WOMEN WORKING FOR CHANGE (WFC)
is a network and platform of female business leaders in Africa.
WFC was born in 2015, at a turning point in the struggle for women’s rights across the world. Nepal had appointed its first female president. Saudi Arabian women voted for the first time. Canada achieved its first gender-balanced cabinet. Ouma Laouali became the first female pilot in Niger while Zimasa Mabela took command on a navy vessel in South Africa, the first ever African woman to achieve this distinction.
2015 was also declared the year of women empowerment towards Africa Agenda 2063 by the African Union while in Nigeria and Gambia the centuries old ritual of female mutilation was banned. Socially, economically, politically and culturally, women’s empowerment appeared in good health.
But at the same time, research, studies and reports were being released, demonstrating that in fact, we are still 130 years away from gender equality.
Yet making gender diversity a business priority is not only the ethical thing to do, but it is also good for business. Companies with more gender-balanced workforces outperformed their least-balancepeers by as much as 2% points annually for the last decade, a BlackRock Study found. Studies from McKinsey also have linked gender diversity to above average profitability.
As business leaders and key influencers in Africa, we were reminded more than ever, of our duty to address massively inequality particularly in developing and advocating women’s leadership in the African private sector, ever our primary area of focus and expertise.
Hence our symbolic launch, in March 2016, at the Africa CEO forum in Abidjan that was a reach out to Africa’s top business leaders. And the creation of a partnership to generate the long-term, sustainable momentum, needed to drive change on the continent.
Since then, WFC has grown, evolved and become ever more effective at tackling the challenges faced by businesswomen in Africa, and companies attempting to implement gender diversity strategies.
The WFCs cutting-edge initiatives and anchor projects include:
WFC at the AFRICA CEO FORUM: 2016.
WFC Mentors & Future Leaders: 2017.
WFC The Summit: 2018.
WFC The Network: 2018.
WFC Get Women on Board: 2019.
WFC The Gender Diversity Charter: 2019.
WFC Gender Champions Meetings 2021.
WFC at the AFRICA FINANCIAL INDUSTRY SUMMIT 2022
Growing from strength to strength, WFC continues to inspire, shape and provide a platform for businesswomen driven to create lasting change.
Change is still in short supply when it comes to gender-equality and sstrategies in Africa. But change cannot be decreed: it is a choice, a mindset, a process and a way of doing business that requires focus, talent and action.
In February 2020, The Women in Business Initiative was renamed, Women Working for Change (WFC) to reassert our commitment to nurturing and igniting women in leadership positions and making gender diversity a strategic business goal.
WFC is a catalyst and trusted partner, in the lives of African businesswomen, hungry for change and driven to succeed. WFC is a transformative platform providing efficient self-development and advocacy tools along with influential networking.
Our continental network also promotes equity practically by encouraging African companies to view diversity as a strategic business objective. The business case for gender diversity is strong. Companies with more gender diversity on their executive teams are more likely to have above-average profitability than those who have less gender diversity. Organizations with more women in leadership deliver stronger leadership. Companies with diversity are more likely to capture new markets. And, companies with above-average diversity on their management teams report more average innovation revenue, compared to companies with a below-average diversity score.
As companies continue to experience significant disruption from technology, we expect the business case for diversity to grow even stronger with the increased need for innovation.
A fairer, stronger, more competitive African business world, empowered by gender-equal transformative leadership:
50% women on boards.
50% women CEOs.
50% women in management committees.
50% women at the top of Africa’s top 500 companies.
50% women in the workplace and equal pay.
Who are fully engaged and committed to Africa’s development and who want to make an impact in Africa’s growth story.
We’re not very good with small talk. We mean business. We mean tangible results. We convert the inspiring momentum we have created, the exposure we have gained and the potential we have unleashed into breakthrough leadership and concrete solutions that impact the ecosystems wherever women do business in Africa.
Challenging the status quo, changing mindsets, getting and keeping that seat at the table, defeating self-censorship, engaging key stakeholders, driving transformation and achieving what is rightfully ours is a challenging task. We undertake it with courage, perseverance and talent.
We are a collective of leaders and businesswomen who thrive in unity. We learn from one another and grow together. It’s a community built on trust, co-creation and being each other’s champions. Solidarity and inspiration guide us through our journey as we share in each other’s success
We owe it to ourselves and to Africa. We set the bar high and strive to achieve a better version of ourselves as leaders and as individuals. We do not compromise on our ethics, behavior or expertise. We believe striving for greatness is an agent of change. And a catalyst for iconic leadership.
We open new roads for ourselves and for generations to come. And we write stories about women leaders worthy of being shared. We endeavor to pass on our hard-won experience, knowledge and a legacy of best practices and sustainable platforms
