Story by Ruvarashe Mariga
THE Inaugural Zimbabwe High-Level Women in Leadership Summit, which kicked off in Harare this Thursday, brought to the fore the need for comprehensive support and training to empower women.
The summit brought together representatives from the United Nations, Parliamentarians and business leaders to discuss issues of accelerating gender parity through collective action and transformative leadership.
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa emphasised the need for comprehensive support and training to empower women.
“In terms of interventions policy, the National Gender Policy is talking to the importance of empowering women from the grassroots level and at this high-level women leadership summit, we aim to make sure that we empower women from the grassroots level going to the top.
“So we empower women through training and we empower women through funding because we understand that when women want to start a business, they need support, not just funding, but technical support and this is the support that we are getting from our development partners and private partners,” she said.
United Nations Women Country representative, Fatou Lo commended Zimbabwe for increasing women’s representation in Parliament, while Sibonokuhle Buhlungu, who represents young women in leadership and entrepreneurship, is upbeat that the summit will close existing gender parity gaps.
“Zimbabwe has a women’s quarter that has gone a long way in making sure that women are represented both in Parliament and that quarter was extended also to the local level. So, we do see high levels of representation of women in Zimbabwe. So, we look forward to supporting the country as it delivers on that critical commitment because it’s the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do, and it yields positive outcomes for society at large,” said Lo.
Buhlungu stated, “So when we are talking about the greatest challenge in women in entrepreneurship is lack of financing and women failing to have enough collateral. When we talk about women in leadership it’s about the shrinking spaces to be in those leadership, but again, I commend the President of the country for pushing some women into key leadership roles. But obviously, the inclusion of women is not something that happens overnight, it’s a journey that we have begun and we will continue, it’s one step at a time and we hope to see all women included through this summit.”
The summit, themed: ‘Accelerating Gender Parity through Collective Action’, seeks to strengthen accountability, solidarity, and policy transformation to empower women to reach their full potential.
