Open doors for other women, female leaders urged 

“I will never forget having a conversation with Peter Kimbowa of CEO Summit (Uganda). After I did the CEO apprenticeship programme and that was in 2014 and I remember asking him how can I make my way up?  I told him I feel I have reached a ceiling and need to make my way up and had the same conversation with a few CEOs as well,” Ms Nsibirwa said, adding, “I remember he directed me to a prominent lady, a leader in town, a director, very prominent-he said, ‘call her, send her your CV and she should be able to help you on your journey up’ and that is exactly what I did...and she said…‘yeah, let me get back to you.’ And that conversation did not move beyond that.”

Ms Nsibirwa narrated her experience to a keenly attentive audience that had shown up for the Awards at Hotel Africana, in Kampala.

“Then another lady, she was on several boards, a close friend, I was like, ‘help me,’ I also want to get onto boards [and she responded], ‘Of course Susan, send me your CV’ and I sent it to her and she said, ‘It was very good. You have done so well.’…[but] nothing. But then the person who started inviting me to join boards, even that of Nation Media Group was a gentleman, not a lady...That is my story. That it is not the women who opened the doors for me but it is men, yet, I went looking for women.”

The intention of sharing the experience, Ms Nsibirwa said, was a way of urging women to lift others.
“My call really is, let us open doors for other women by showing them the way. If you see her make a mistake in her career journey, show her the way, mentor her, tell her that is not the way to go as opposed to seeing younger women making mistakes,” she said.

The Inspector General of Government (IGG) Beti Kamya who was the chief guest at the Awards encouraged women to embrace their womanliness because of the crucial role they naturally play in society.
“We need to remember the unique privilege that God gave us to bring forth human beings and shape them into that [human] being who will give glory to God,” Ms Kamya said, adding, “The power to change the world lies in working on the mindset and if all the effort we deploy to achieve equality is deployed to get women to inculcate the right values in their children, during their formative years, half the battle will be won.”

The celebratory evening saw NMG-U in partnership with KPMG Uganda award respective organisations for having structures and programmes in place that promote gender equality at respective workplaces. Under the Empower Her Awards category, Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) emerged on top while the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) emerged the best under the Woman of the Future Award category. The winning organisations walked away with accolades.

The Board Chairperson of NMG-U Prof Samuel Sejjaaka commended the incredible achievements of women leaders who have paved the way for future generations.
“Each success story is a testament to the power of determination and resilience,” he said.
Prof Sejjaaka then shared the experience of how his mother was a resilient woman.

“The only reason why I am able to stand here before you is because of a very strong woman, that is my mother. When everything was going wrong, difficult, when the road was rough, semi-illiterate as she was, she was always there, made sure I was fed, clothed,” he said, adding, “In the days when I grew up, the fathers, including mine, may he rest in peace, their one and only job was to make sure that they paid school fees and the rest was up to your mother. So, if you did not have a mother like the one I had, I would not be standing here.”

A Partner at KPMG Uganda, a network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Regulatory Services, Mr Peter Kyambadde, said under Empower Her Award category, “they recognised organisations that promote gender equality at their workplaces,” while under the Women of the Future Award category, they, “recognised unique and impactful organisation initiatives that advance gender balance in the workplace.”

List of the winners of the Empower Her Award:
1.       Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD)-First position
2.       Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE)-Second position
3.       TARA Advocates-Third position
4.       MU-JHU Research Collaboration
5.       AHF Uganda Cares
6.       Smart Applications International
7.       Right to Play-organisation
8.       ATC Uganda
9.       Housing Finance Bank

List of winners for the Woman of the Future Award
1.       Uganda Revenue Authority (URA)-First position
2.       ABSA Bank Uganda Limited-2nd position
3.       Housing Finance Bank-3rd position
4.       Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE)
5.       Standard Chartered Bank
6.       ATC Uganda
7.       TARA Advocates
8.       Ambaa Clothing
9.       Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD)
10.   Right to Play-organisation