Should women be given a leg up?

Just after high school I enrolled for a part-time graphic design course to explore my passion for design. I was doing well on my school projects and I thought I could kill some time and earn some money by working in one of those graphic design companies in town. I don’t remember how I found one of those shops in Nairobi’s River Road, but I did and confidently strutted in and asked for a job.

One middle-aged man, presumably the owner, gave me a once-over, grunted in disapproval and told me that I wasn’t cut out for it because it was a man’s job. We had a brief back and forth before I realised that nothing I could say would change his mind. Before then, the idea of being denied an opportunity for the reason that I was a woman was something I didn’t think would ever happen to me.

I was aggressive and assertive and I believed in going after what I wanted, but this time round, I hang my head in disappointment, and fighting back tears – because I did not want to prove to this mean man that I was just another weak woman who couldn’t handle the heat – I tried to steadily walk away with my tail between my legs. I felt totally humiliated and disrespected.

His words had grown roots and after that encounter, I did not seek another job in that line because after all, such jobs were not meant for women. I remembered this while having a heated debate with some friends, both male and female, about affirmative action.

It is a known fact that women are lagging behind in top management positions. Some institutions like the Nairobi Stock Exchange came up with a policy that at least a third of members of a board of a listed company must be women.

DISCORDANT FEMALE REPRESENTATIVES

A few years ago, a study titled Bringing the Other Half to the Boardroom, conducted by the Kenya Institute of Management showed that in state corporations only 20 per cent of members were women, while in listed corporations, only 12 per cent of the members were women.

The government also came up with its own directive, based on the constitutional requirement that not more than two thirds of one gender take up appointive or elected positions, aimed at getting more women at the top.

Not too long ago, one commentator wrote that despite the increased number of women in parliament through the Women Representative position, their representation is dull, discordant and diversionary. Ms Joyce Nyairo, who wrote the said opinion, added that there was a need to reconsider the function of Women Representatives because it represented tokenism which breeds mediocrity and entitlement. Her gripe with them was that they didn’t put up a fight during the debate on the Marriage Bill.

The debate with my friends mirrored this view to a large extent. Many men felt that affirmative action is unwarranted and that women should fight for on equal footing with men and not expect any favours.

SPACE FILLERS

Some women went as far as saying that affirmative action is bad for women because most of the women picked to fill the slots set aside for women, are just space fillers who may not have the requisite skills required for the positions that are handed down to them on a silver platter.

Moreover, they argued that women are judged more harshly than men, and whereas men can get away with not being fully qualified for a job, women cannot afford that luxury. In fact any failure of a woman appointed to meet the quota to get more women represented, reflects badly on all women and cements the view that women don’t have what it takes to be at the helm, hence why they are lagging behind.

I am not sure where I stand in this debate. On the one hand, women need to be given a chance to prove themselves, but does affirmative action mean that women are less qualified for the job? I think not. I have met many women who can do great exploits and numerous studies have shown that it pays to have more women at the top.

When I asked my friends to name any female appointee who had failed in her role after being appointed to meet a quota, no one could come up with any names. There are many reasons why women are underrepresented in the places where it matters, and if affirmative action will help women take their rightful place, then so be it.
Lizzie’s World resumes next week.