MAL 35:20 MAL35 | Page 24

sometimes be abrasive. Women leaders are seen as competent or liked but not both. Stereotyping results in women not being given opportunities to play roles that they would flourish in if given a chance. Most of us still operate in patriarchal societies and as such it is expected that women should be the primary care givers at home. For this reason, work-life balance is a major challenge for women. Leaving work earlier or arriving later at the workplace in many workplaces is frowned upon and as such a lot of women opt to care for their families rather than deal with negativity. Unfortunately, a lot of workplaces are to-date not open to the idea of flexible work arrangements. When it comes to women’s voices being heard, women are interrupted by men up to 3 times more than men interrupt fellow men. They are also given less airtime in group discussions and given less credit for their ideas. Possibly because of socialization, women in meetings tend to gravitate toward the end of the table and edge of the room, away from positions that convey status. Women also typically take up much less physical space giving the impression that they lack confidence and as a result again suffer the penalty of being dismissed. Though considered romantic in relationships, women many times will have their sentences completed by men a habit given the phrase ‘mansplaining.’ Add to all this, the fact that women typically have higher pitched voices and for some reason people with lower pitched voices are considered more serious and competent…. Sexual harassment affects women at all levels of employment and in all workplaces. The debilitating effects of harassment at the workplace include: increased absenteeism, depression and anxiety symptoms, low productivity, decreased engagement and enthusiasm, and worst of all high turnover. Companies that don’t have a structure which allows women to voice their concerns over inappropriate behavior will suffer severe consequences in the long run. Africa has the added disadvantage of low levels of education amongst women hindering them from participating in the formal sector which typically pays more and has more stable jobs. Teenage pregnancies have significantly affected school completion rates of young girls. In addition, maternal mortality rates in 22 MAL35/20 ISSUE Dr. Green Katherine Johnson Melinda Gates Erika H. James These women are part of a much larger cluster of women I’d like to refer to as phe- nomenal women, who’ve broken bar- riers and proved that odds can be overcome with the right attitude, grit and work. With the right mix of awe and envy, they in- spire women to be uncomfortable in their comfort plac- es to push for more and better. Africa average at 438 per 100,000 births compared to a global average of 107 per 100,000 births. Kenya has an average of 510 per 100,000 births. The list of challenges above is not exhaustive, however, it covers the main areas of women’s challenges. Just to emphasize again how important it is for women to be included, Africa’s potential Gross Domestic Product Growth is 10 percent over the next 5 years if her women were given more opportunities. This means that for every year African women lag behind, Africa pays a hefty price, the equivalent of USD63 billion. No country today can claim to have achieved gender equality. Akin to pushing a boulder up a hill is the effort it’ll take to reach equality. Every party must be involved, men, women and organizational leaders. Some have argued that asking women to voice their misgivings and fight for their rights is adding even greater pressure on victims of unfortunate circumstances. To this I say that much of women’s gains in the workplace have been as a result of activism. I believe it is wrong for women to not know their rights and to not fight