HARARE - Commendable efforts women are taking to maintain a foothold in the male dominated financial and economic sectors make it pertinent that they get collective support from their male counterparts.
Their impact on economic revival should not be underrated.
For too long, women have been downgraded to operating at micro-level in economic affairs and it is opportune that measures are put in place to unleash their potential in the business sector.
Women Affairs minister, Oppah Muchinguri’s crusade for government to prioritise the re-alignment of economic-related laws that hinder women’s participation in all sectors deserves attention.
Interestingly, the thrust for women upliftment comes at a time when most countries concede that gender imbalance in these two spheres has worked to deny nations maximum benefits from the embryonic business and economic acumen inherent in women to provide the essential push that has been missing all along.
The patriarchal nature of our societies has denied women emancipatory opportunities to take leading roles in the economic domain despite commonplace evidence that when women are more involved in economic activities, growth does gain momentum.
In the recent past, economic and financial spheres were largely a preserve for men.
Rarely does one find women as ministers of Finance on the African continent up to now. But the scene has transformed exponentially although the achievements still fall short of those prescribed by regional and international gender protocols on women emancipation and empowerment.
Women’s contributions to key economic sectors that include tourism, agriculture, trade and mining have not been fully recognised in ensuring sustainable development of nations.
There is therefore urgent need to harvest female entrepreneurial skills for national benefit while in the same vein capturing this often neglected talent.
Quite clearly a few women have so far benefited from the indigenisation and economic empowerment programmes while a majority of men have taken advantage to benefit immensely.
Muchinguri says women have been suffering from gender-based segregation in economic activities, stifling their ambitions to play recognisable roles in nation building and niche opportunities in forward economic development and progress.
So, government ought to heed her advice to seriously interrogate the laws that are still hindering women’s participation in all forms of development and those that still discriminate against women.
Moreover, current constitutional provisions demand gender balance in all sectors of the economy.
Past laws have tended to assign women to the periphery of serious economic activity, thus excluding them from playing leading roles to spearhead economic revival and sustainability.
The current crusade by both Muchinguri and Vice President Joice Mujuru for women inclusion must not be allowed to lose steam.
It is a step in the right direction.