Women best managers – Inonge

VICE-PRESIDENT Inonge Wina has said women make the best managers, although those who aspire for leadership usually fail due to stereotyping of females.
Addressing women who are attending the Consortium of International Management Policy and Development (CIMPAD) and Zambia Society for Public Administration conference in Livingstone on Tuesday, Mrs Wina said aspiring leaders usually fail due to societal stigma attached to women leaders.

“Women are faced with many challenges that are gender-specific, but I think women are the best managers. We manage our homes with limited resources; take care of children; husbands and relatives but still go to work and perform marvelously,” she said.

 

Mrs Wina said woman need to fight to prove to society that they too are capable leaders.
“Women leadership is not easy due to judgment by society and there is a lot of opposition. You have to prove yourself 100 percent to be accepted,” she said.

 

Mrs Wina also pointed out that women leaders bear multiple roles in society although their male counterparts do not appreciate this fact.
She said one of the problems women in public service have to fight for is maternity leave as some employers are resistant to granting that right

 

The Vice-President also reiterated Government’s commitment to the girl-child’s education as one way of addressing leadership challenges faced by women in the country.
And Mrs Wina has called on the Church to join in the fight against early marriages and pregnancies, STEVEN MVULA reports from Lusaka.
Speaking when she opened the 43rd general council of Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ), she said the number of girls dropping out of school due to pregnancies is alarming.

 

Mrs Wina said statistics indicate that last year alone, over 16,000 girls dropped out of school due to pregnancies.
“The Church is well-spread across the country and so you are better placed to help Government reduce the number of girls falling pregnant by inculcating biblical morals in them,” she said.

 

Mrs Wina said Zambia also wants to reduce the number of women dying due to complications of pregnancies.
“Women and children living in rural areas and hard-to-reach areas of our country are the worst affected and the PF government will be relying on CHAZ to support us reduce child and maternal mortality,” she said.
Mrs Wina said delays in receiving appropriate care in health facilities put the lives of mothers at risk.

 

“No Zambian woman should die [while] giving life. No child should die because they are our future,” Mrs Wina said.
Further, the Vice-President expressed happiness that CHAZ has already begun deliberating on sustainable development goals (SDGs), which come into effect after millennium development goals cease at the end of this year.

 

“I wish to commend CHAZ for its proactive stance to make SDGs the focus of the general council so that you reflect on your past achievements and plan for the future of your organisation,” Mrs Wina said.
She said Government will strengthen its partnership with CHAZ by including Church health facilities on its infrastructure development programme.

 

And CHAZ chairperson Joop Jansen said the association is ready to support Government’s development agenda and its efforts to offer health services.
Dr Jansen said CHAZ is committed to serving the poor by offering them health services.

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