The fifth Ladies’ Leadership and Accountability Conference has kicked off in Mombasa at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort and Spa by the Association of Women Accountants of Kenya (AWAK). Themed Women Blazing Trails: Exploring an enabled world, the conference brings together more than 300 women from various fields around the world to deliberate on social, corporate and professional issues.
The three-day event was graced by Chief guest Nominated Senator Haji Farhiya Ali of Wajir County , Prof. Margaret Muthui, Dr Margaret Nyakango current Controller of Budget, ICT Champion Prof. Bitange Ndemo, the former Controller of Budget FCPA Agnes Odhiambo, entrepreneur CEO Wanjiru Waithaka of FunKidz, Caren Wakoli, Founder and Executive Director, Emerging Leaders Foundation and FCPA Rose Mwaura, Chairman ICPAK among others.
The event comes at a time the world is preparing to celebrate World Women’s Day which falls on March 8, 2020, with calls to have women included in more active roles in top leadership positions.
In the past four years, the Association of Women Accountants of Kenya (AWAK) has been holding a series of events anchored on the auspice of the International Women Week to underpin the role of women in leadership and prepare them across board to take up leadership challenges even as they champion for accountability in both the public, private and society at large.
The year 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action which is recognized as the most progressive roadmap for the empowerment of women and girls, everywhere since 1995 with AWAK being on the forefront in ensuring that women have what is needed to empower them.
“We are glad to join the rest of the World in commemorating this important week geared towards celebrating and deliberating the gains and challenges in the attainment of equality and realizing women’s rights,” said Georgina Malombe, the Chairperson of AWAK.
The conference also includes the youth who are the backbone of not only Kenya’s future but the world at large. In the 2019 Census results, about 75 percent of Kenya’s population is made up of the youth.
2019 saw a major influx of workers from Generation Z (individuals born in the late 1990s and early 2000s). At the same time, many companies have also employed Baby Boomers and members of Generation X. These age cohorts come from different cultural and economic backgrounds, and the management styles that work for one group may not work for another.
As Millennials increasingly populate the job market, global workplaces are changing dramatically. It’s not just about how Millennials spend their time—attached to their cellphones, checking friends’ Instagram photos, and chatting about what they have seen on YouTube. It’s also about their mindset; they tend to have specific expectations, attitudes and behavioral styles that are different from those of Baby Boomers and Generation X.
These characteristics can be advantageous for efficiency but could equally pose challenges and opportunities for older supervisors.
Women considered to have strong nurturing skills, need to be leaders at the workplace and help bridge the divide, generation gap notwithstanding. This conference, hence, seeks to delve deeper into these subject matters and explore solutions towards enhanced women participation in the global affairs in line with the global campaign theme of an equal world is an enabled world.