adminRuth Butaumocho Gender Editor
It is a dream for most young girls to excel in school, get a high flying job with a company listed on the stock exchange, marry an executive and live happily ever after. However, for many those dreams will remain as such – dreams. The case is different for young bank executive Evonia Muzondo, who is not only living her dream, but is slowly carving her name in the hall of fame in the finance and asset management sector as a hardworking financier with a vision.
At 35, Evonia is the head of research in asset management at Tetrad Holdings, an area that is still a preserve of men, save for a handful women, who are rising up to the challenge.
She firmly believes that the issue of gender should not hinder women’s advancement but women can achieve as much, through hard work, perseverance, determination and defining their own space.
“Like any other girl, I also had dreams, while growing up. However, my father made me realise that dreaming alone, without working hard towards achieving those set targets would not get me anywhere,” she recalls.
Evonia is responsible for leading the research team, managing and delivering equities and economic research including strategic analysis, information that will eventually be given to investors, to review, evaluate and revisit their management portfolios.
Her job involves monitoring trends on both listed and unlisted companies, initiative and managing research on those companies and recommending what stocks investors should invest backed by reliable research.
“Expert knowledge is required including staying on top of the game in economic, industry and company developments,” she said.
Despite the enormous pressure that the job has, Evonia has been able to measure up to the task, a skill she mastered while growing up as part of the tutelage her father instilled in her.
“Being a staunch believer in the girl child empowerment, my dad would often tell me that I was good as my brother and could actually do better, once I set my goals,” she recalls.
With her father firmly behind her, she cruised through her high school with ease and already knew which course she would embark on. Soon after completing her A-Level, she enrolled for the then Charted Institute of Secretaries, now ICSAZ, which then was highly rated among financial institutions in Zimbabwe and in the region.
With that course, she knew that it would edge her closer to her dreams, of becoming an authority in the financial sector. She was not wrong.
“While doing my second level in 2001, I got my first job with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as a settlements officer.
“My brief but exciting stint with the bank which lasted for two years, gave me an opportunity to widen my horizons and explore opportunities that lay ahead,” she enthused.
Equipped with her experience of dealing with an array of clients from diverse backgrounds, Tetrad offered her a job within the asset management division in 2003.
It was at Tetrad that she realised that being a woman alone without the necessary requisites was not good enough, if one wanted to be taken seriously.
“I worked very hard so that I could be considered for better things that were in the offing. I needed to prove that I was not only good at what I was doing, but management could afford to trust me with the position and responsibility they had entrusted me with,” Evonia said.
With the support of her former boss and her current managing director, Evonia overcame social stereotypes heavily embedded in many, that women cannot handle huge portfolios and responsibilities.
“It is all in the mind. Women are as hard working and can go an extra mile, as long as the environment is conducive and with the necessary support,” she said.
While many may want to believe that the few women currently at the top got there through affirmative initiatives, Evonia believes that it is hard work, tenacity, perseverance and determination that have seen these women climb the corporate ladders.
“The reason why there are not many women at the top is because of the way we are socialised. We were made to believe that we should allow men to lead while we trail behind. But that does not mean that women are not capable.
“However, that perception has changed as attested by global trends where we now see women in high positions in the corporate world or even as heads of state.
“Rather than wait for a nod to get to the next level, women should believe in their capabilities, work and reach for the sky.”
Although she is tasked with a huge responsibility of shaping the company’s vision and hordes of investors who hinge their assets on their market analysis, Evonia diligently executes her mandate with ease and enthusiasm.
She owes her achievement and success to her father and husband, Godknows Nyamutowera.
Online Reporter