malvernmugadzikwa
Oliver Kazunga
WOMEN have all it takes to occupy and excel in top leadership positions across different sectors and they need to fight for their rightful place, one of Zimbabwe’s lustrous female business leaders, Dr Eve Christine Gadzikwa, has said.
Formerly with the Standards Association of Zimbabwe as director general, Dr Gadzikwa stepped down last month to take up a top post at the Sadc Accreditation Service (Sadcas) in Gaborone, Botswana beginning this month.
Sadcas is a multi-economy accreditation body established in terms of Article 15 B of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Annex to the Sadc Protocol on Trade with the primary purpose of ensuring that conformity assessment service providers (calibration/testing/medical laboratories, certification and inspection bodies) operating in regional member States, which do not have national accreditation bodies are subject to an oversight by an authoritative body.
In a recent interview in Harare before she left the country, Dr Gadzikwa who is a strong advocate of women said:
“Yes, we have got a lot of challenges, it’s a man’s world but l think women have risen to the occasion, they are in the board rooms.
“But we don’t have as many as we should, we need 25 percent of women who constitute these boards, even if you look at listed companies, we don’t have women there but we are saying we have got a critical mass. We must find ourselves in those boards and we can do it.”
Dr Gadzikwa holds a Masters in Business Administration from Nottingham Trent University, a Specialist Post Graduate Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology with the University of Zimbabwe as well as the Institute of Marketing Management (IMM) Diploma in Marketing.
As a woman, she is involved in projects that seek to empower and uplift women to reach their full potential in different sectors.
For example, last month she was part of a group of women that attended the Women Executive Leaders Roundtable in Kariba.
“I have been a very strong supporter of women, actually l have just come back from Kariba where we had the Women Executive Leaders Roundtable. I am a member of the CEO Africa Roundtable that has a women’s chapter and l’ve been supporting, mentoring and coaching them.
“To women, l say take up your rightful place. And l am always amazed with the calibre of women that we have in Zimbabwe,” said Dr Gadzikwa.
Some of the women in the Women Executive Leaders Roundtable are either leading or owners of businesses in sectors such as real estate, farming, legal fraternity, hospitality and construction.
The luminary Zimbabwean business leader deputises Mr Canaan Dube who chairs the National Code on Corporate Governance and she has been instrumental in the first project that delivered the Zimcode 1.
The code, which provides a framework for corporate conduct for both the public and private sectors came into effect in 2015.
Among other key elements, the code critically evaluates issues of corruption in the public and private sectors, corporate disclosure, communication and mechanisms for creating trust between shareholders, boards, management and employees.
“And now l am working on the Zimcode 2, l am deputizing the respected lawyer Mr Canaan Dube. “So, these are some of the projects which l can say l have done.
“I think the track record speaks for itself. There is a lot that can speak about what l have done in my time and l think l’ve actually taken myself out of my comfort zone,” she said.
Dr Gadzikwa is also the first black woman to chair the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and the first female Institute of Directors of Zimbabwe (IoDZ) chairperson.
“I chaired the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) at one point and the Institute of Directors of Zimbabwe, I was the first female chairperson of IoDZ so, l have done all these things.
“I was also the first black woman to chair the ZSE. This is the story which is untold about women, they are doing amazing things sometimes you don’t get to know about it and l would say for women the sky is the limit.”
Dr Gadzikwa spoke highly of fellow women who have played a glorious role for her to be where she is today.
“To be where l am right now, l have been also mentored by other women that l’m very close to.
“I am not afraid to mention their names we have Dr Grace Muradzikwa (the commissioner for the Insurance and Pensions Commission), she is a strong mentor of mine, Professor Hope Sadza (Women’s University in Africa vice chancellor), and people like Chipo Mtasa (TelOne managing director). These are women whom l look up to as well including Mrs Vimbai Nyemba (Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe chairperson),” said Dr Gadzikwa.
She also interacts with influential women in Zimbabwe and these include Old Mutual Insurance Company managing director Mrs Gloria Zvaravanhu, National Blood Services of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Mrs Lucy Marova, K. Davie Packaging chief executive officer Ms Kudzai Dave and the Women’s Microfinance Bank chief executive officer Dr Mandas Marikanda.
“There are so many amazing women in Zimbabwe. I don’t want to lie, l’ve been privileged and had that opportunity to interact with some of these women.
“Nqobile Munzara, she is a lawyer …l position myself to say, yes we have got our men whom we work with on these boards, but as women we also have our own constituency and we also have got our Constitution, how can we leverage and it’s a question of really unlocking the value from these women,” she said.
At the moment, Dr Gadzikwa who is now based in Gaborone, Botswana is also involved in the uplifting of youthful women in Zimbabwe.
Though now based in neighbouring Botswana, Dr Gadzikwa will be frequenting the country and one of the projects she remains attached to is the Rafiki Girls Centre.
The centre is a registered trust in Harare that empowers orphaned and other vulnerable girls and young women with life and vocational skills.
“I am working with an organisation called Rafiki Girls Centre, it’s a centre for disadvantaged girls from the ages of 17 to 25. These are disadvantaged but once you empower them, by the time they leave this centre they are totally transformed.
I think all of us who have been in privileged positions like myself, we have got a role to play to uplift the next generation.
“There is a saying that says, ‘If l can see far, it’s because l am standing on the shoulders of giants,’” she said.
Bongani Ndlovu