All set for women in Human resource meet

The Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM) yesterday began to host its first conference for women.

The Women in HR Convention seeks to empower women to take up leadership positions in society.

Themed “Transformed Professional Woman”, the two-day forum in Naivasha is designed to engage women at all stages of their careers to become experienced practitioners.  

“We look forward to showcasing inspirational and talented women brand builders, even as we shall crown this with a mentor-mentee identification programme,” reveals IHRM in a concept note, adding that the “Women in HR” convention will take place between 6 and 8 March at Lake Naivasha Resort.

The initiative comes at a time Kenya is standing out among countries in the world that have the highest number of women serving on boards at 19.8 per cent--according to a report by the International Finance Corporation (2017) --above the global average of 15 per cent.

“However, the corporate world is harsh and cutthroat. The impact is mostly measured in terms of profits,” notes IHRM, adding that only recently have corporates began to slowly embrace a wider scale to measure the impact of leaders to include social impact, teamwork, employee innovation and customer retention, among others.

“This shift gives women a chance to shine as their natural skills of collaboration and teamwork are an asset,” adds IHRM.

However, IHRM finds that not all barriers facing women can be attributed to the glass ceiling imposed by the traditional workplace.

 “Women often hold themselves back from advancement with self-imposed barriers such as low self-esteem and lack of unity amongst themselves.”

 However, to change this trend, IHRM notes that women must develop a personality necessary for moving up the social ladder and this will take the rigorous development of conversational, relational and emotional intelligence qualities.

 “We have many distinguished ladies at the helm of Government, corporate and not-for-profit organizations.

 Nevertheless, many feel lost in the workplace, almost as if they are playing a game whose rules they are unaware of,” reveals IHRM.

“Men know the rules because they wrote them, but women often feel shut out of the process since they don't know when to speak up, when to take responsibility, what to speak, or better yet whether to apply for a job in the first place just to mention a few key moves that can make or break a career,” it adds.

As a result, IHRM says the convention will empower women to position themselves to their advantage.