would be much harder for me to • Head of Projects, Ecobank,
Central, Eastern, and Southern
balance work and home.
Africa
Hibba is keen to pave the way for women by inspiring them to take up
leadership roles. She has noted the lack of strong, accessible mentors for young
women who are entering the finance sector, and she reaches out to women
to coach and prepare them for leadership. In her role as Managing Director
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
at Ecobank, Hibba advocates for change in the financial sector’s policies for
• Managing Director, Ecobank,
women in management. While many workplace policies and practices have Tanzania
evolved over time, the finance sector remains male-centric. “Even the small • Director of Strategy and Business
things don’t take women into account. When I became Managing Director at Development, Azania Bank,
Tanzania
Ecobank, I realized that the language used in corporate culture such as ‘sir’ and
• Head of Risk and Compliance,
‘chairman’ were the standard. So, I made the bank change all the documents to Bank of Africa, Tanzania
be gender neutral.” • Head of Retail Banking, Bank of
Africa, Tanzania
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
• East Africa Woman Leaders 2020
• Top 50 Women in Management in
Tanzania 2019
64 |
VIOLET MORDICHAI
For a quarter of a century, Violet Mordichai has been helping Tanzanians gain peace
of mind through insurance. As Managing Director of AAR Insurance, one of Tanzania’s
prominent medical insurance providers, she has helped over 60,000 Tanzanians gain
access to affordable healthcare. Given Tanzania’s high out-of-pocket healthcare costs
that disproportionately affect women and poor households, Violet’s team at AAR
Insurance developed low-cost health insurance products for both individuals and
families, and for people working in the informal sector.
As the Chair of the Medical Council of the Association of on the team, and her job was to support business acquisitions
Tanzania Insurers, Violet is working with regulators to create and customer service. She helped prospective customers
an enabling environment for the country’s medical insurers so understand the different insurance products, what they covered,
that they can provide better and more affordable healthcare and how insurance worked. This helped her to develop a deeper
benefits. understanding of the insurance landscape in Tanzania.
FROM OFFICE MESSENGER TO CEO: After completing high Violet’s good performance in Tanzania was noticed by her
school in Nairobi, Kenya, Violet could not afford to go to managers, and they sent her to participate in a year-long
college immediately. To earn money, at age 19, she began leadership course in South Africa. She graduated among the top
working as an office messenger for an insurance company. students in her class of 38 men and 7 women, who came from
The ambitious young woman engaged with her colleagues and several African countries.
showed interest in learning more about the technicalities of the
insurance business. “I was curious about what my colleagues After returning from her course in South Africa, Violet
were doing—their work was highly interesting to me.” She continued to rise within African Life Insurance, and she was
says that this combination of curiosity, along with her desire to subsequently promoted to operations manager. She also finally
advance her career, drove her to seek better opportunities. achieved her dream of earning a bachelor’s degree in business
administration.
Violet knew that higher education was important to advance
her career, so she began studying business administration. Then Violet’s experience at African Life Insurance was key in
she found an opportunity at Pan Africa Life Assurance—first building her self-confidence and feeding her aspirations to
as a customer service officer and later as a public relations rise to higher leadership positions. In 2011, after six years at
assistant. She believes that her organizational skills and her African Life, Violet became Deputy General Manager at AAR
innate curiosity to understand insurance products impressed Insurance, and in 2013, she accepted an opportunity to become
her female supervisor who gave Violet more responsibilities and Executive General Manager at Metropolitan Life Assurance.
mentored her. Both positions prepared her to take on the role of Managing
Director at AAR Insurance three years later.
When Pan Africa Life expanded into Tanzania as African Life
Assurance, Violet welcomed the chance to return to her home
country. She became part of a four-member transition team
from Kenya that was responsible for establishing the Tanzanian
operations. Violet was the only woman, and the only Tanzanian
| 65
I learned that if I wanted to grow, I had to make
sacrifices, I had to be tough on myself, and I had to
be uncomfortable with where I was.
66 |
LEADERSHIP THROUGH EMPOWERMENT: At one point in her career, Evidence shows that women
Violet felt that she had hit the glass ceiling—not only from the perspective of outperform men with
regard to interpersonal skills,
opportunity, but also because she had doubts, as many women do, about her
communication, and empathy, so
abilities. She had these doubts despite having a track record of hard work and women should emphasize these
achieving results. “In 2011, while I was the Head of Operations, I believed that abilities.
I had reached my full potential. I felt that I did not have it in me to go beyond
my position, or ever become CEO.” However, her brother counseled her, and
reminded her that the only thing holding her back from rising higher, was
ABOUT
herself. She took her brother’s advice, and continued to improve herself, which
VIOLET MORDICHAI
paved the way for her to become the first female CEO of AAR Insurance.
Despite her exceptional career in the insurance sector, Violet has faced her
share of challenges. On a personal level, she had to deal with the loss of her
spouse at a young age and make a new life for herself and her children in
Tanzania. At the time, she says, African society frowned upon single mothers. CURRENT ROLES:
To deal with these negative perceptions of her, Violet focused on her family and • Managing Director, AAR
pursuing her professional goals. Insurance, Tanzania
• Chair, Medical Council of the
Association of Tanzania Insurers
Early in her career, Violet struggled with selling life insurance in Tanzania’s
• Board Member, Association of
nascent market and selling to male customers was particularly challenging. She Tanzania Employers
experienced situations where she felt vulnerable as a woman, especially when
male prospects behaved inappropriately when she was trying to make a sale.
Violet encourages women to achieve excellence, beginning from the early
stages of their careers, and to pursue their professional aspirations with
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
determination. She believes that women should focus on developing their
• Operations Manager, African Life
expertise and let the quality of their work speak for itself. Violet is committed Insurance (SANLAM)
to helping other women succeed. Over the years, she has coached both male • Head of Operations, Metropolitan
and female employees, and mentored several who have risen to leadership Life Assurance
• General Manager, AAR Insurance
positions.
Violet believes that women should develop their own leadership style, rather
than try to lead the same way as men. “Evidence shows that women outperform
men with regard to interpersonal skills, communication, and empathy, so
women should emphasize these abilities.” AWARDS
• CEO of the Year 2019 – Financial
Violet also urges women leaders to invest time in continuing to learn, and Women Awards
especially to learn about new technology so that they remain relevant in the • CEO of the Year 2020 – Financial
Women Awards
market. She also advises women leaders to have a vision for where they want to
go in the future.
| 67
The Facilitators
The Facilitators are creating an enabling environment for a more
inclusive economy, creating policy, developing research, and
deploying development capital.
68 |
| 69
NANGI MOSES MASSAWE
Over the course of three decades, Nangi Moses Massawe has worked her way up
through the ranks at the Bank of Tanzania (BOT), becoming the first person to head
the central bank’s Financial Inclusion Department. A champion of the unbanked,
she has been the driving force for many of the BOT’s key policy interventions. This
experience paved the way for other important opportunities. For instance, Nangi
currently chairs the Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Group of the Alliance
for Financial Inclusion (AFI)—a global body developing policies to serve the unbanked
and underbanked across the world. Additionally, she is on the advisory board of the
International Network for Financial Education of the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD).
As Chair of the National Secretariat for Financial Inclusion, As the government was committed to improve access, it began
Nangi coordinated the development and implementation of developing a financial inclusion agenda through the BOT.
the first National Framework for Financial Inclusion (NFIF) At the time, Nangi was reviewing the national microfinance
2014–2016. In partnership with key ministries, research policy, and because her work aligned with the bank’s focus on
bodies, and the private sector, the NFIF prioritized building financial inclusion, she was appointed as the Assistant Manager
infrastructure to improve access to formal financial services in the Financial Inclusion Department. She and her team then
across the country. This effort led to an increase in the use of developed the NFIF’s strategy.
formal financial products and services—rising from 57 percent
in 2013 to 82 percent in 2017. Building on this progress, Nangi A review of the first NFIF uncovered a gender gap that
is leading implementation of the second NFIF 2018–2022. For Nangi wanted to research. Her study revealed a multitude of
the first time, the NFIF has a special focus on promoting gender overlapping issues, and recommended changing policies and
equality and aims to remove barriers that prevent Tanzanians, laws, educating women on financial planning, and examining
and especially women, from fully utilizing formal financial how social norms limit women from participating in the
services. economy. This information fed into the development of the
second NFIF, which made closing the gender gap a priority.
IMPROVING ACCESS TO FINANCE: Nangi joined the BOT Nangi emphasizes that to bridge the gender gap in the financial
in 1989 in the accounts and administration department. sector, focused strategies for women’s inclusion are crucial, and
While working, she continued her studies, and earned an this is especially the case given the cultural and systemic factors
undergraduate degree from Tanzania’s Mzumbe University. that traditionally exclude women in Tanzania.
After earning a Bank of Tanzania/United States Agency
for International Development (USAID) scholarship and BALANCING PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEMANDS:
completing her MBA at Jackson State University in Mississippi, Throughout her personal and professional life, Nangi has relied
in the United States, Nangi joined the BOT’s microfinance on people who believe in her capabilities and push her to excel.
department. Working in microfinance opened her eyes to the Her father was one of her earliest champions, and when Nangi
wider issue of financial inclusion, and the challenges that people was torn between joining the bank and pursuing undergraduate
face when they lack access to formal financial services. studies, her father helped her choose the bank.
In 2009, financial inclusion in Tanzania was very low; only Nangi’s husband has been her second pillar of support. Soon
16 percent of adults had access to formal financial services. after the birth of her first child, when Nangi was offered the
70 |
Gender equity should be taught from kindergarten.
Boys should grow up bearing in mind that we are
all equal and need the same treatment. The right
enabling environment is critical.
| 71
opportunity to pursue her MBA, her husband encouraged her, even though it Whenever there is some hard and
would mean spending almost two years apart. She continues to count on him, challenging problem or task, I step
in and do it to show that, yes, I
both in her personal and professional life. Her mother is a supporter, too, and
am a woman, and I can do it.
has always prayed for her daughter’s success. Also, throughout her career,
Nangi has been advised by two notable mentors—the bank’s former Deputy
Governor, Dr. Natu Mwamba, who is featured earlier in this report, and the
ABOUT
former Real Sector and Microfinance Manager, Flora Rutabanzibwa. NANGI MOSES MASSAWE
Although having a support system has helped Nangi excel at work and raise
two children, pursuing her undergraduate and graduate degrees while working
required long hours and periods of separation from her family. Focusing on
work while at the bank, and then on her family when at home, has helped
Nangi to balance these responsibilities. CURRENT ROLE:
• Assistant Manager, Financial
EXCELLENCE AND CONFIDENCE ARE KEY TO CONFRONTING GENDER BIAS: Inclusion Department, Bank of
Although Nangi has often been the only woman on financial inclusion teams, Tanzania
• Chair, National Secretariat for
inside and outside the bank, she was comfortable in these male-dominated
Financial Inclusion, Tanzania
settings, in part, because she was raised with three brothers. While she has not • Member, Women’s Affairs
faced overt gender discrimination, there have been instances when her male Committee for Financial
colleagues were skeptical of her capabilities. She has tackled this by stepping up Inclusion, Tanzania
and proving that she could excel.
Reflecting on the reasons for low female representation in leadership, Nangi
feels that one major barrier is that women often lack confidence in themselves.
Early in her career she recalls being asked to represent the central bank at the CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). She doubted that she was the right choice • Member, United Nations African
Women Leaders Network (AWLN),
for this international forum, but she also felt compelled to do her best so that
Tanzania National Chapter
she would not let her mentors down. It was through this opportunity that she • Chair, Financial Inclusion Strategy
realized her capabilities. Peer Learning Group, Alliance for
Financial Inclusion (AFI)
Nangi believes that to be successful, women need to develop a “can do” • Trainer, facilitator and developer
of resources, monitoring &
attitude and demonstrate that they are as capable as their male counterparts.
evaluation of financial inclusion
She feels that the work she does at the AFI, plus her advisory roles with strategies
international institutions have set an example for other women. “Being the first
woman to chair the peer learning group at AFI, and continuing to lead it since
2014, has inspired women across the BOT and the AFI Network to believe that
if I can do it, they can do it to. I’m very happy about that.”
BOARD MEMBERSHIPS:
• Advisory Board, OECD
International Network for
Financial Education
• Small Entrepreneurs Loan Facility
(SELF) Project
AWARD
• AFI Financial Inclusion Technical
Leadership Award
72 |
CATHERINE N. KIMARYO
In many ways Catherine Kimaryo’s story is a classic tale of a talented young African
who left the continent to pursue quality education, gain exposure to different
environments, and then returned home to help improve the lives of fellow Africans.
Catherine’s academic and overseas experience has opened doors for her to hold
positions with the United Nations (UN), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and
Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB).
