WIGA holds Women Leadership Masterclasses

Women in Governance and Accounting (WIGA) is to hold Women Leadership Masterclasses beginning this month, targeting women from all professions and backgrounds who want to prepare themselves for leadership and board appointments.

The masterclasses, which will be certified by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe (ICSAZ), are to be conducted as a follow-up to WIGA's first webinar, which was held on Wednesday last week.

In her address to the well-attended webinar, WIGA chairperson Avilla Goba stressed the importance of women who are aspiring to become board members knowing what selection panels look for when choosing company directors and those to be appointed to leadership positions.

"It is important for women who are aspiring to obtain board appointments to know the attributes that selection panels for leadership positions and board appointments consider," Dr Goba said.

She called on researchers to explore whether leadership and board diversity contribute to the transformation of companies into more sustainable, valuable and responsible entities in order to make a case for diversity that delivers.

WIGA was established in November last year as a chapter of ICSAZ to bring together professional women in governance and accounting from diverse professional disciplines to share their insights and experiences and position themselves for leadership.

The theme of last week's webinar was 'Women on Boards in Zimbabwe: A WIGA Stocktaking Talk'.

The webinar moderator, Mrs Esther Muchenje-Mandizvidza, told webinar participants that the global Chartered Governance Institute, ICSAZ's parent body, had released a thought provoking report entitled 'Women in the Boardroom: An International Governance Stocktake in 2021'.

The report had concluded that the last decade had seen an improvement in board member gender diversity but that change was slow.

"The improvement in board gender diversity was noted as being most successful in statutory boards and in countries where there is political will for gender diversity, like we have witnessed in Zimbabwe," she said.

Among the presenters at last week's webinar were Dr Rossane Hawarden, the New Zealand representative on the CGI Global Thought Leadership Group, Ms Thokozile Ruzvidzo, director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa's Poverty and Social Policy Division, and Ambassador Gertrude Takawira, former Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Zambia and Permanent Representative to Comesa.