By Alvin Mbugua
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for effective leadership the world over. Cutting across both the public and private sectors, tough and seemingly impossible decisions with wide-reaching consequences had to be made in a timely fashion.
The crisis changed peoples’ lives in often catastrophic ways, from public health concerns to widespread unemployment, and the world needed its leaders to step up.
It was, thus, extremely refreshing to bear witness to the ways that women in leadership did exactly that from the onset of the pandemic.
Globally, female leaders have been highly commended for acting quickly and decisively in light of the chaos brought on by the Coronavirus.
Research from the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for International Affairs found that countries that were led by men had 1.9 times more COVID-19 deaths than those that were led by women during the first five months of the outbreak.
An analysis of 194 countries, published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the World Economic Forum, suggests that the difference between these outcomes can be explained by the decisive, proactive, and coordinated policy responses adopted by female leaders.
Most notable of these are the German Chancellor – Angela Merkel, Taiwanese President – Tsai Ing-wen, Jacinda Ardern – New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Denmark’s Prime Minister – Mette Frederiksen, Finland’s Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The matter of women leaders’ responses to the pandemic tracks with studies that show that women score higher levels in leadership competencies than men.
A Harvard Business Review analysis found that women excelled in taking initiative, acting with resilience, practising self-development, driving for results, and displaying high integrity and honesty -and were thought to be more effective in 84% of the competencies that are most frequently measured.
Despite this, women have still not attained parity with men in the workplace and still face constraints to participation in leadership.
Popular stereotypes state that women are missing from leadership positions because they prioritise family over career, are poor negotiators, lack confidence and the courage to take bold risks. And for the few women in leadership roles, there is almost always talk of their having compromised their morals for career advancement.
These are, however, unfounded biases that negate the fact that women face obstacles to upward mobility in the workplace, and many organisations do not have measures in place that protect women and give them equity and influence over decision-making processes.
Essentially, this has negative implications for both businesses and nations.
Companies Rise or Fall on How Well They Renew Their LeadersPerformance
Businesses with gender diversity in leadership tend to perform better than their less diverse peers. On average, the former record a 48% higher operating margin, a 42% higher return on sales and 45% higher earnings per share. Gender-diverse teams also make better business decisions up to 73% of the time.
For nations, the United Nations has listed women’s equality and empowerment as Goal 5 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is critical to all the aspects of inclusive and sustainable development.
For countries like Uganda, gender imbalances have an impact on the socio-economic transformation of the nation, stunting much-coveted growth.
This is not to say that there has been no progress registered on this front, as data from UN Women’s Women in Parliament: 2020 report shows increased representation in women’s leadership. Rwanda now has the highest percentage of women in parliamentary positions in the world, with South Africa, Senegal, Namibia and Mozambique ranking in the top 20, while Uganda came in 37th place.
Additionally, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report for 2020 shows that Uganda’s overall score improved from 47 in 2006 to 65 in 2020, noting advances in economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment and political empowerment.
While this is a step in the right direction, businesses and nations alike need to apply more effort towards closing gender inequalities across education, politics and other forms of economic participation.
I am proud to work for an organisation (Diageo) that has been ranked as the top business in the UK for female representation by this year’s Hampton-Alexander Review – with its board being made up of 60% women and 37.4% women in leadership. Much closer to home, East African Breweries Limited is headed by Jane Karuku, while Uganda Breweries Limited’s Executive Committee of eight is comprised of four highly skilled women.
All this is in line with Diageo’s ambition to have 50% of all our leaders being women by 2030.
As leaders, we need to create a more level playing field by actively addressing the myths and stereotypes used against women, overhauling internal systems that deny women equity and creating a culture that allows women to reach their full potential.
The recent success stories coming out of women-led nations during the COVID-19 pandemic are a testament to the fact that the world needs more women in leadership positions.
Alvin Mbugua is Managing Director Uganda Breweries Limited