FINANCE AS A SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOL: LONG-TERM FINANCE AS A TOOL FOR LONG-TERM
Catherine’s early experiences were important in shaping her GROWTH IN AFRICA: In 2005, Catherine joined IFC as an
career’s purpose—using finance as a tool for socioeconomic Associate Investment Officer. At the time, relatively little IFC
development. After graduating from McGill University in financing was going to Africa, but when she joined IFC, it was
Canada, Catherine returned to Tanzania in 1997 to work actively seeking people with diverse perspectives to increase
for the country’s first locally owned private bank, Akiba its impact in Sub-Saharan Africa. Catherine started her eight-
Commercial Bank (ACB), which serves underbanked micro, year career in IFC’s headquarters in Washington, DC, before
small, and medium enterprises. She was attracted to the job by transferring to positions in Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa.
the prospect of helping to fulfill ACB’s mission—transforming
the lives of “commercially ill-equipped people around the Through her work with IFC, Catherine strove to understand
country.” key success factors for sustainable investments so that she could
help increase investment in Africa. Having acquired substantial
After two years at the ACB, Catherine was drawn to help knowledge and experience in a relatively short time, Catherine
communities in post-conflict regions. What began as a six- felt she was ready for the challenge of applying her skills as a
month volunteer position with the UN in Kosovo, turned into leader in East Africa.
a four-year job. It was in this challenging environment that
Catherine saw the power of finance to promote socioeconomic LEADING WITH PURPOSE: In 2013, Catherine joined the
development in emerging, fragile, and post-conflict economies. management team of the TDB (formerly PTA Bank) as a
She learned how the private and public sectors can partner to Principal Investment Officer for Strategic Business Initiatives.
facilitate economic and social empowerment. She also saw how Soon after, she was promoted to be both the Director of Project
finance can be an important catalyst in developing a strong and Infrastructure Finance (PIF), as well as the Regional
private sector, and that a thriving private sector can provide Director, covering 12 countries (the East African Community,
revenue for the public sector through taxes which, in turn, can the Horn of Africa, and North and Central Africa).
fund social programs.
Still only in her thirties, Catherine was the youngest executive
Toward the end of her assignment in Kosovo, Catherine set her in the TDB, the first female executive, and she built a high
sights on a job with IFC. She wanted to catalyze development performing, high integrity, and empowered team. In her first
by promoting private investment in high-potential companies in year, PIF syndications grew from zero to 70 percent. By her
low- and middle-income countries, and especially in Africa. But fourth year, PIF had achieved 70 percent revenue growth, and
first she needed an MBA, which she earned from Wits Business 40 percent portfolio growth, year-on-year. She achieved this
School in South Africa. success by leveraging her considerable transaction experience
and bringing out the best in the teams she managed.
| 73
As a business leader, my greatest source of
fulfilment was building a high performing, high
integrity team, and empowering individual team
members to grow.
74 |
Working in a male-dominated field came with its share of challenges. Both as In leadership, self-awareness and
an investment officer, and later as an executive, Catherine experienced gender, self-mastery are not nice-to-
have soft skills. They are critical
age, and racially based prejudice. Nevertheless, she found strategies to succeed
core skills that not only improve
against the odds. “In the early days, I wanted to be viewed as an investment our ability to relate with others,
professional instead of a young African woman, and I adopted a Western but also allow us to get out of
male wardrobe: dark pantsuits, starched shirts, simple pearls for jewelry, and our own way in finding solutions
to overcome challenges and
practical shoes. I also learned how to compartmentalize my feelings, so I could
capitalize on opportunities in our
focus only on the task at hand.” businesses.
Catherine developed informal mentoring relationships, and even studied the
desired traits of role models from afar. Years later, she realized that leadership
was not just about delivering excellence, it was also about inspiring hearts and
minds. This shift in perspective allowed her to work more harmoniously with
ABOUT
colleagues across all levels, and to lead authentically by recognizing the whole
CATHERINE N. KIMARYO
individual, starting with herself.
SHIFTING FOCUS TO LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE: After an illustrious
career in finance and learning from the hard lessons in her career, Catherine
established NCL, a boutique advisory firm that focuses on reframing leadership
CURRENT ROLES:
perspectives. With NCL, Catherine serves as a strategic advisor to leaders • Founder, NCL
at the C-suite and board levels, both in the public and private sectors. She • Non-Executive Board Member:
also enhances individual and team effectiveness through bespoke leadership Trade and Development Fund,
VISTA Bank Group; Tanzania
solutions, including individual and team coaching. In addition, Catherine serves
Securities Limited; and Akiba
as a board member for several local and regional organizations, and she is the Commercial Bank
first woman chair in her clan’s history. • Founder of the Network of
Tanzanian Professionals in Kenya,
“Twenty years in banking and finance taught me that access to finance is only which currently has almost 150
members.
one factor involved in business and even personal success; leadership agility and
resilience are also key. The ability to reframe perspectives and see opportunities
where others see challenges, is another crucial skill to develop.”
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
• Memberships: Institute
of Directors (Kenya), and
International Coach Federation
| 75
IRENE MADEJE MLOLA
Irene Mlola’s career began in banking in Canada in 1997, and in 2006, she pivoted to
work in telecommunications with Vodacom in Tanzania. When M-Pesa, the pioneering
African mobile money transfer service, was launched by Vodacom in Tanzania in 2008,
Irene was part of the team that managed the launch. This experience shaped her
appreciation for the power of technology to make financial services more accessible.
Today, Irene is the Operations Director at the Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSDT),
where she works with a team of experts in rural development, digital inclusion, and
gender to bridge the financial inclusion gap for women and youth in Tanzania. She is
also the first woman to serve on the board of Exim Bank Tanzania.
Irene’s first job with Vodacom Tanzania was as the Head National Financial Inclusion Framework (NFIF) 2014–2016.
of Customer Care. When she was promoted to Managing After assuming a lead role on gender and youth issues, Irene
Executive of Customer Care, she was among the first three conducted diagnostics to increase the FSDT’s capacity to
Tanzanians promoted to a C-suite position in the company. address the financial challenges impacting women and youth.
In 2008, when Irene joined Airtel Tanzania as Director of Under her leadership, the FSDT developed a gender-focused
Customer Service, she expanded her remit beyond the core strategy that prioritizes interventions to achieve the targets
functions of promoting customer engagement and retention to established in the second NFIF, 2018-2022.
include credit control and finance processes. She remained at
Airtel for six years, and for the last two, she was Director of To create financial products that address the specific needs
Business Enterprise, where she was responsible for acquisition of women, Irene’s team analyzed how women access and
and management of corporate and small and medium enterprise use money. This was a departure from the FSDT’s previous
clients. By this time, mobile money had taken off in Tanzania, approach that tried to attract women customers with “niche
and the FSDT was looking for someone with a strong grasp of and pink” products. Instead, Irene and her team relied on
both finance and telecommunications to lead their operations, research to provide solutions. She is confident that developing
and Irene was the ideal candidate. needs-based solutions based on comprehensive data will have a
positive impact on the lives of women and their communities.
Irene’s banking experience proved to be important when mobile As a result of Irene’s efforts, the FSDT now collects and
money was introduced in Tanzania. “Without realizing it, I had publishes comprehensive national gender disaggregated data.
gained expertise in the key elements of the mobile payments Currently, her initiatives include strengthening social protection
ecosystem in Africa. Mobile money systems require banks, schemes and programs through the digitization of savings.
telecoms, and policymakers to work together to include all
citizens. My career moves didn’t always make sense to others, ATTRACTING WOMEN TO WORK IN THE FINANCE SECTOR:
but I was connecting the dots.” Irene believes that having more women CEOs and managing
directors in the finance sector will encourage more women
CREATING THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS FOR WOMEN IN to join the sector, and that will help companies to prioritize
FINANCIAL SERVICES: At FSDT, Irene was a pioneer in underserved women. Notwithstanding, there are considerable
advancing the women’s financial inclusion agenda in Tanzania, barriers to this. Irene believes that women often shy away from
and she worked closely with the National Council for Financial leadership positions because there is a perception that senior
Inclusion to ensure that gender was well articulated in the first management roles, which are defined from a male perspective,
76 |
Confidence is everything, so you have to keep a
positive mindset. Judging yourself for having been
away, or worrying about what you may have
missed, is more toxic than the reality of what you
have actually missed, and these concerns can
interfere with your effectiveness upon your return.
| 77
require long working hours, extensive travel, and after-hours networking. Confidence is everything, so you
As many women are unable or unwilling to do these things due to family have to keep a positive mindset.
responsibilities, they do not apply for management positions. “For women
climbing the corporate ladder, there are few female role models, so women
feel pressured to emulate men, rather than carve out alternative definitions of
leadership.”
ABOUT
When thinking about maternity leave, Irene believes that it should be longer
IRENE MADEJE MLOLA
to allow women more time to spend with their newborn and allow more
opportunities and flexibility so that women on maternity leave can stay
connected to their workplace. Regardless of company policy, Irene believes
that: “Confidence is everything, so you have to keep a positive mindset. Judging
yourself for having been away, or worrying about what you may have missed, CURRENT ROLES:
is more toxic than the reality of what you have actually missed, and these • Operations Director, Financial
concerns can interfere with your effectiveness upon your return.” Sector Deepening Trust, Tanzania
• Board Member, Exim Bank,
Tanzania
PAYING IT FORWARD: In 2020 Irene was appointed as the first ever female
• Member, Women’s Affairs
board member of Exim Bank Tanzania—an opportunity she attributes to Committee for Financial
believing in herself and listening to mentors who encouraged her to apply. In Inclusion, Tanzania
starting this new chapter of her career, Irene has been determined to prove the
business case for gender diversity at the board level, which she believes will
both add value and contribute to a culture of strong ethical standards. “In my
new role, I want to ensure that many qualified women are promoted to senior
levels. I will be encouraging board colleagues and management to achieve CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
greater gender diversity results within the bank. One day, I would like to see • Managing Executive, Customer
Care, Vodacom
boards ask themselves why it took so long to become diverse.”
• Contributor to the National
Financial Inclusion Framework
(NFIF 2018–2022)
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
• Nominee, Top 50 Women in
Management in Tanzania (2019)
• Overall Best Performer, Class of
2007, Executive MBA Programme,
Maastricht School of Management
and Eastern and Southern African
Management Institute
78 |
DR. BLANDINA KILAMA
Dr. Blandina Kilama has always been clear about the purpose of her work—to
improve women’s inclusion, and not just financially. Even before she decided to enter
the financial services sector, she was interested in learning about issues related to
women’s inclusion—be it in nutrition, healthcare, education, career development,
or poverty alleviation. Blandina studied economics at the undergraduate level at
the University of Dar es Salaam and went on to get a master’s in International
Development from the Harvard Kennedy School in the United States, and a doctorate
in Development Economics and International Development from Leiden University in
the Netherlands.
In April 2021 President Samia Suluhu Hassan appointed The gender gap in access to financial products has been
Blandina as Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs. apparent to Blandina because of her own experience. “I cannot
Prior to this, Blandina worked for 17 years at Research on invest in everything that men can invest in. If I have invested in
Poverty Action (REPOA), a prestigious think tank in Dar es a piece of land in the village, any man can go there and claim
Salaam. When she began working in research, she discovered to be my husband, and the authorities will give him the papers
that the financial sector was male-dominated, and often lacked without even verifying it.” She advises women to invest in more
a woman’s perspective. Thus, Blandina has dedicated much gender-neutral vehicles such as equities and bonds.
of her career to the exploration of approaches that effectively
serve women who are underbanked. She has conducted research Blandina is also involved in training young women who are
on how to: improve women’s financial literacy, improve access working in the financial sector, including Islamic women in
to financial products, and evaluate financial products with a business. “Unfortunately, Muslim women in Tanzania often
gender lens. She hopes her policy research will promote greater contend with sociocultural factors that prevent them from
dialogue on the elements needed to unlock the full potential of completing their formal education—a disadvantage that reduces
the financial services sector for Tanzanian women. their employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.
As a result of the research she has conducted on the impact of URGING WOMEN TO CLAIM THEIR SPACE: Blandina has
mobile money on women’s financial and social empowerment, spent most of her career in the male-dominated field of
Blandina is convinced that technology-driven financial products economics, and while discrimination against women has been
hold the key to improving women’s financial inclusion. “We commonplace, she has never personally experienced it. “I
have found that the case for giving women a mobile phone is have never been treated differently by my male colleagues in
compelling, as it gives them one thing that belongs to them, REPOA. I have always been expected to present the work I
and that they can control. Women often prefer informal have done to our clients, just like the other professionals.”
financial services because they are more accessible, however, Blandina attributes her positive experiences to using her early
such services expose women to usurious and unscrupulous opportunities to connect with people and organizations relevant
practices.” Blandina hopes to change this by ensuring that to her work, and not being complacent in her professional
formal financial services are designed with a gender lens, which development.
considers the nature of work available to women, and their
However, Blandina recognizes that her experience is unique,
family care responsibilities.
and she believes that systems and institutions must become
| 79
It is difficult for women to access mentors and
role models since they have fewer networking
opportunities. My hope for Sneakers and Heels
is to build a network of mentors, and help young
women identify relevant mentors.
