It’s a man’s world – how many years will it take for women to be seen as qualified leaders like men? 

When Amal Mohamed Muse first started as a manager, her team did not accept her as a leader. The problem was that she is a woman. Now Muse explains what needs to change in order for gender equality to be achieved. 

Amal Mohamed Muse, the gender-based violence field coordinator of Solidarity, speaks directly about the status of women in the workplace. The expert of the Ethiopian team emphasizes the importance of women being seen as equal to men. It is also a prerequisite for ending gender-based violence. 

“Men are always prioritized,” Muse states. “There are many things where women are not considered, such as decision-making. For example, women are not seen as qualified leaders. There is a lot of doubt.” 

According to UN Women, women hold 28 percent of managerial positions globally, and the progress is slow. UN Women estimates the portion of female leaders will increase to 30 percent by the year of 2050. 

“Women are not seen in higher positions. It doesn’t matter how educated you are or how successful you are in your career. People will assume that you’ll end up as a housewife at some point,” Muse explains about the attitudes in Ethiopia’s Somali region. 

Gender roles make it difficult for women  

In Ethiopia, 27,5 percent of managerial positions are held by women. The gap between men and women is primarily caused by gender-related expectations rooted in societal structures. Women are traditionally seen as caregivers.  

Even in the childhood, the roles for boys and girls are very different. “So many girls and women are ambitious and want to reach leading positions, but they are not given that opportunity. Parents do not treat girls and boys equally,” Muse explains.  

The inequality between boys and girls is evident even in the childhood. For example, girls spend much of their free time doing household chores, while boys have time to play, hang out and do homework after school. “Girls don’t get the same opportunities as boys.”  

“Yet they still manage to prove themselves,” Muse adds. Hope is not lost for girls, but they have to work twice as hard to prove their capabilities.  

Unequal division of care and domestic work is one of the main reasons for economic inequality between genders. According to the World Bank, 75 percent of working-age women in Ethiopia are employed compared to 86 percent of men. Women’s livelihoods often depend on the support of other women. For example, Muse is able to work because her mother takes care of her child during the day. 

The economic inequality comes with a high price. The World Bank estimates that if women and men participated equally in the labour market, the global GDP would increase by 20 percent. 

Women are not seen as leaders 

Even in countries where a large portion of women have their own income, the number of female leaders remains low. This is due to gender roles and attitudes. Muse has personally experienced what it is like to be a young woman in a manager position. Before starting as the GBV field coordinator for ISF, she worked as a project manager in Ethiopia. 

 “I faced challenges even before I officially started in the role,” Muse says. People were saying that she got the job because of her father. Many questioned whether a woman could have gotten the job based on her abilities. 

“My male colleagues didn’t appreciate that I started in the position. It took me a year to build a good relationship with my subordinates,” Muse explains. 

Gender discrimination made it harder to work: “I had to spend most of my time to build a relationship with my team so that we could work smoothly.”  

The prejudices extended beyond her team as well. Muse was excluded from many important meetings because organizers ignored her messages and didn’t see her as a legitimate leader. She had to work hard to establish cooperation with local governments.  

As prejudices challenged her work, Muse focused on improving team relationships and building trust. This decision proved wise, as she successfully created a functioning work environment. For this reason, Muse sees positive sides in her experience: “I learned how to deal with tough situations and to work with subordinates, to discuss sensitive topics. I gained a lot of experience—not just for my career but also in my personal life.” 

The article continues after the video.

In her father’s footsteps  

“I didn’t grow up in a typical Somali family,” Muse says.  

Muse says her father has always been very supportive of her. When Muse was a child, her father would gather her and her sisters to tell them stories about his career. “He always encouraged us to follow in his footsteps. He has worked in the NGO sector for about 30 years.”  

However, societal expectations outweighed the father’s words. “When I was young, I always had the idea that I was not going to work. I would stay at home and be a housewife, raise my kids. But after I graduated, I realized I didn’t want to stay at home and be dependent on someone.”  

When Muse had a child, she stayed at home for six months. That’s when she understood she didn’t want to stay at home for the rest of her life. 

What frustrates Muse the most is how little appreciation women receive for the work they do. Women sustain society through unpaid care and domestic work, but they are often not appreciated. Globally, women spend nearly three times more time on unpaid care and domestic work compared to men. Having a livelihood doesn’t reduce the amount of unpaid work; instead, women do unpaid care and domestic work on top of their jobs. This places a significant burden on women and can also affect their careers.  

“As a woman, you have many responsibilities, many expectations, but you only receive little thanks or recognition”, Muse says. 

Progress is too slow 

“The culture is now changing, but in the past, women had no chance to make any decisions, not even about their own lives. You can still see this in some areas,” Muse explains.  

In Ethiopia, the progress is faster than the global average. UN Women estimates that by 2050, Ethiopia will have almost the same portion of women in managerial positions as Finland. While the share of female leaders in Finland is expected to increase by only half a percentage point to 34,1 percent, Ethiopia is on track to reach 33,4 percent.  

Muse confirms that she can see the change happen: “I have seen the situation change in the Somali region. Women are increasingly being chosen to leading positions.” 

Although the pace of progress in Ethiopia is faster than the global average, it remains slow. At the current rate, it will take 25 years until women make up only a third of managerial positions. The work for equality is not yet finished. 

Photo: Nafkot Gebeyehu
Video: Lotta Haavisto