What you can achieve or what you are capable of is taken away simply because you are a woman. - Chileshe Kapwepwe

As a strong advocate of advancing women in all positions, from boardroom to politics, I however also believe that while quotas are welcome, we have to be careful not to just put women in positions for the sake of filling the quotas. We have to have women fill these positions because they are qualified and capable of doing the job. Because if they are not, then we create a situation where it’s like, “look we gave a woman a chance but she couldn’t do the job”. So we have to make sure women are ready when the quotas come, because we are able, we are capable, we are qualified and have the right skills.

There are just so many complex issues that come in when women are vying for positions in politics – issues that usually suppress women all the time, but not the men.

Solutions don’t just lie in the boardrooms run by managers, they can start from the grassroots. And solutions that are technology-based are great because you can reach more people.