80 |
more “gender-aware”. At the same time, she stresses that unless women speak The best advice I ever received
up about gender equality, the public will not appreciate women’s concerns. was ogopa kutu, which means
‘fear the rust’.
She believes that it is important for women to see themselves represented
in the public sphere, and she frequently gives speeches at public events and
participates in panel discussions, especially when they relate to inclusion.
In her role as the moderator of Jukwaa la Fikra, a platform for citizens and
policymakers to discuss development matters, Blandina insists that panels have ABOUT
a gender balance. She also ensures that events prioritize women’s interests. DR. BLANDINA KILAMA
CREATING NETWORKS AND CONNECTING WOMEN TO MENTORS, ONE
AT A TIME: Blandina believes that to succeed, women must band together so
they can overcome societal and personal barriers. She founded the mentorship
platform, Sneakers and Heels, for women who are at an early stage of their
CURRENT ROLE:
career. This platform enables participants to network with senior women, share • Personal Assistant to the President
stories and best practices, identify key success principles, and learn lessons. of the United Republic of Tanzania
for Economic Affairs
“In developed countries, organizations have institutional mentorship programs
where people meet and check-in with their mentors regularly, but I’ve never
had that kind of formal mentoring. However, I do have a network of professors
around the world, as well as colleagues and friends I can call on.”
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
CAREER ADVICE: Blandina’s advice to young women in the financial services • Senior Researcher, REPOA
sector is to lay a strong foundation for their career by developing technical • Founder, “Sneakers and Heels”,
a forum that highlights women’s
expertise through education and experience—both of which are important for
leadership in male-dominated
building confidence. She also recommends that women learn from the successes fields
and failures of balancing their different roles. • Moderator, Jukwaa la Fikra, a
development issues discussion
platform
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
• Center for International
Development scholarship
winner, Master’s in Public
Administration in International
Development, Harvard Kennedy
School (2001–2003)
• Recognized for providing
exemplary leadership by
the Executive Director of
REPOA when serving as the
Director of Programmes,
Monitoring & Evaluation and
Learning (2012–2013)
| 81
MKOLA SALEH TAMBWE
As a Principal Investment Officer at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) in
Nairobi, Kenya, Mkola Tambwe manages financial intermediation initiatives for the
East Africa Region. She spent more than a decade working in commercial banking
before joining the AfDB in 2011. The technical expertise she had developed positioned
her to join the team that launched AfDB’s first trade finance program. For more than
two decades, Mkola has worked in commercial and development banking, credit
analysis, trade finance, and financial intermediation.
ADVOCATING FOR ONESELF: Mkola’s innate curiosity, passion
for learning, and determination to provide the best for her
young daughter led her to seek promotion early in her career.
One of her first positions was as a bank clerk at Diamond
Trust Bank, but she realized that her skills were better suited Right after I graduated with my post-graduate
to analytical work. During a chance interaction with the CEO, diploma, I looked through the yellow pages
directory, made a list of all the finance institutions
she mentioned her interest and he reassigned her. Over the next
in Dar es Salaam, and hand-delivered my job
six months, she was promoted from a bank clerk, to a clearing application to each one of them.
agent, and then to the trade finance department. In the latter
position she developed foundational knowledge about how
banks operate.
made her comfortable and confident in collaborating with men,
When Mkola moved to Citibank and began working in the
which has been a critical advantage in her career. Throughout
corporate services department, a chance meeting with the
her professional life, Mkola has developed a strong network of
bank’s regional operations head provided another opportunity
allies and mentors, many of whom are men, and this network
to discuss her ambitions, and she was reassigned to the team
has been particularly valuable in advancing in her career.
supporting Citibank’s takeover of ABN-Amro in Kenya. After
She especially acknowledges the role of male allies in senior
taking a break to do her master’s degree in finance, Mkola
management because they opened doors and provided the
joined the service quality department of Standard Chartered
challenges she sought to develop her skills and gain experience.
Bank.
MALE ALLIES CAN BE A GAME CHANGER FOR ADVANCING At times, the support Mkola received extended beyond her
WOMEN’S CAREERS: Early in her career, when she was a professional life. For example, when the AfDB moved its
young single mother, Mkola received invaluable support headquarters from Tunis to Abidjan, and Mkola had problems
from her brother and uncle. Her brother encouraged her to finding a school that would meet her son’s special education
take a government scholarship, and agreed to take care of her needs, her senior managers agreed to her moving to Kenya
daughter, and cover their medical and educational expenses where there was a good school for her son.
while Mkola studied. An uncle also urged Mkola to improve
Although Mkola has not experienced overt gender
her job prospects with more education, and he paid for her
discrimination at work, there were instances when she felt
post-graduate diploma in finance.
disadvantaged as a woman. Clients would often want to meet
Mkola says that growing up with a sister and four brothers outside the office, after work, and frequently at a hotel. Mkola
82 |
Throughout my career I’ve had male allies, male
sponsors, and male coaches, and my first mentor
was a man.
| 83
could not stay out late to socialize like her male colleagues as she had to go I would say that as women, we
home to care for her family. None of her employers allowed the flexible hours have the best of both worlds; we
can be soft as well as stern.
she needed so that she could attend meetings in the evening, and still have
adequate time for her family.
Even though her upbringing has helped her to work effectively alongside men,
she empathizes with women who struggle to work with men. “I would not say
ABOUT
that I’ve felt sidelined because of my gender, but I have seen it happen to other
MKOLA SALEH TAMBWE
women.”
MENTORSHIP AND SPONSORSHIP: While Mkola believes that commitment
and excellence at work are paramount, she also emphasizes the importance of
mentoring young employees, and especially women, so that they can succeed
at work. Mkola has benefitted greatly from the support of allies and mentors
CURRENT ROLE:
and wants to ensure that the next generation enjoys the same type of support.
• Principal Investment Officer,
For instance, as the president of AfDB’s Staff Council in the regional office in East Africa, African Development
Kenya, she is using her position to liaise with senior management in order to Bank Group
help employees from across the region to gain equal access to opportunities that
improve their welfare.
She emphasizes the role that sponsors, or senior leaders can play through
mentoring staff and advocating for them. She believes that leaders in the sector
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
must advocate for promising young employees, and especially for women. • Master’s Degree in Finance,
University of Strathclyde
DRIVING ACCESS TO FINANCE IN AFRICA WHILE PAYING IT FORWARD: • Customer Services Representative,
Although Mkola is proud of what she has achieved over her long career, she is Citibank, Tanzania
• Relationship Manager, Standard
committed to learning new things. She is currently exploring alternative finance
Chartered Bank, Tanzania
in the region through her work with private equity and impact investment • Senior Credit Manager, Standard
funds. In recent years, the alternative finance market in Africa has grown Chartered Bank, Tanzania
significantly—from $44 million in 2013 to $209 million in 2018, and domestic • Launched the Trade Finance
Facilitation Unit, African
firms’ share of the market has increased too. Mkola believes that alternative
Development Bank
finance has the potential to truly democratize access to finance in Africa, as well
as improve financial inclusion, and especially for women.
Mkola is committed to passing on her knowledge and expertise to young
employees. She believes that more young women are needed in the finance
sector, and that given the technical nature of the work, building capacity is an AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:
• International Trade Finance
important part of developing leaders. As for her daughter, her little girl is now
Expert, Standard Chartered Bank
a young woman starting her own career in banking in Tanzania. • Social Impact Investment,
Graduate Program, University of
Cape Town
• High Performance Leadership
Programme – IMD Business
School, Switzerland
• Certified Credit Analyst – Core
Credit Curriculum, Standard
Chartered Bank
84 |
SYLVIA SHELUKINDO
After 17 years in corporate and investment banking, in 2017, Sylvia Shelukindo joined
forces with three other career bankers to found Bankable Tanzania (Bankable), a
financial advisory firm that works with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and
companies to enable access to debt, equity, and consulting services. Bankable’s clients
include women entrepreneurs and impact funds that have a mandate to invest in
women-led and youth-led enterprises that have economic and social impact.
The business case for investing with a gender lens is well- advantage of internship opportunities that gave her valuable
established, but the International Finance Corporation (IFC) work experience. Following this, she joined Corporate Banking
has also found that women entrepreneurs have an unmet need and Treasury at ABC. In 2005, Sylvia moved to Stanbic Bank
for financing valued at about $285 billion (IFC 2017). Barriers Tanzania where she remained for 13 years, serving as Client
include insufficient finance, limited access to expertise, and lack Relationship Manager, Head of Corporate Banking, and Head
of financial products and services that suit the needs of women of Client Coverage.
entrepreneurs. These barriers prevent women from starting
and scaling up a business. Sylvia hopes to change this, and Sylvia emphasizes the importance of being pro-active and
she is pleased that more and more women-led and youth-led going beyond one’s defined professional role. During her time
enterprises are approaching Bankable. as a Relationship Manager at Stanbic Bank, she supported her
colleagues who were at the same functional level that she was,
In addition to working with companies, financial institutions, but who asked her for advice. Although this was not part of her
and impact funds, Bankable helps women-led SMEs that job, this became an opportunity to demonstrate her capabilities,
have sound business ideas but lack financial and accounting and her potential to take on more responsibility. As a result, she
expertise. “Women entrepreneurs generally lack financial was noticed, and promoted within a year. Sylvia continued this
literacy. They don’t have enough knowledge about what practice of taking on extra responsibilities, and often worked
makes a business successful and sustainable. This leads to poor with people from different functional teams. The managers of
planning and decision making, and often results in women these teams appreciated Sylvia’s efforts, which led to increased
financing their businesses with insufficient or inappropriate collaboration and efficiency across the bank. When working
forms of capital, which contributes to business failure.” Sylvia with a team, Sylvia always gave credit when it was due by
and her partners are addressing these problems by providing making a point of reporting a team member’s good work to her
technical assistance that helps their clients to access adequate, or his respective manager.
fairly priced capital.
In 2017, rather than continue to climb the corporate ladder,
Sylvia saw the need in the local market for expert advice
PURSUING EXCELLENCE AND TAKING INITIATIVE TO GROW:
on access to finance, and with three partners, she launched
Sylvia attributes her success to repeatedly taking initiative, her
Bankable. Although her co-founders are men, her gender did
relentless pursuit of excellence, and her determination to seize
not factor into what brought them together. “We came together
every opportunity that comes her way. She started her career in
because we have complementary skillsets in corporate and
the financial sector at the African Banking Corporation (ABC)
investment banking, treasury, and governance. However, as we
in 2003, as part of ABC’s first graduate recruitment program.
build our business, we do find that a woman’s perspective and
She complemented her formal education with an intensive
intuition add value to our company.”
training program in Zimbabwe and South Africa that included
formal classes on all aspects of banking, and she also took
| 85
There are impact funds and accelerators that
train women entrepreneurs and give them a small
starting loan if they qualify. But women are simply
not taking advantage of such opportunities.
86 |
USING FINANCE TO UNLOCK ECONOMIC PROSPERITY, JOBS, AND Invest your time and effort in on-
OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: Sylvia’s passion for the-job learning as much as you
can. Stay focused. There is always
financial services was born out of her understanding of the development impact
someone watching, so work to
that the financial sector can achieve. In her early days as a banker, Sylvia the best of your abilities and
invested in a first-time borrower who wanted to develop a life-saving preventive don’t wait to be presented with
medical product. This investment proved successful, and it has created jobs an opportunity to shine. Shine
wherever you are.
for more than 4,000 women in a location where, previously, employment
opportunities for women were limited. Sylvia was motivated by the impact
that this investment had on the company’s workers and their families, and the
eventual impact on their health, education, and housing. This focus on impact
continued as she pursued her career with Stanbic Bank and rose to become ABOUT
Head of Client Coverage. SYLVIA SHELUKINDO
DISMANTLING GENDER STEREOTYPING CAN HELP MORE WOMEN TO
LEAD IN FINANCIAL SERVICES: Sylvia stresses the need to change the narrative
about gender roles in Tanzania, both in the financial sector, and in society.
