SGCI Gender and Inclusivity Initiative, Malawi: reflections on the journey

Abstract

'No turning back' Gift Kadzamira, Director of Documentation and Information Systems for the National Commission for Science and Technology in Malawi, shares some of her reflections on the Gender and Inclusivity (G&I) Project of the Science Granting Councils Initiative (Phase 2). In this interview, Kadzamira describes the first phase of the Gender and Inclusivity Project as both "enlightening and rewarding", highlighting in particular the value of the project's peer learning approach which, she says, meant that "one doesn't feel like one is on the receiving end; there's no expert-learner type of relationship. We are always sharing ideas and learning from one another in such a way that you feel you are part of the process; you are also teaching the others". Kadzamira is frank about the challenge presented by the introduction in her organisation of a "new concept" in the form of a gender policy. "For people in the organisation to accept that [policy] took a lot of raising of awareness of the issues and their importance." Another challenge was to ensure members of staff were able to incorporate the issues championed by the new policy into their day-to-day work, and to find a budget for them in the context of a number of competing demands-financial and otherwise. But for Kadzamira, after nearly three years of the project, there's no turning back. "We should continue ... Let's utilise the knowledge and skills we have learned in the peer learning process and apply it in other areas of work," she says.