Do Women Make Better Leaders?

Do Women Make Better Leaders?

Three blogs or thought leaders that I respect have addressed this intriguing question

1. CBS News feature John Zenger and Joseph Folkman. "In decades of analyzing exceptional leadership, John Zenger and Joseph Folkman have identified 16 traits required for success. These include integrity, initiative, self-development, problem solving and a drive for results. Zenger and Folkman have made their names and their business by designing powerful tools to test for these qualities and to develop them in high potential executives. That's given them the data to analyze where the qualities are most likely to be found. With regards to the differences in effectiveness between male and female leaders, the results were striking: Women outscore men in leadership effectiveness". See full article here
2. Diversity Woman suggest a need to (a) Understand the differences in the perceptions of Caucasian, African-American, Asian, and Latino women and how those perceptions can impact the ability of women to break into leadership positions and (b) Understand that a good leader has both traditionally male and traditionally female leadership qualities. It is not an either-or. The styles are complementary. Read More Here
3. FORBES featured Elena Bajic, the founder and CEO of Ivy Exec, as well as a contributor to Forbes on topics of HR and Entrepreneurship. She says that "We need to move past questioning whether women are as capable as men, or are better suited for this role or that role…and focus on the skills and capabilities they bring as professionals. Please see more here
   
   
    

Afchix Uganda attends the Girl Geek Dinner Event

Thoughtworks Uganda hosts the first edition of Girl Geek Dinners

On the 7th February 2014 Thoughtworks Uganda hosted the first edition of the Girl Geek Dinners at the Piato Restaurant in Kampala, Uganda. Afchix Uganda participated together with Women in Technology Uganda and Girl Geek Kampala.

Girl Geek Dinners is an informal organization that promotes women in the Information technology industry. It has 64 established chapters in 23 countries. Sarah Lamb founded it in London, United Kingdom in August 2005. She was tired of being the only woman at technical events. The main goal of Girl Geek Dinners is to provide a safe environment for women who want to meet other amazing women with the same passion about technology.

New Vision Uganda covered the event - please read more

Part 5 of 5 AfChix Uganda Stories Featuring Liz Mirembe’s GHC 2013 Experiences

Why you must attend GHC 2014 – Liz Mirembe shares her GHC 2013 Experiences

Attending the Grace Hopper Conference in Minneapolis 2-5 October 2013, was an amazing experience for me. I was exposed to many great women and this exposure changed my perception of life in terms of what one can achieve as a woman. I had very high expectations prior to the conference and can boldly say they were fully met! The key highlights for me were:

• Listening to Megan Smith, the vice president of Google[x]! Apparently there is a group of people working hard and researching about alternative and more affordable means to see that the African Experience of the internet is made better.

• During our panel presentation on “Mobile experiences for the differently abled users”, we interacted with an amazing audience which gave us great advice on how to proceed with our plans, goals and the vision.

• The student opportunity lab session opened my mind to new ICT career opportunities and widened my understanding of the existing ones. For example the career possibilities of being a patent lawyer or an agent.

• The Career Fair at the conference blessed me with an opportunity of being able to explore my career options and I also got advice on how to proceed with my graduate studies.

All in all, the conference was a mind opener and a life changing experience for me. I would like to say thank you very much to Afchix Uganda and the Anita Borg Institute for making it possible. I am encouraging girls in Africa to consider submitting papers and posters so that they can attend the 2014 Grace Hopper Conference for the Celebration of Women in Computing and learn from the experience.

Miss Liz Mukasa Mirembe graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering from Makerere University in Kampala Uganda in January 2014.