“The culture in Tanzania is male-dominated. Women are discouraged from CURRENT ROLES:
exhibiting qualities such as leadership and determination, which are considered • Co-founder and Partner,
to be male traits. The question then becomes: what do we do about it?” Sylvia Bankable Tanzania
urges young women entering the financial sector to develop key competencies
that will guide them in their career. “Pursue excellence throughout your career
and let your work speak for itself. Find your voice and exude confidence in
the knowledge that you have earned the right to sit at the table. Embrace the
God-given attributes of your character, help others, and learn to use your CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
emotional intelligence. Recognize that a paradigm shift is needed in leadership, • Head of Client Coverage, Stanbic
Bank, Tanzania
reject stereotypes, and do not let others limit your role because of your gender.
• Head of Corporate Banking,
Finally, do not compromise your feminine qualities, but rather embrace them.” Stanbic Bank, Tanzania
Sylvia also highlights the critical role that financial sector leaders can play
in addressing the gender imbalance, and she is taking the initiative herself to
mentor women so that they are prepared to take up senior positions. She is very
cognizant of the fact that to increase women’s access to finance, more women
are needed on the other side of the negotiating table. To that end, Sylvia is
coaching young women at Bankable, and elsewhere, to develop successful
careers in finance.
| 87
NEEMA SIWINGWA
From the beginning of her career, Neema Siwingwa, Chief Co-financing and
Syndications Officer for the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), has been
committed to using her finance industry knowledge and skills to address development
issues in Africa.
In her current role, Neema and her team are using syndications Financial Technical Services Division of AfDB’s Treasury
to raise the financing necessary for transformative projects Department where she worked on financial product
such as electricity generation and roads that can significantly development, structuring transactions, and local currency
improve people’s lives. A loan syndication brings together a initiatives. In her seven years with the AfDB, Neema’s work
group of financial institutions when the loan required is too broadened her perspective by exposing her to different cultures,
large and too risky for a single lender.6 Neema is proud that work ethics, and drivers of success. She says her proudest
this work on syndications has a positive social impact. “My moment at the AfDB was in 2014, when, after 18 months of
team and I ensure that the transactions we facilitate align hard work and perseverance, her team issued a landmark bond
with AfDB’s mandate to achieve environmental and social in the Nigerian market worth $85 million. “Our achievement
impact, including creating sustainable jobs and entrepreneurial led to the gradual opening of the capital market in Nigeria, as
opportunities for women and young people.” the government became more willing to allow foreign entities to
issue bonds in the country.”
FINDING A NICHE IN THE BANKING SECTOR: After completing
her bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of Since Neema wanted to apply her knowledge and experience
Sussex, and her master’s degree in development finance at the to development issues in Tanzania, in 2015, she went to work
University of Reading, in 1999, Neema returned to Tanzania for Big Results Now, the economic development program of
from the United Kingdom to join a management trainee then-President, Jakaya M. Kikwete. As the manager for public-
program at Capital Finance Limited (CFL), an offshoot of private partnerships, Neema leveraged her knowledge about
Tanzanian Development Finance. After three years at CFL, mobilizing resources and developing capital markets to raise
where she worked primarily in the treasury department, Neema financing for government infrastructure projects.
moved on to Standard Chartered Bank for two years, which
When the Big Results Now initiative was cut in 2016, Neema
gave her the opportunity to learn how a global commercial
took a two-year job with the Eastern and Southern African
bank functions.
Trade and Development Bank. In 2019, Neema re-joined the
In 2004, as Neema wanted to work directly on development AfDB as a Chief Financial Analyst, and later that year moved
issues, she took a job with the Canadian International into the role of Chief Co-financing and Syndications Officer.
Development Agency in Tanzania. She also served as the chair MENTORING AS A MEANS OF OPENING DOORS FOR
of the investment committee for the Financial Sector Deepening WOMEN IN MALE-DOMINATED AREAS: Neema believes
Trust, a non-government organization that provides financial that her in-depth knowledge about the technical aspects of
services to improve the livelihoods and incomes of poor banking and development finance has been her biggest strength
households. In the latter role, Neema was able to contribute to throughout her career. She also credits the encouragement and
developing financial sector policy. guidance provided by mentors and colleagues along the way.
In 2008, to broaden her understanding of development in As she has only worked in banks’ technical divisions, most of
Africa, Neema joined the AfDB in Tunisia. After completing her bosses and mentors have been men. “I would have liked to
the Young Professionals Programme, Neema went on to the have a female mentor, but there simply weren’t many women in
88 |
My team and I ensure that the transactions we
facilitate align with AfDB’s mandate to achieve
environmental and social impact, including creating
sustainable jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities
for women and young people.
| 89
the areas where I worked. However, I have had a few women role models in the I have consciously pursued
financial sector. One is a family friend, Mrs. Sabetha Mwambenja, who was the mentors to guide me on different
aspects of my life. While one
first female CEO of Exim Bank in Tanzania. She has coached me on a number
mentor gives me general career
of my career decisions.” advice, another has expertise in
the syndications field, and gives
me guidance on how to approach
WHAT’S NEXT? GETTING MORE WOMEN INTO HIGHLY SPECIALIZED
certain transactions.
FINANCIAL SERVICES ROLES: Neema is keen to demystify the banking sector
and make it an accessible and attractive career choice for young women. She
believes that as more women enter the financial sector, over time they can be
guided to work in the technical fields. She also believes that women are well
suited to a field like syndications as they can be technical, they pay attention ABOUT
to detail, and they are well organized. Neema observes too that women are NEEMA SIWINGWA
now being recognized for their technical capabilities, and consequently they
are being appointed to senior roles in the banking sector. Ruth Zaipuna, the
managing director of NMB Bank, is one example.
NEEMA HAS BEGUN TO SEE OTHER SIGNS OF POSITIVE CHANGE: “In 2019,
CURRENT ROLES:
we had a team visit us from Deutsche Bank. When my female manager and I • Chief Co-financing and
entered the room, we were surprised to find that all four representatives from Syndications Officer, African
Deutsche Bank were women, which was something that none of us had ever Development Bank
experienced before. I want this to become the new norm.”
In her current role at the AfDB, Neema tries to provide personalized guidance
to develop the strengths of each team member. “I like to give my team the
autonomy to manage investors and work toward closing deals on their own, CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
which helps them develop confidence. My proudest moments are when a team’s • Treasury Officer, Capital Finance
hard work leads to successfully closing transactions.” Limited
• Development Officer, Canadian
High Commission, Tanzania
Neema also advises women to maintain a balance between their professional
• Chair, Investment Committee,
and their personal lives. “During my initial career at the AfDB, I was too busy Financial Sector Deepening Trust
travelling the continent and focusing on getting transactions done to have a • Manager of Public-Private
balanced personal and professional life. About five or six years ago, I made Partnerships, Resource
Mobilization, and Economic
a conscious decision to take a more balanced approach to work and start
Sectors Department, President’s
focusing more on my personal ambitions.” Office, Tanzania
• Head, Loan Syndications, Eastern
and Southern African Trade and
Development Bank
• Chief Financial Analyst, African
Development Bank
90 |
LILIAN MRAMBA
As Regional Director for Africa at the Grassroots Business Fund (GBF), Lilian has driven a gender-based
approach to GBF’s strategy, and she is a champion of investing in women-led enterprises in Africa. GBF
is global impact investment organization that provides structured mezzanine finance, senior debt, and
business advisory services to growth stage companies with a strong track record. This financing ranges
from about $500,000 to $1,500,000. “Our vision is to improve people’s livelihoods by pushing capital
into companies that are left out of traditional financial systems. By enabling our companies to thrive,
their beneficiaries thrive too.” Approximately a quarter of the African companies with GBF investment
are led by women, and over 13 years in Africa, the fund has impacted 8.6 million people in Africa, half of
whom are women.
FINANCE AS A TOOL FOR GENDER IMPACT: GBF works aligned organizations, including foundations and donor
with highly impactful businesses which provide sustainable governments. Her idea stemmed from the belief that with GBF
economic opportunity opportunities to farmers, artisans, expertise, it could help organizations that want create a social
and micro-entrepreneurs. These businesses are a part of the impact. “We have come a long way from piloting these services
“missing middle,” because they require relatively small amounts with our clients and getting approval from GBF’s board. Our
of capital and intensive capacity-building, which discourages approach is now a central part of GBF’s strategy.”
traditional fund managers from investing. GBF provides patient
capital as well as business advisory services in areas such as As shown in numerous studies that are discussed in Section
financial management, operations, and meeting environment, I of this report, having women on boards and in leadership
social, and governance standards. “We believe that for the positions results in important performance gains for companies.
businesses we support to grow, they need long-term capital at As a result of this research, gender-lens investing strategies have
sustainable rates, and ongoing advice. In addition to the capital increased, worldwide, including at the GBF. When the GBF
we provide at commercial rates, business advisory services, analyzed its own portfolio through a gender lens, it too found
which is funded by grants, is a key component of GBF’s that the return on investments was higher in companies that
offering to businesses.” GBF is well-suited to financing women- have women as well as men on their management teams.
led businesses because the fund provides smaller investment
LEADING BY EXAMPLE: In her 10 years with the GBF, Lilian’s
amounts, and its advisory services are tailored to the needs of
roles have included working directly with entrepreneurs,
women’s businesses.
sourcing investment opportunities, conducting due diligence,
Lilian believes that along with finance, business advisory and directing GBF’s strategy in Africa. Lilian thrives in an
services are critical for small businesses in resource-constrained environment where she is constantly challenged and able to
settings, and especially if the business owners are women. She learn. “One day I may be discussing a research project with
learned this lesson first-hand when working for an auditing firm a donor, the next day I could be helping a company with a
in Seattle in the United States that helped small businesses as business problem, and on the third day I could be talking
well as corporations to manage their accounting and financial to companies that are looking for financing. Every year has
affairs. brought a new challenge to tackle, and a new goal to pursue.”
Lilian built on what she learned from her job in Seattle, and in Despite having worked in the male-dominated financial services
2018 she applied it at the GBF, introducing a business stream sector for over a decade, Lilian has only recently started
which provides business advisory services to other mission- reflecting on instances in her career when she felt disadvantaged
| 91
I’m very passionate about African-led companies
supporting other Africans. If we keep looking to
countries outside the continent for capital support,
we will not be able to do it as fast as if we do it
ourselves.
92 |
because of her gender. “When I worked at the auditing firm in Seattle, I was It is important to build social
the only black woman on the professional services side. On occasion, I received capital and alliances with people
who hold different perspectives.
feedback that I was too direct and that I came off as aggressive. I was told
to tone down my language when I wrote emails.” Back then, Lilian took this
advice in stride, and did not let it hold her back. She also learned things from
this experience that she has continued to use throughout her career. “I have
learned to be aware of myself and my surroundings, as well as the biases of the ABOUT
people with whom I interact.” LILIAN MRAMBA
EMPLOYERS NEED TO RECOGNIZE THE UNIQUE CONSTRAINTS FACED
BY WOMEN AND SUPPORT THEM: While Lilian’s position and the strong
relationships she enjoys in the organization have given her considerable
flexibility, she realizes that this is not the case for all women.
CURRENT ROLE:
Unfortunately, to fully understand the extent to which parents need flexibility • Regional Director for Africa,
in the workplace, the members of the management team and I had to Grassroots Business Fund
experience, first-hand, the everyday problems that parents encounter. Further,
we have seen how the lack of flexibility impacts women’s performance at
work.” She stresses the importance of providing supportive structures to enable
women to thrive at work,
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
and which GBF now provides, including flexible work schedules and the ability • Acting Regional Manager for
to work from home. In the US GBF provides maternity leave although it is not Africa, Grassroots Business Fund
• Introducing a new stream
required by law.
of business consulting at the
Grassroots Business Fund
Lilian looks forward to a world where African women support each other as
they rise in their careers and achieve their professional goals. “I want women
to read my story and think that there is nothing special about me, and that
my success is just the result of hard work and being intentional about certain
things. I dream of a future where the need for special programs to support
women’s advancement is a thing of the past, and society has moved on to
solving challenges such as poverty, ill health, and poor nutrition so that we all
advance.”
In addition to driving positive change in the financial services sector, Lilian is
the mother of two young children. She is grateful for having had the support
of several people, and especially that of her husband, her parents, her in-laws,
and hired help at home. All of them have enabled her to pursue her career,
wholeheartedly. “My husband is very involved in raising the kids, and we are
both very intentional about supporting each other’s careers. We coordinate our
travels to make sure that one of us can be home at all times.”
| 93
The Market Makers
The Market Makers are competing for commercial success,
laser-focused on growing the bottom line for the companies
and teams.
94 |
| 95
NENYUATA MEJOOLI
Effectively managing operational costs to ensure long-term financial sustainability
has been a concern of commercial banks for years, and also to Nenyuata Mejooli, who
is the Chief of Shared Services at NMB Bank, one of Tanzania’s largest banks. She is
responsible for ensuring integration of people, processes, and procedures across the
bank by coordinating internal services with customer experience.
