IITA-Tanzania was among the recipients of this year’s Rising Woman Award to recognize the Institute’s efforts to support women leaders.
IITA-Tanzania has more women than men in management positions in the Corporate Services, including the Institute’s Director for Eastern Africa, Head of Finance and Administration, and Heads of Human Resources, Procurement, and Communication. Moreover, IITA’s Head of Advocacy and Resource Mobilization is a woman and based in Tanzania.
IITA has an enabling environment that promotes gender equality through its employment policy, gender and inclusion policy, and other policies that facilitate an equal and diverse workplace. Other policies include those on maternity and paternity leave and the harassment and discrimination policy. These policies also help to ensure staff have a work-life balance.
Mwananchi Communications Ltd Business Manager, Jackson Tarimo, presenting the award to the IITA representative, Freddy Baijukya.
“We would like to congratulate IITA for doing well with 80% of leadership positions in the hub’s Corporate Services division (based in IITA-Tanzania) held by women. The effort aligns with our initiative to promote gender equality at the workplace,” said Jackson Tarimo, a Business manager from Mwananchi Communications Ltd, while delivering the trophy.
Representing the IITA Director for Eastern Africa, Freddy Baijukya noted that it is in IITA’s interest to promote gender equality in its efforts to transform agriculture in the country where women are important players, not just in the workplace.
“We are happy to see that our efforts to promote gender in the workplace are bearing fruit. We are very honored with this recognition. We are still far from achieving gender parity, especially in the research-for-development areas. We will redouble our efforts in this area so we also can have as many female scientists as males,” he said while receiving the award on behalf of the Institute.
The Citizen Rising Woman Awards seek to honor organizations with structures and programs that promote gender equality at their workplaces and have women represented in management and decision-making processes.
The awards are a part of the Rising Woman initiative under the Citizen newspaper led by Mwananchi Communications Ltd, a print media house. They launched the initiative in March during the International Women’s Day celebration.
