The Launching Dialogue: Why the push for Competitive Women Inclusion.

"The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world."
- Charles Malik, former president, United Nations General Assembly

 Women and men alike bring value to the table, but it is their combined effort that creates the strongest foundation for innovation and prosperity. Many of our institutional and societal structures have limited the opportunities for both genders to work in full partnership. Yet amidst the upheaval in our economic, climatic, political and cultural spheres, we will benefit in the long run if we are committed to utilizing all of our nation’s resources—both women and men—to lead together.

More inclusion of women to positions of leadership and decision making will reinforce every departments/sector/organizations/ country’s commitment to having women and men work side-by-side to tackle the challenges we collectively face  as a nation,taking full advantage of the unique leadership traits and diverse perspectives that both genders bring to the table.

 In politics for instance, research has shown that the way in which women enter positions of power can determine whether they will be politically marginalized or become key players in their political organizations and in the decisionmaking positions in public office that they assume  Women elected/nominated due to the introduction of quotas may not claim equal experience and or command equal legitimacy as compared to women who work their way up from the

grassroots and through the party structures, whose stronger voice would automatically become

strategic  in promoting policies that favour gender equality and gender mainstreaming.

 It is of key importance to have a goal that seeks to increase the numbers of  the competitively elected   women at all levels of leadership and decision making

However, this does not altogether negate the gains of more numbers  because  while others may remain politically marginalized with little impact on gender equality issues, others become competent political agents in their own right through the process of political socialization that begins as soon as they enter the political arena, gain experience and, in many cases, face open discrimination.

The importance of gender equity at all levels, — particularly for girls and women — is reflected in all significant development goals, the MDGs in particular. Three of the eight MDGs

specifically address this concerns:

• MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education (i.e, ensure that all boys and girls

complete a full course of primary schooling)

• MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

• MDG 5: Improve maternal health

Women are also primary players in the attainment of:

• MDG 1: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger;

• MDG 4: Reducing child mortality;

• MDG 5: Combating HIV and AIDS .

Supporting more women join leadership  and decision making positions from the lowest unit means increasing women’s influence in household decisions, which in turn improves  their education levels thus significantly improving their children’s survival rates, nutritional status, and educational attainment. Education is the single most powerful means for families

to escape poverty over the longer term.

There is a direct relation between the number of women in decision making positions and the levels of poverty of a country.

If  indeed we are to overcome the current enormous challenge of the boy child erosion and degradation, we have no choice but to have the voice of their  mothers, sisters and daughters listened to, strengthened and respected.

As well, enhancing women’s influence and decision-making power in the household, the workplace, and the political sphere furthers the achievement of gender equity and empowerment of women .This will require systematic and sustained attention in all policy areas and by all actors across all sectors, men included.

The Beijing Platform for Action emphasized that “women’s equal participation in decision making is not only a demand for justice or democracy, but can also be seen as a necessary condition for women’s interests to be taken into account. Without the perspective of women at all levels of decision-making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved.”  

The Beijing Platform for Action defined two strategic objectives in its critical area of concern on women in power and decision-making:

• to ensure women’s equal access to and full participation in power structures and decision making;

• to increase women’s capacity to participate in decision-making and leadership.

There is a direct relationship between the number and quality of women in leadership and decision making positions with the development and peace of a nation

Further Rationale:

Both practitioners and scholars agree that it is of utmost importance to have

equal numbers of women and men in leadership and decision making positions and have advanced a range of arguments for this position:

a)      The justice argument – women account for approximately half the population and

therefore have the right to be represented as such.

b)      The experience argument – women’s experiences are different from men’s and need to

be represented in discussions that result in policy-making and implementation. These

different experiences mean that women ‘do politics/leadership’ differently from men.

c)      The interest argument – the interests of men and women are different and even

conflicting and therefore women are needed in representative institutions to articulate

the interests of women.

d)      The critical mass argument – women are able to achieve solidarity of purpose to

represent women’s interests when they achieve certain levels of representation.

e)      The symbolic argument - women are attracted to political life if they have role models

in the arena.

f)       The democracy argument – the equal representation of women and men enhances

democratization of governance in both transitional and consolidated democracies.

Collective Opportunity beyond the numbers push.

Descriptive (Numerical) Representation – Where the individual represents a group by

the virtue of sharing similar characteristics with the group such as race, sex, age,

ethnicity or geographical area. Women representing women can be seen as a form of

direct participation in decision-making bodies

Substantive representation –Where the individual seeks to advance a particular

group’s policy preferences and interests, without necessarily being a member of the

group as defined by race, sex, ethnicity, etc. Instead the focus is on what the

representative is saying/doing and whether he or she is actually speaking/acting for a

particular group in terms of the content of their positions and statements in public

debates and policy discussions.

This push for leadership should aim at effectively increasing the descriptive and substantive representation of women in all leadership life at all levels, the potential for change in leadership practices—and therefore in outcomes--towards the empowerment of women can be better realized; thereby promoting a more democratic, equitable, and just  Kenyan society which is greener, sustainably developed and safer to live in.
 

Today you simply can’t remain in your carefully constructed comfort zone. Meaning that, unless women are more adventurous like most successful men, they cannot hope to make a meaningful dent competitively into the leadership and decision making  positions. It must be noted that it is only those who take risks in life, who stand a better chance of succeeding, because in Kenya today, one cannot achieve anything without an effort.. 

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." - Beverly Sills .Indeed, this is damnation without relief. Damnation for us all. This is what we need to hear more men countrywide telling their daughters, their mothers, their wives and their friends. It is the true appreciation that we are better together, that we are ready as a people to tap into the largely undiscovered and golden treasure embedded in the dynamism, the creativity and the energy of half of our population. This is the purpose of our gathering here. To share with us that everyone has a role to play. To publicly declare that there is no ceiling, glass marble or otherwise put by men for you to break first.   To join and say that It’s not about them, but about us. It is us to Reach for the Gold. The hidden treasure and potential lying unexploited in every man and woman. What can’t we do to reach for gold? Are we ready to do all it takes to Reach for Gold?