Due to her foresight, Nenyuata started to address the issue of
long-term financial sustainability three years before the Bank
of Tanzania (BOT) issued a requirement for commercial banks
to have a cost-to-income ratio of not more than 55 percent. It
was a challenging process to meet this ratio, but she learned You do not need an expert to fix a mess – you need
an important lesson: “You do not need an expert to fix a a team
mess—you need a team. If you attract good team members, and
collaborate with them and other key stakeholders, jointly you
executive leadership training program for women in 2019, she
will find a solution.”
was asked to bring something representative of her. “I asked
“When I was appointed Chief of Shared Services, I developed one of my close friends and he said, ‘Nenyuata, I see that you
a list of issues from the point of view of customers, staff, and are like a hammer. You are strong and you know when to
shareholders. Then, I sat with the heads of the departments strike.’ After considering his words, I realized that he was right.
who report to me, and I showed them the problems we At the training session, women came with shawls and wedding
had. Together, we drew up an action plan to assure open photographs, and I brought a hammer. I think that is how I was
communication, trust, and respect within the team so that we raised—to be tough.”
could clean up our problems. As a result, we achieved massive
Over the years, Nenyuata has learned to balance the tougher
cost savings, improved the number of customers likely to
aspects of her personality with a more empathetic and gentle
recommend the NMB, and conducted a pandemic response
approach. She recalls that when she was first appointed as a
simulation prior to the onset of COVID-19 in Tanzania.”
manager at Standard Chartered Tanzania, she was vocal and
tough. “It was difficult for me to understand why people could
A TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERSHIP JOURNEY: Nenyuata
not do things my way. If I felt that someone’s work didn’t meet
credits her career success to two factors—her family and
my standards, I would just do it myself, which wasn’t efficient,
on-the-job soft skills training. Her parents were committed
nor was it helping my team to improve.”
to gender equality and raised her to believe that she was no
different from a man. Her mother was an inspiration, who
As she moved up through the ranks at Standard Chartered,
demonstrated by her example that nothing was impossible.
Nenyuata progressed by participating in multiple training
“My mother obtained her PhD at the age of 66.” Nenyuata also
programs, and the ones on how to manage people were
believes that her early years in all-girls schools further instilled
especially valuable. “My supervisors believed that I had
the belief that women are equal to men, and this helped her
potential, but I needed to develop my leadership skills to
develop strength and confidence. “At every stage, I was taught
position myself for growth.” However, it was at the NMB that
that I was an equal. This made me extremely bold and prepared
her leadership style underwent a fundamental transformation.
me to stand on my own.”
“I learned how to trust people and delegate. I learned the soft
skills that are crucial for a leader. I started to listen and engage
Nenyuata recalls a recent experience which gave her clarity
more, and I became a new person—someone who learned to
on her character. As part of preparatory assignments for an
96 |
My mother taught me to keep learning and never
to compete with anyone but myself.
| 97
appreciate that every team member brings unique value.” These changes in It doesn’t matter whether you’re a
her approach inspired Nenyuata’s team to open up and give her constructive ‘he’ or a ‘she’—we are equal.
feedback.
SUPPORTIVE WORKPLACE POLICIES ARE A REAL GAME CHANGER FOR
WORKING MOTHERS: Nenyuata considers herself lucky that early in her career
she was able to return to the workforce after a two-year break that followed ABOUT
the birth of her twins. “Women who have to take extended maternity leave NENYUATA MEJOOLI
or career breaks to take care of young children face challenges re-entering the
workforce, as they are perceived as less competitive than their colleagues.”
Nenyuata thinks this is one area where employers can help to close the gap by
having recruitment policies that target women who are specifically looking to
re-enter the workforce. “God has granted us a beautiful responsibility to be
mothers. Women should not have to sacrifice this because of their careers. They
CURRENT ROLE:
should have the ability to pick up from where they left off because they still
• Chief of Shared Services, NMB
have the skills and work ethic.” She praises corporate policies like maternity Bank
leave that enable women to balance their career and childcare responsibilities,
but she thinks that the challenges that working mothers face when re-entering
the workforce after maternity leave are still largely ignored.
Being a woman leader in a male-dominated workforce has also been
challenging at times. However, addressing sexual harassment is more nuanced CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
for women in leadership roles. Nenyuata recalls an incident when a senior male • Head, Branch Networks, NMB
colleague made an inappropriate remark directed at her. “When you are the Bank
one approving policies, who do you report such things to? You have to pick • Head of Operations, NMB Bank
• Senior Manager, Operations,
your battles.” She decided to address the incident by discussing it directly with
NMB Bank
the man who had made the offending remark. However, she recognizes that
• Service Delivery Manager,
most women do not have the power that goes with rank and influence. “It is Standard Chartered, Tanzania
important for companies and organizations to have a formal internal grievance
mechanism to consider women’s complaints, and for these to be resolved
appropriately.”
Looking at the financial sector, Nenyuata acknowledges the sparsity of women
in leadership positions. This is partially due to societal and historical factors,
and the extent to which organizations are working to increase the number of
women in management. However, each woman has a role to play in her own
journey: “There are very competent women out there, but sometimes they lack
confidence, they may be afraid of the challenges that leadership brings, and they
may be concerned about meeting their family responsibilities.”
She also thinks that women self-censor, and only apply for positions if they
match all the qualifications listed. In contrast, men will apply for a position
simply because they aspire to the role. Nenyuata describes her own hesitations
before she applied for her current position. “When this role was advertised, I
had no plan to apply. However, a friend of mine believed it was the right fit for
me and pushed me.”
Formal and informal mentoring can be critical in unlocking women’s potential,
but even in this case, as Nenyuata points out, women often hesitate to seek
mentors. To address this, she advocates for supervisors to offer support, while
also creating an environment where women can approach them. Creating such
opportunities can help supervisors to identify and meet their individual team
members’ requirements.
98 |
MZILASI MBENNA
After 16 years at Citibank, including a position as Markets Head and Country Treasurer,
Mzilasi Mbenna is a sought-after banking professional in Tanzania. In 2018, she
was recruited by Standard Chartered Bank, where she is currently the Country
Head of Financial Markets. Although it was difficult to leave Citibank after so many
years, she welcomed the opportunity to work for a much bigger institution. She
embraced her new role that had more responsibilities, including a broader client base
that encompassed retailers, local corporations, and multinationals, and was more
professionally challenging.
FROM TELLER TO HEAD OF MARKETS AND TREASURER: career and making sure that her output demonstrated her value
Remembering her college days, Mzilasi recalls her strong desire to the organization. “This gave me the confidence to negotiate
to become a success in financial services. “I was always very for better recognition and rewards. Women tend to start at a
interested in finance, especially the treasury function, and as very junior level as they just want a job. Unfortunately, their
soon as I entered the sector, my urge to learn propelled me.” low starting salary tends to benchmark their future earnings.
Her career began with work as a teller at the newly opened Women often lack the confidence to request more pay, and
Barclays Tanzania (now Absa Bank Tanzania), in Prestige they undermine themselves in the process. Men, however, are
(premium) retail banking. Although working as a teller could quite adamant about being well paid, and they insist on getting
be seen as a humble start, for Mzilasi it was a way in, and an raises. Conversely, women are just grateful for the opportunity
opportunity to learn about banking until a trading position to have employment.”
opened up. “I had no skills, so I took the opening available,
and it turned out to be very beneficial because I learned about a “Additionally, women are afraid to leave a job where they are
range of banking products, as well as back office functions.” thriving to take another position with a bigger salary. But this
is a risk that men take all the time, and their lifetime earnings
Her patience and hard work paid off, and a few months after reflect this. Over time, by observing my male colleagues and my
joining the bank, Mzilasi became a junior sales trader, which, male direct reports, I have learned to be assertive.”
importantly, gave her access to intensive training opportunities,
including a secondment in Nairobi, Kenya. This training made JUGGLING FAMILY AND CAREER AMBITIONS: Although
her a top performer, and within a year she was recruited by Mzilasi’s success is impressive for any professional, regardless
Citibank. “Since my student days I had looked up to Citibank. of gender, she says that being a woman has been a major
It was a global leader in finance and had a reputation for factor in her career development. Many personal milestones,
excellence. When their recruiter approached me, I could not like becoming a wife, and then a mother of three, happened
refuse.” concurrently with her early career milestones. “Women go
through a lot of phases in life. Our biological clocks and career
Her instincts about Citibank were correct. Over 16 years, clocks tick at the same time, so we need to find a balance, and
Mzilasi was able learn all she could about trading, sales meet our personal goals, while also staying relevant in the
advisory, corporate finance, capital markets, and relationship workplace.”
management, and she worked her way up to Vice President of
Markets and Sales. “It wasn’t easy though; I had to persevere Keeping up, professionally, can become a concern when a
and develop resilience, which helped me to climb the corporate health challenge such as a difficult pregnancy, interferes with a
ladder.” woman’s career. “In such cases, assuming the woman’s health
allows her to work, she could ask for a strategic project that
Reflecting on what she has learned about advocating for herself, would allow her to work at her desk, with no requirement
Mzilasi stresses the importance of working hard throughout her to travel or meet clients outside the office. Solving a tough
| 99
Women go through a lot of phases in life. Our
biological clocks and career clocks tick at the same
time, so we need to find a balance, and meet our
personal goals, while also staying relevant in the
workplace.
100 |
strategic problem in her desk job will develop new skills, and open new doors Let your work speak for itself, as
in the future.” Barring health issues, Mzilasi believes that taking maternity much as possible
leave for a few months is only a small pause in a woman’s professional and
personal life. The hard work comes afterward when a woman must balance
raising children with a demanding career.
When sharing her recipe for success, Mzilasi draws on something she learned
from her husband—not to take anything personally. “Finance is still a
ABOUT
male-dominated world. While employers may have policies to encourage MZILASI MBENNA
gender equality, turning those into practice takes time. Instead of taking the
shortcomings in someone or a company, personally, I’ve focused on being
consistent in my work, and working to the best of my ability. I am accountable,
and I am resilient. I make sure that I always have a positive attitude toward
challenges, and I let that speak for me.”
CURRENT ROLE:
Mzilasi has worked hard to break down the barriers that hold women • Country Head of Financial
back with regard to promotions and recognitions. One major strategy she Markets, Standard Chartered
recommends is finding mentors who can provide coaching at different points Bank, Tanzania
throughout one’s career. Mentors can provide guidance on training and
assignments that will strengthen a woman’s knowledge base and skills at all
stages of her career—from entry level to leadership positions. Mentoring and
training also improve a woman’s decision-making. “Many women say that
finding mentors does not come naturally to them, and they are nervous about
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
approaching possible mentors, especially if these are prominent men in the • Markets Head and Country
finance sector. But women must find a way in where they can. You will have Treasurer, Citibank, Tanzania
disappointments, and get discouraged, but you must keep trying until you find • Director of Marketing, Unit Trust
the support you are seeking.” of Tanzania
While the right mindset and work ethic is critical on the job, what matters
at home is a structure that supports a working mother. “You have to have
people at home who you can trust. We’re fortunate in Africa that we can hire
affordable and trustworthy household help to look after our children. Relatives
are very important, too. A reliable support system helps you balance work and
family responsibilities. I was lucky to have good household help, a supportive
husband, and family members to lean on.
INSPIRING TEAMS TO DELIVER: Although Mzilasi acknowledges the challenges
that professional women encounter, she also sees positives for women when
it comes to cultivating a more empathetic, enabling style of leadership. By
maintaining open communication channels, Mzilasi helps her teams resolve
issues as they arise. Her success as a leader shows when teams achieve their
goals and improve from one year to the next. “When you look at your team,
and you see that their good performance and positive attitude is recognized by
other teams, you are proud of them, and that is a great feeling.”
However, Mzilasi is also very aware of the delicate balance that women leaders
must always consider. Women have to find a balance between being firm,
understanding, and expressing their frustration, without coming across as too
emotional. “Women are held to a higher standard when it comes to showing
their negative feelings. We get dismissed in a way that men are not. To avoid
negative labels, I work hard to maintain a positive attitude at all times.” Her
advice to other women is to focus on what they can control. “Let your work
speak for itself, as much as possible, and develop relationships with champions
who can speak for you when you cannot speak for yourself.”
| 101
NURA MASOOD
True to the adage “knowledge is power,” the desire to learn new skills, and the tenacity
to persist through difficult situations both describe Nura Masood’s professional
journey. These traits enabled her to rise from a personal assistant at Alliance Insurance
to General Manager of Corporate Business at Sanlam Life, Tanzania’s leading life
insurance provider.
