ZIMBABWE has been flagged as one of the countries where women are shut out from key decision-making processes, including leadership positions due to policy and practice gaps.
This was revealed in a Southern Africa Stakeholder Analysis report by the women’s rights group, Women Lift Health Southern Africa.
The analysis considered 10 countries in the region — Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The analysis sought to understand the current status of women leaders, key barriers and enablers to their leadership in public health, among others.
Women Lift Health Southern Africa director Akhona Tshangela said patriarchal norms continued to shape decision-making.
“Even proven solutions, such as leadership development programmes, male allyship and work-life balance initiatives, are inconsistently applied, often leaving rural and underrepresented women behind. But the findings aren’t just a diagnosis, they are a call to action,” she said.
“Deeply entrenched patriarchal values embedded within the social, religious and cultural landscape prioritise men as leaders in the home and community, devaluing women’s leadership.
“Racial and gendered impacts of colonialism on social structures throughout the region have had lingering effects for years following liberation, affecting progress on women’s equality.”
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Tshangela said there was lack of institutional will to change workplace dynamics.
“What looks like progress on paper is often a façade inside health systems, women are still hitting invisible walls,” she said.
“While there are institutional initiatives aimed at empowering women and providing them with opportunities for leadership within institutions, these efforts often falter due to inadequate financial support.
“Respondents believed that lack of dedicated funding for programmes such as leadership training, mentorship and advocacy campaigns meant that many potentially impactful initiatives remained underdeveloped or entirely unimplemented.”
