Machakos Governor, Wavinya Ndeti has advised women aspiring to venture into political leadership to be ready to fight for their own space in the men dominated field.
Addressing a women leadership workshop convened by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) at a Nairobi Hotel Monday afternoon, Wavinya pointed out that women in Africa still faced greater challenges navigating the male dominated political sphere.
Citing her highly challenging political journey, she noted that more women were increasingly achieving major milestones in political leadership, thanks to mentorship and globalization.
She said the major drawbacks to women’s prosperity in politics such as gender biased stereotyping, cultural factors, poverty, inadequate education and poor exposure were now being tackled more effectively.
“Never apologize for being a powerful woman. Each time a woman stands up for herself stands up for all women. Embrace confidence wherever you go. A confident woman is a beautiful woman,” Wavinya told the delegates.
The Machakos County boss said empowering women to take leadership is more likely to yield more social benefits.
“Studies have shown that when women are empowered to lead, everyone benefits through increased productivity, enhanced collaboration and improved fairness,” she said.
The workshop brought together women leaders drawn from across 15 countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, and South Africa. Others were from Kosovo, Ukraine, Zambia, Malawi, Philippines, Albania and Grenada.