PERSISTENCE AND PERSEVERANCE: In 2007, after eight growth, the introduction of a mandatory health system, and
years in general insurance, Nura decided that she wanted investments in real estate and infrastructure—all of which
to gain a qualification that few insurance professionals in underpin the growing middle class—are expected to increase
Tanzania had—a specialization in life, disability, and critical insurance uptake. In Tanzania, Sanlam has a 70 percent share
illness underwriting and claims. “A life underwriter examines of the corporate business market, and a 52 percent share of
a person’s medical history, family history, financial strength, the overall life insurance market. Nura is proud to be part of
and lifestyle habits to set insurance policy conditions and the company’s achievements. “Being a leader in this market
commensurate premiums. To make the right business decision, requires hard work to meet specific objectives, and even greater
you need to have a thorough knowledge of various medical efforts to sustain them. The company’s leadership position in
conditions, along with other risks in the individual’s life.” the market is a source of pride for me.”
The examination to qualify as a life insurance underwriter was
LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT EQUAL PARTICIPATION AND
challenging, and on her first attempt, Nura was unsuccessful.
BRINGING EVERYONE ALONG: “To me, leadership is about
At the time she was trying to pass the test, Nura had recently
creating environments where the team can thrive and shine,
moved from Alliance to Sanlam, and settling into her new role
and it should be gender balanced, as leadership is all about
made preparing for the examination even more challenging.
empowering the whole team to achieve their goals.” She
However, Nura felt that gaining the qualification was critical
supports both the men and women on her team, sharing
for her career in the life insurance sector, and she tried the
information with them so that they can see the big picture, and
exam again. After four attempts, Nura’s hard work and
involving them in making key decisions. This helps foster their
persistence paid off, and she became the first Tanzanian woman
professional responsibilities and encourages participation and
to earn credentials for both the Diploma in Life, Disability,
collaboration. “I stress that we are in this together. I empower
and Critical Illness Claims, as well as the related Diploma in
my team to work independently, and they are more than
Underwriting.
capable of running the department in my absence. Leadership is
With this technical expertise under her belt, Nura had an about supporting the team to be independent.”
advantage. She was the only person at Sanlam Life who had
Nura strives to pass on her conviction about the power of
earned both credentials, and her rapid rise in the company
technical knowledge, and she encourages her team to pursue
was assured. Within five years, she was promoted to
professional qualifications, and often coaches them as they
General Manager of Corporate Business at Sanlam, and she
prepare for exams. “I am happy to train anyone who is eager
was responsible for managing the operations of corporate to learn. By sharing knowledge, we are developing the talent of
departments, implementing strategies, leading teams, and our younger generation and creating opportunities for them.”
managing relationships with key clients. She also recognizes the importance of developing soft skills to
further a person’s career, and she helps her team to develop
Although Tanzania’s insurance penetration rate is one of communications skills and build their confidence. “I take great
the lowest in Africa, at only 0.5%, factors such as economic
102 |
I take great pride in seeing my former staff moving
up the ladder into managerial positions. I want
them to do even better than I have.
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pride in seeing my former staff moving up the ladder into managerial positions. I believe that career goals and
I want them to do even better than I have.” personal goals should go hand-in-
hand. Thanks to having a strong
support system at home, I didn’t
HAVING A SUPPORTIVE FAMILY: Nura’s late mother was an inspirational
have to choose between having a
figure for her. Although her mother did not have an opportunity to pursue family and work.
higher education herself, and she faced many hardships as a single mother, she
was determined that Nura and her brother would break the cycle of poverty.
“When I was growing up, many girls were married at a young age. However,
my mother was determined to ensure that my brother and I focused on our
studies, and she was a source of support for me throughout her life.”
ABOUT
NURA MASOOD
In 1999, Nura’s firstborn was only six months old when she started working
in the insurance sector as a personal assistant. In managing her responsibilities
as a new mother, and fulfilling her professional responsibilities, Nura had
support from her husband, her own family, and her in-laws. During her second
pregnancy, Nura faced complications that compelled her to take a break from
her career. But when she was ready to rejoin the workforce, her husband helped CURRENT ROLE:
with childcare again, as did her mother, and her in-laws. This support enabled • General Manager of Corporate
Nura to focus on her work as well as further studies. Business, Sanlam Life, Tanzania
Having a family was always important to Nura. “I believe that career goals
and personal goals should go hand-in-hand. Thanks to having a strong support
system at home, I didn’t have to choose between having a family and work.
Companies can help women too with supportive measures such as flexible CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
working hours, and a program for returnee mothers that helps them transition • Underwriting Manager, Sanlam
Life, Tanzania
back to work after childbirth. Having quality childcare facilities, either in-
• Assistant Underwriting Manager,
house or nearby, helps women to fulfill both their professional and childcare Sanlam Life, Tanzania
responsibilities.” • Underwriting Officer, Sanlam
Life, Tanzania
CONFIDENCE AND SELF-AWARENESS ARE NECESSARY FOR WOMEN WHO
ASPIRE TO LEAD: Although Nura feels that her gender has not negatively
affected her career, she recognizes that the ideas presented by women are
sometimes disregarded. “However, when a man presents the same ideas, they
are met with praise.” She advises young women to be aware and recognize
when such problems occur. “The cultural norms that are responsible for
this behavior will take time to change. Now, we have to make sure we are
heard.” Nura recalls an instance when she had to advocate for an increase in
her compensation. “Negotiating for a raise is hard. However, if you know
your own value, and you communicate that well, leaders will understand your
perspective. I am grateful that the board and management of Sanlam Life have
recognized my skills and achievements over the years, and that they compensate
me fairly.”
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DOXA MBAPILA
Doxa Mbapila serves as Head of the Legal Department and Secretary of the Board
of Directors at the National Bank of Commerce (NBC), one of Tanzania’s largest and
oldest banks, and part of South Africa’s ABSA Group. She is a leading expert in finance
and law in Tanzania, and she attributes her success to mastering her field, learning
continuously, and taking formal as well informal leadership training.
A LAWYER WHO LEAPT INTO UNCHARTED WATERS: In 2006,
when Doxa returned to Tanzania after training as a lawyer
in the United Kingdom, she expected to follow a career path
that would culminate in becoming a partner in a law firm. She
joined a top local law firm, IMMMA Advocates-DLA Piper,
“When I joined the sector, it was a man’s club, so
where she advised on several transactions for Stanbic Bank my task was to open doors for myself, and then
Tanzania. Impressed by her diligence and work ethic, Stanbic’s stay the course. Once I was inside, I had to prove
managing director asked her to head the bank’s legal team. myself.”
The seniority of the position and the nature of the challenge
made Stanbic’s offer an attractive one. “I made the most of
in core business functions like corporate and retail banking.”
the opportunity to learn everything I could about how banks
operate. This was not just so that I could give the right legal
Doxa emphasizes that her priority in hiring is a strong legal
advice, but so that I could serve the bank’s business interests too.”
mind, regardless of gender. “I do believe there are gender
differences in confidence and communication that hold
When Ecobank was preparing to enter the Tanzanian market in
women back. Today more doors are open for women, but
2009, Doxa was recruited to help the bank become established
they don’t seem confident about walking through them. Most
in its new market. For Doxa, the opportunity to build a
women appear to need someone to encourage them. My
financial institution from the ground up in Tanzania was too
question now is how to get the next generation of women
good to pass up. At Ecobank, she deepened her expertise in
to take up leadership roles, and rise to the executive suite in
bank infrastructure and governance, and established a strong
this dynamic sector? I believe that coaching and exposure to
reputation. In 2013, her reputation led to Citibank East Africa
leadership spaces are necessary for women, as are international
recruiting her to head its legal team in Tanzania. In 2016, NBC
assignments.”
recruited her.
TACKLING ETHICAL DILEMMAS AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT
MANY WOMEN ARE QUALIFIED, BUT LACK OF CONFIDENCE
HEAD ON: When Doxa reflects further on what may be
IS HOLDING THEM BACK: While Doxa’s career has blossomed
holding women back in the legal field, she points out that
over the last 15 years, she believes more needs to be done for
there are ethical minefields that can discourage an otherwise
women who may not be as assertive as she has been. “When I
ambitious woman. Along with sexual harassment, a minefield
was starting out in the early 2000s, few doors were open for
can be financial, too, like fraud and bribery. Women who
women in Tanzania, and even if doors were open, there were
are uncomfortable speaking up about inappropriate or illegal
no structures to help women advance. I had to help myself by
behavior, or who think their complaint will not be believed, or
finding mentors, local technical and leadership training, and
justly addressed, often remain in lower positions where they
the training offered by my employer. I was clear about what
feel safe.
I needed to know and my weak spots, and I felt confident in
asking for help. More women are doing that today, but not
In her own life, Doxa has dealt with ethical challenges by
enough of them. As a result, we are not yet seeing women lead
putting integrity first and speaking up. “The ability to challenge
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I encourage my team to work directly with
people from the head office, and to go for training
and secondments, whenever possible. I believe
that personal development is important, and I
encourage my team to pursue opportunities to
learn. This exposure gives them the ability to
challenge without fear, which in turn, allows them
to make far-reaching changes.
106 |
and speak up can protect you. Things are improving, but we still have work I have seen people get fired
to do. I am notorious for speaking out, especially when I encounter unethical because more powerful people
behavior. Although there can be costs to being outspoken such as alienating committed unethical actions, and
the junior person didn’t have the
people, the people who matter will respect you. I’m really proud of my ethical
confidence to speak up. Women
track record, and my ability to say ‘no’, and do the right thing, despite the
should trust that they can speak
possible risk to myself.” up without risk of retaliation.
Regarding sexual harassment, Doxa says it is rife in the workplace, and this is
a major setback for women. She believes that the protections for harassment
victims should be improved. “Policies exist, but we don’t speak enough about
the barriers to implementing them. We need to train women and men on how
ABOUT
to stand up for themselves, and deal with sexual harassment. And when people
DOXA MBAPILA
do speak up, the offenders must be held to account.”
Doxa believes that companies should encourage women to aim high. She has
seen how women bring unique capabilities to leadership positions due to the
way they multitask, build relationships, and tackle challenges. These traits serve
as enablers for women in leadership roles and bring benefits to the business. In
CURRENT ROLE:
Doxa’s experience, when women are given opportunities and treated equally,
• Head of the Legal Department
they go the extra mile to deliver.
and Company Secretary, National
Bank of Commerce
Women should know that choosing to marry and have children should not be
at the expense of their ambitions. “I encourage my team to have children, take
maternity leave, and trust that opportunities will be waiting for them when
they return. Business leaders should make this clear to all women, and while
ensuring that support for women is part of the company’s culture.”
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
• Chair of the Legal Committee,
Tanzanian Bankers Association
• Country General Counsel and
Company Secretary, Citibank,
Tanzania
• Head of the Legal Department
and Company Secretary, Ecobank,
Tanzania
• Head of the Legal Department and
Company Secretary, Stanbic Bank,
Tanzania
| 107
ROSALYNN MWORIA
Rosalynn Mworia found her career purpose at Vodacom Tanzania—the company
that launched M-Pesa, Tanzania’s first mobile money product, in 2008. M-Pesa has
revolutionized payments and become a key part of Tanzania’s financial inclusion
strategy as the country seeks to include more women and youth in its financial
system. Today, the company has 23 million customers, including the very poor. As
Vodacom’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Rosalynn is responsible for ensuring that
gender is integrated into the company’s marketing strategy, as well as its community
investment approach.
MOBILE MONEY AS A TOOL TO BRIDGE THE GENDER GAP IN as they worked to improve women’s opportunities in the
FINANCIAL INCLUSION: Since the launch of mobile money in workplace. She says that the current generation of women must
Tanzania, mobile network operators have been instrumental in play a role too in improving women’s career prospects.
driving financial inclusion. This is a result their vast distribution
networks, large number of customers, and good customer Rosalynn highlights Vodacom’s progressive policies for women
service. such as extended maternity leave, career counseling, and a
mentorship program which, together, have resulted in more
Despite the success of mobile money, a gender gap of 11 women moving into management. Vodacom has also been
percent still exists in the uptake of mobile money services, and working to increase the percentage of women in its workforce,
lack of education and a mobile phone have been identified as and in its senior management. By 2019, women comprised 38
the key barriers for women. percent of Vodacom’s employees, 25 percent of its board, and
40 percent of its senior management team. Rosalynn praises
Since women customers are now at the heart of Vodacom’s this progress, but she also says it is crucial to empower young
product development process, women’s perspectives are people in the telecommunications sector. “I think this sector
considered when making decisions about the development of needs to have young people sitting at the management table
new products. and driving innovation. Young people, in addition to women,
continue to lack access to financial services.”
Vodacom is specifically focusing on women because although
women are generally responsible for managing household Rosalynn does not dwell on the gender barriers that she has
costs such as food, school fees, and healthcare, many women faced in her career, as she sees herself as a professional, first,
do not have their own bank account or a mobile phone, and and as a woman, second. Throughout her career, she been
these factors make it more time consuming to manage family dedicated to her professional mission, and she has striven
finances. Owning a mobile phone helps improve women’s lives to excel in her work, speak up for herself, and ensure that
in other ways too. If she has a phone, a woman can access she is heard. “When I look at my experiences at Vodacom,
online education, information about health, and information where I started in middle management, and climbed to a
about how to launch and manage a small business. senior role, ahead of many of my male colleagues, I think
that these principles have served me well.” She also stresses
CREATING ENABLING POLICIES FOR WOMEN: Rosalynn
the importance of women constantly improving their skills.
agrees that gender-sensitive policies play an important role
Through training, both inside and outside Vodacom, she has
in enabling women to excel at work. She acknowledges the
sought to bridge any gaps in her knowledge and skills.
struggles that previous generations of women have endured
108 |
If you can change the life of a woman in the
community, you are changing the whole
community. If a woman is empowered, she will, in
turn, positively impact her many circles.
| 109
Rosalynn highlights that Vodacom’s in-house training programs in all regions Coaching has helped me navigate
help both men and women, equally, to develop functionally, professionally, and challenges at work a lot more
effectively. It has enabled me to
personally. Although, she believes that advancement depends on the individual,
help my team members achieve
and on her or his aspirations, ambitions, and drive, it is important for an their own solutions to problems
employer to create an environment where people can learn. and have their own a-ha!
moments.
While Rosalynn has had both men and women mentor her in the course of
her career, she particularly acknowledges the guidance and valuable influence
of her managers, most of whom were men. “Many of my promotions came
from male bosses, who have been my allies along the way. They saw my
potential and believed that I could thrive.” Rosalynn also appreciates being ABOUT
part of Vodacom’s change in leadership that has come about by hiring more
ROSALYNN MWORIA
and more women as decision-makers, including herself. As Rosalynn’s career
has progressed, she has leveraged her professional network to develop her
capabilities. She believes that there is no challenge or shortcoming that she
cannot address by reaching out to her network.
CURRENT ROLE:
Given the valuable support and mentoring that Rosalynn has received over
• Director of Corporate Affairs,
the course of her career, she is committed to helping the staff below her to Vodacom, Tanzania
reach their full potential. A few years ago, she turned her long-time passion
for coaching and mentoring young people into qualifying for a certificate in
these skills. “I was lucky to have strong women around to hold my hand and
nurture me. As I continue my journey, I find myself giving this support to other
people.” While Rosalynn has always been happy to provide advice when people CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
approached her, she is now applying her new coaching skills to consciously • Director, Vodacom Tanzania
develop her team and make her company a better place to work. Foundation
• Head of Public Relations and
Communications, Vodacom,
Rosalynn credits her parents for being progressive when she was growing
Tanzania
up, and her husband for helping her to stay focused throughout her career. • Head of Corporate Sales,
“My parents empowered me from a young age, based on examples from their Vodacom, Tanzania
own lives. They are both ambitious, by nature, and have earned respect in the • Acting Chief Officer, Enterprise
Business Unit, Vodacom, Tanzania
community. I have known my husband since we were in high school, and he has
• National Sales Manager, Maersk
supported me all along my career path, encouraging me to seize opportunities, Line
and strive to rise higher in my career even as we raise our children.”
110 |
ROSE METTA
Rose Metta, who is a Regional Manager for Tanzania’s National Social Security Fund
(NSSF), the board chair at CRDB Insurance Brokers (CIB), and a board member at
CRDB Bank, has dedicated her professional life to leveling the playing field for women
in the financial services sector. The importance of this became apparent to Rose early
in her career, and she continues to support the advancement of women today.
PAYING FORWARD EARLY SUPPORT FOR GENDER gender balance. The quarterly staff metrics tracked by the bank
EQUALITY: When Rose applied for her first job at the NSSF now include the number of women who were hired, the number
in 1993, she was newly married and expecting her first child. of women who have been promoted, and the number of women
Although she was the top candidate for the position, the who have participated in training.
recruitment committee considered withdrawing their offer
when they learned of her pregnancy. However, as Rose learned As a board member, Rose has seen firsthand that boards
later, a woman who was part of the management team stood with women members are more democratic than all-male
up for her. “She argued that my pregnancy would not affect my boards, and that having women on the board is crucial for a
work performance in any way, and she did not relent until the balanced assessment of issues. She has noted too that having
committee agreed to give me the job.” Rose was grateful for the opportunity to hear different perspectives helps to build a
this help from a stranger, and she worked right up to the last stronger board, as well as build consensus.
day of her pregnancy.
As a result of women being a minority on several of the boards
Years later, when Rose found herself on the other side of the she has served on, Rose has learned some valuable lessons.
hiring table, she stepped into the shoes of her initial sponsor, “Initially, I was often asked to explain my point in more detail
and argued for hiring a woman candidate. “The interviewers than my male colleagues, even when we were talking about
were concerned that the husband of the top candidate lived in similar things. While this was frustrating, it pushed me to read
another city, and this would be a problem for her. As a result, more, become more knowledgeable, and present my thoughts
they wanted to hire the male candidate who was the second in an organized way. This has helped me to gain the respect of
choice. I intervened and told the committee that we had to both my colleagues and my fellow board members.” Rose also
trust this women’s ability to handle her personal life, just as believes that her experiences as a board member have helped
we would if the person concerned was a man.” Convinced by her to become less defensive, more open to others’ views, and
Rose’s arguments, the committee agreed, and the woman was taught her to take criticism in her stride.
hired. Several years later, Rose is proud to see that this woman
In her position as board chair at CIB, Rose has insisted on
is doing excellent work and thriving in her job.
gender diversity in all the company’s teams. She stresses the
CHANGING MINDSETS FROM THE TOP: In addition to her importance of nominating more women to board positions to
work at the NSSF, as noted above, Rose serves on the boards help pave the way for the young women who are entering the
of several Tanzanian companies, the most prominent of which sector. “When I joined CIB, it had an all-male board, but we
are CRDB and CIB. At CRDB, the shareholders have voted are now seeking women to join the board.”
her in as a non-executive director three times. In this role,
Rose promotes gender diversity as a core element in the bank’s TO HAVE A LIVABLE PENSION, WOMEN NEED MORE
human capital development strategy, and she leads the board CAREER PROMOTIONS: When thinking about women’s career
and management team in discussing how to improve the bank’s opportunities, Rose has noticed that while the number of men
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I am proud to say that CRDB recently launched a
mentorship program to support women and help
them to grow their careers.
112 |
and women who join the financial services sector at the entry level is almost In my role at work, I am limited
equal now, the gender gap widens at higher levels of seniority. “Most women to helping the women in my
organization, but my goal now is
marry and have children in the first 5 to 7 years of their career, and their focus
to help as many young women
is not on professional achievement at this time. However, men tend to use this as I can by talking to them, and
period in their career to advance by taking graduate studies, certifications, and guiding them to start successful
seeking promotions.” careers, regardless of the sector.
When young women are working, as well as caring for their family, they
may not realize the long-term implications that their salary will have on their
pension when they retire. “I have noticed that women usually retire with a
ABOUT
lower pension than men. This is because pension formulas are largely based
ROSE METTA
on the salary at the time of retirement. Many women retire in a middle- or
lower-ranking position, while men usually retire with a higher position, and
consequently have a higher pension.” For these reasons, in 2018, the World
Economic Forum found that the gender gap in pensions, worldwide, was 30 to
40 percent.
CURRENT ROLES:
IMPORTANCE OF SPONSORSHIP AND MENTORSHIP: In addition to her work • Regional Manager Morogoro,
National Social Security Fund
ethic, and her immediate and extended family, Rose acknowledges the role that
• Board Member, CRDB
various mentors and sponsors have played in pushing her to aim higher in her • Board Chair, CRDB Insurance
career. As noted above, she was able to start her first job at the NSSF because Brokers
a woman leader stood up for her. Years later, in 2012, when Rose saw the • Board Member, Mkulazi Holding
Company
advertisement for CRDB board members, it was her male boss who convinced
her to apply. To be selected, Rose had to present her case to almost 1,000
shareholders at CRDB’s annual general meeting, and her boss supported her
throughout the process.
As a leader and mentor to women in her organization today, Rose is keen CAREER HIGHLIGHT:
for young women in the financial and insurance sectors to receive the same • Director of Investments and
Planning, Local Authorities
guidance and sponsorship that she did in her career. At organizational events,
Pension Fund
she urges her team members to give presentations so they develop their public-
speaking skills, and she insists that the women in her team go for post-graduate
degrees or diplomas, and that they enroll in corporate training programs.
Outside of work, Rose routinely sponsors young women in higher education.
“In my role at work, I am limited to helping the women in my organization, but
my goal now is to help as many young women as I can by talking to them, and
guiding them to start successful careers, regardless of the sector.”
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JUANITA MRAMBA
For Juanita Mramba, work is about more than getting a paycheck—it is about finding
meaning and improving economic development in Tanzania. She found her sense of
purpose in 2010, when she returned to Standard Chartered Bank as Head of Corporate
Affairs, Brand and Marketing, where, amongst other achievements, she co-designed
strategies for digital banking products and services that have increased financial
inclusion in Tanzania.
UNLOCKING ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR WOMEN Chartered is working on further disaggregating its data. “Once
THROUGH TECHNOLOGY: In 2019, Standard Chartered we have a better understanding, we need to figure out how
launched their Full Digital Bank on Mobile so that financial to get more women to use the platform.” Juanita is proud
services reach more Tanzanians. With growing internet though of the product’s success. “Since the launch, Standard
connectivity and mobile penetration, the bank’s digital platform Chartered’s Retail Banking clients have increased by more than
has enabled clients to open a bank account without ever going 400 percent, from 12,000 at the beginning of 2019, to over
into a branch of the bank, and gain digital access to over 70 70,000 at the end of 2020. Of these new accounts, 30 percent
banking services, including mobile payments and savings. have been opened by women.”
However, for clients to transition from cash to digital finance,
and use digital tools effectively, they need basic understanding DEVELOPING THE LEADERSHIP PIPELINE: Leadership often
of the technology, and be comfortable using it. Many digital involves managing several different internal and external
innovations have not achieved optimal results because these stakeholders. Juanita encourages women to learn how to be
critical factors were overlooked. However, Standard Chartered effective in each of these relationships. “We need to hone our
Bank understood this problem and addressed it. emotional intelligence to deal with different stakeholders.” She
recommends that women leaders continually upskill and make
Prior to rolling out Standard Chartered’s Full Digital Bank on a special effort to understand the changing demographic of the
Mobile, Juanita and her team anticipated the challenges that workforce. “Today, millennials comprise over 60 percent of the
end users could face, which would be barriers to adoption. As workforce, and they have different priorities and needs. Leaders
a result, the team developed campaigns that increase clients’ need to understand them and leverage their capabilities.”
awareness about the advantages of digital banking and how
to use it. “For a new innovation of this magnitude to succeed, Reflecting on lessons from the first few years of her career in
we had to make sure that closing the digital literacy gap was banking, and then as the Head of Corporate Affairs, Juanita
a key component of our strategy.” In 2020, a year after the emphasizes the importance developing the ability to listen
Digital Bank on Mobile was launched, data revealed differences and understand other people’s perspectives and feedback.
between women’s and men’s use. While more men than women “We do not need to agree with everything everyone says, but
used the platform, women transacted more, and saved more it is important to listen, empathize, and present a clear, well
through it—50 percent of women’s accounts were immediately thought-out point of view.”
funded. Additionally, there were more credit (deposit)
She advises young employees, and especially young women, to
transactions in women’s accounts than in the accounts of men.
find a peer at work who they can trust and ask for constructive
It is also interesting to note that the accounts owned by women
criticism. “Have one go-to person at work with whom you can
had balances that were about 2.5 times larger than those of
confide, vent, laugh, and exchange ideas, and who will give you
men.
honest feedback. This ‘go-to’ person, who acts as an informal
To develop more insights into users’ behavior, Standard mentor, can be a woman or a man.” She also encourages
114 |
Women leaders need to continually upskill
themselves and make a special effort to understand
the changing demographics of the workforce.
| 115
women to collaborate with both men and women. We do not work in isolation, so
wherever possible, we should
Juanita advocates deliberate actions to bring women into leadership. “I am not bring men in and include their
perspective.
talking about allocating positions for the sake of hitting a target. I am talking
about setting aside positions for capable women. To increase the number
of women leaders, this means seeking out young women of caliber at the
recruitment stage and providing them with the right training.”
ABOUT
Additionally, Juanita believes in the theory of the “Sum of Parts” leading to the JUANITA MRAMBA
success of the “Greater Whole.” “We do not have to undertake a whole project
on our own. Leaders don’t do that. Instead, learn to leverage people’s strengths
and work through people, and with people. This way, each person contributes
to the success of the project, and the achievement has more impact.”
In November 2018, Juanita moderated an interview with a woman she greatly CURRENT ROLE:
• Head, Corporate Affairs, Brand
admires—Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Finance Minister of Nigeria,
and Marketing, Standard
former Managing Director of the World Bank, and the first African, and Chartered, Tanzania
the first woman to lead the World Trade Organization. The power of that
interview, and of the many stories shared by women attending the 2018 event,
impacted Juanita. She believes that fora where women share stories, celebrate
successes, and inspire each other, will go a long way to empower women.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Juanita also believes in “self-inspiration” to achieve goals. “I believe that our
• Daimler AG Mercedes Benz,
destinies are built from our internal beliefs and what drives us toward what we Germany, International
want to achieve. We need to manage the voices of uncertainty and doubt within Professional Program, 2008–2009
us, and replace them with voices that say, I Can Do It and What is the worst • Cost Controller, Maersk Sealand,
Tanzania, 2001–2003
that can happen if I try this?”
• InWent – International Leadership
Training Programme (Afrika
BALANCING WORK AND HOME: As the single mother of a teenage girl, Juanita Kommt) – a German government
relies on various sources of support to fulfill her demanding responsibilities initiative to develop leadership
at home and at the office. She uses technology to check in with her daughter skills and capacity in Sub-Saharan
Africa, 2008
on long workdays, and she depends on reliable household help for day-to-day
• Swedish Institute Management
chores. Programme for Emerging Business
Leaders, 2016–2017
Her colleagues also form a significant part of her support system. “When my
daughter was born, the CEO was very supportive. Despite not having the more
generous maternity leave policy that we have now, I was able to take time
Note: Juanita resigned from SCBT in June
off when I needed it.” Drawing from her experience, Juanita advises working 2021 to explore new opportunities.
women to invest in, and build a reliable support system.
Juanita recognizes that compared to a decade ago, there are more policies that
now enable women to balance work and family. Today, Standard Chartered
enables women to take up to five months of maternity leave; however, Juanita
gently counsels working mothers to stay somewhat connected. “There is often
a lot of excitement around childbirth, and rightly so, but sometimes women
shut out all the other aspects of their lives. While they should definitely enjoy
parenting, I advise women to occasionally keep up with developments at work
and in their industry. This will enable them to have a softer landing once they
return to work.”
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ESTHER CECIL MARUMA
At a young age, Esther Cecil Maruma, entered risk trading, an area of finance that has
long been viewed as the domain of men, but she conquered the trading floor. For more
than six years, the 35-year-old has been the Director of Global Markets in Corporate
and Investment Banking at Absa Bank Tanzania.
TURNING ENTRY-LEVEL OPPORTUNITIES INTO STEPS TO them, and asking them to coach me. This way, when a space
THE TOP: Esther’s career in finance began out of necessity. She opened up, everyone already saw me coming. In essence, I
studied environmental sciences and management at Sokoine created a natural succession plan that was clear to everyone.
University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania, and banking Some could say I was lucky that positions opened up, but I
was not on her expected career path. However, in her last believe that you must prepare well for what you want. You
year of university she became pregnant with her first child. can’t just want something from a distance. I subscribe to the
“My parents wanted me to stay with them in Moshi until my motto: ‘Luck is opportunity meeting preparation.’ There was no
daughter was at least a year old; however, I worried that if I other way for a no-name girl like me from Moshi to succeed.”
didn’t start working immediately, I would never leave home.”
Esther looked for opportunities in Dar es Salaam, and she came As she climbed to the top, Esther did not lose sight of her
across an advertisement for a graduate trainee program at primary objective in joining the financial sector— providing
Stanbic Bank Tanzania. Esther, and nearly 400 others applied, for herself and her daughter. When asked how she has
and she was one of the four candidates selected. She moved to advocated for herself when it comes to her pay, Esther brings
Dar es Salaam with her daughter and a nanny. up the benefits of being in Global Markets. “Trading is very
transactional, which makes it easy to know how you are doing,
Stanbic’s training program required rotating through all the and to defend performance-based compensation.
bank’s departments to learn about different functions in retail
and business banking. Esther’s third rotation was in Global “Over time, as I moved from a trading role into a supervisory
Markets, where she worked long hours, meticulously finishing role as the accountable executive for Global Markets, the value
the daily trading report. “It took me some time, at first, because of my contribution included my ability to manage people, both
I wanted to be ready in case anyone asked me questions. But, inside and outside my team.” Today, money is not the only
over time, as I gained understanding, I transformed the daily motivation when Esther is considering new opportunities. “For
report from a transaction tracker, to a report that also covered me, there are two factors: whether the role is a promotion, with
productivity and team performance. When it was time for me to additional challenging responsibilities that are in line with my
take up a fulltime position, I knew so much about trading that I development, and whether the organization and its values are
was able to start there right away.” aligned with mine.”
Esther’s effort and initiative have been key factors in her career CONQUERING THE MALE-DOMINATED TRADING FLOOR:
success, and over the years, she has become very strategic about Although the trading room is still male-dominated, Esther
her career’s progression. “My success comes from thinking does not consider her gender as a barrier in her career. “While
about what role I want next, what competencies are needed, there are inherent gender differences in perceptions, and some
and what I need to learn to get there. Over time, networking cultural beliefs about gender are factors that influence career
became an additional factor, but in the beginning, it was about choice, I focused on being relevant and reliable. I used any
knowing the role I wanted and becoming competitive to get it. I extra time I had to pursue technical courses to improve my
did this by speaking to people in the roles I wanted, shadowing knowledge and qualifications, which also built my confidence.
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My success comes from thinking about what role
I want next, what competencies are needed, and
what I need to learn to get there.
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I never allowed my gender to be a hindrance. I do not believe in a woman Some could say I was lucky that
trying to act like a man in business. We are different, and in those differences positions opened up, but I believe
that you must prepare well for
lies our individual blessings, strength, and capabilities—all of which are key to
what you want. You can’t just
organizational success.” want something from a distance.
I subscribe to the motto: ‘Luck is
But as Esther considers the experiences that other women have in the financial opportunity meeting preparation.’
sector, she acknowledges that the biggest challenges to success are the multiple There was no other way for a no-
name girl like me from Moshi to
roles women play outside the workplace, as mothers, wives, caregivers for
succeed.
elderly relatives, and community members. As a single mother of two children,
Esther plays most of these roles, and she manages them by drawing on her
resource management, budgeting, and business skills.
“I have a team of incredible people around me at work and at home, and I ABOUT
have a contingency plan for my team should things go wrong. I have domestic ESTHER CECIL MARUMA
staff, who I rely on for day-to-day childcare, basic housekeeping, and errands.
I also have my very best friend who can step in when I am out of the country
for work. The only things I do not outsource are homework, disciplining, and
bedtime reading; even when I am travelling, those are mommy’s jobs. Beyond
my ‘village’ of employees and loved ones, I have relationships with key vendors
CURRENT ROLE:
like cooking gas and farm produce providers who deliver.
• Director, Global Markets,
Corporate and Investment
Moreover, should the system fail, I will leave work to be there, and my Banking, Absa Bank, Tanzania
colleagues and bosses are supportive of that. In short, I have accepted that I
cannot do this alone. I cannot be everywhere at once, and the moment when
I stopped feeling guilty about this, I made better choices. When you have
people around you that understand the value of your sacrifice, they allow you
to be your best at work and at home. I pray that every woman gets such good
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
support.” • Country Director, Markets
& Acting Corporate Banking
SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND LEADING THROUGH PEOPLE: As Esther settles Director, Barclays Bank, Tanzania
into her Executive Committee role, she is deepening her philosophy of servant • Country Treasurer & Head of
Markets, Barclays Bank, Tanzania
leadership, which to her means delivering on promises on time, and through
people. She continuously volunteers her time for projects and initiatives that
are outside her role because she hungers for more knowledge and intellectual
stimulation. “I need the diversity of thoughts and ideas. I now appreciate
my team for everything they bring to the table, but I don’t expect them to be
all-knowing. This takes the pressure off them and allows us to figure out new AWARD
things together.” This collaborative approach makes for a more cohesive team, • Best Investment Bank Award,
Barclays Bank, Tanzania, May
which is becoming recognized as the hallmark of female-led departments, and it
2018. Chosen by Banker Africa, in
makes a strong case for more women in leadership. collaboration with CPI.
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Conclusion
As the research undertaken in this study found, professional Many of the women profiled in this report have demonstrated
women in the financial services sector in Tanzania have made their commitment to help the next generation of women, and
enormous strides in recent decades. There are more women they have made it a priority to seek out qualified women, and
breaking the glass ceiling and securing important positions in remove the barriers that they, themselves, have encountered,
boardrooms and the C-suite. There are also more opportunities and which continue to persist. Most of the women profiled here
for women, and women leaders are now more accepted in have experienced self-doubt when considering whether to apply
Tanzanian society. However, stagnation is preventing mid- for more challenging positions, and their support systems have
career professional women from reaching the highest levels of been critical in encouraging them to rise to the next level.
their organizations.
Beyond making recommendations for companies, this report
Tanzanian laws have laid important groundwork that provides seeks to equip individual women with advice to help them
maternity leave and prosecutes sexual harassment. While these thrive both at work and at home. When working and raising
legal frameworks establish a minimum standard, corporate a family simultaneously, strong domestic support systems—
policies matter, and can do more. Both mothers and fathers supportive partners, parents, and in-laws—are essential.
indicated in this study that they want longer parental leave, The message is clear. It takes a village for women to succeed,
and flexible work arrangements. Flexible “returning mother” and women cannot, and should not, do it alone. Asking for help
programs are essential, as are on-site lactation rooms, and and accepting help is the smart thing to do.
childcare facilities. Harassment continues to be a significant
work issue as 50 percent of women—an astounding number— We hope that every woman who reads this report is inspired
reported that they do not feel safe at work. Thus, corporate and left with a renewed desire to water the seeds of their
culture needs urgent improvement from the top, and a key part own career, and prune the branches of the tree as their career
of the solution is training, and having an internal grievance develops. Everyone has a role to play—both women and men—
system that employees can trust. and we hope readers are moved to action. It starts with you!
As the survey respondents, and the 22 women profiled in
this report have shared, higher education is a game changer.
Degrees provide important credentials that open doors, but
lifelong learning is equally important to navigate new territory,
and the mid-career challenges that require new specializations
as well as expertise in new fields. Mentoring, coaching, and
networking are all essentials for career growth. This includes
formal programs, but also opportunities through women’s
networks.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFERENCES
Bank of Tanzania. 2019/2020. “Annual Report.”
Finscope. 2017. Finscope Tanzania 2017. Finscope.
IFC. 2018. Women in Business Leadership Boost ESG Performance:
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D.C.: IFC.
ILO. n.d. Maternity Protection Convention, 2000. Accessed April 26, 2021.
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:1
2100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C183.
ILO. 2019. Women in Business and Management: The Business Case for
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Kay, Katty, and Claire Shipman. 2014. “The Confidence Gap”
Harvard Business Review.
McKinsey Global Institute. 2019. “The Power of Parity: Advancing
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OECD. n.d. Accessed April 26, 2021. https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/
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The Boardroom Africa. n.d. The Boardroom Africa. Accessed April 26,
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World Bank. 2021. Women, Business and the Law 2021. World Bank.
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Accessed May 21, 2021. https://equileap.com/wp-content/
uploads/2021/03/Global-Report-2021.pdf
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FOOTNOTES
1
Note that employee responses such as “strongly agree” and “agree” or “strongly
disagree” or “disagree” were aggregated to calculate the summary percentage. Page 14
2
Note that employee responses such as “strongly agree” and “agree” or “strongly
disagree” or “disagree” were aggregated to calculate the summary percentage. Page 22
3
These percentages combine employees that had direct experience and employees who
witnessed gender discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment. The totals exclude
employees who responded that they “preferred not to say.” Page 29
4
Note that employee responses such as “strongly agree” and “agree” or “strongly
disagree” or “disagree” were aggregated to calculate the summary percentage. Page 34
5
The foreign exchange rate in 2012 was TSH 1,590 : $1, and TSH2,276 : $1 in 2018. Page 50
6
“Guide to Syndicated Loans and Leveraged Finance Transactions”. Loan Market
Association. October 2013. https://www.lma.eu.com/application/files/1614/7749/3386/
LMA_Guide_to_Syndicated_Loans.pdf. Page 82
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Bhattiprolu Murti
bmurti@ifc.org
IFC Communications
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433
www.ifc.org