ABSRACT
The following report is a summary of the proceedings of the Zimbabwe Women Doctors Association Networking Lunch Event for women doctors and medical student. The networking lunch was held on the 5th of March 2022 at Alechi Restaurant in celebration of International Women’s Day with the theme BreakTheBias.
The main goal of the event was to celebrate women doctors’ achievement, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality. Attendees also had a good time networking and getting to know each other outside work settings.
OBJECTIVES
Objectives of the International Women’s Day Networking Lunch were:
- To commemorate International Women’s Day
- To celebrate women doctors’ and medical student’s achievements
- To promote awareness against bias and gender equality in the medical field
- To network
ZIMBABWE WOMEN DOCTORS ASSOCIATION (ZWDA) BRIEF BACKGROUND
Zimbabwe Women Doctors Association is a professional organization which represents interests of all women doctors and female medical students in Zimbabwe. The Association was founded in April 2019 and its objectives are to
- Provide a platform for support, networking and communication for women doctors in Zimbabwe;
- Advocate for women doctors in Zimbabwe with respect to challenges faced in the working environment and
- To improve children and women’s health in Zimbabwe by raising awareness and promoting education of communities and health profession issues to do with children and women’s health.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETING
REGISTRATION
Registration of attendees was done by Pedigree Events Management and people were paying their registration fees as they arrived. 21 people registered including guest speaker.
WELCOME REMARKS
Dr Munhutu gave welcome remarks and introduced guest speaker.
PRESENTATIONS
Rufaro Maunze-Bhebhe was the guest speaker. She is an Executive coach and Leadership and Organisational Development Professional with an Executive Masters in Coaching and Consulting for Change. She sits as a non-Executive Director for OK Zimbabwe, Tanganda and Imara Fiduciary and is also the Chairperson for the Women’s Chartered Accountants Network (weCAN) Zimbabwe.
She was pleased about women doctors and female medical students for choosing the medical profession because there shouldn’t be a profession meant for a certain gender. Women doctors were encouraged to stand up and put their all in whatever they do so they may be equally recognised. Thus promoting gender equality. She spoke on issues to do with women rights. It is important that all women know their rights so that they may not be taken advantage of by their male counterparts. They should compete with men even for work position for company top management positions to also comprise of women.
Rufaro encouraged women to be active so that they may be voted in offices. They need to be active for big achievements don’t come over night. She thanked ZWDA for holding a networking event because such bring women from different walks of life together and give them a chance to network, share ideas and their achievements and failures.
From her speech, women need to be each other’s cheerleader. They need to support each other especially when they want to start new businesses so they may be financially independent. In as much as women would want to take care of their families, they shouldn’t forget to look after themselves; dress good and eat healthy.
After the speech, people had their questions answered by the guest speaker. Some of the questions were business related. This shows that people were interested in starting their own businesses than relying on their monthly payments. The attendees then had lunch while socialising and networking.
OUTCOMES OF THE MEETING
- People got to socialise and network while enjoying their lunch
- Women doctors were encouraged to aim for higher offices so they may hold decision making positions in organisations they work for.
- They learnt about giving back to the communities where they come from and not forget to look after themselves.
- Rufaro’s profile was a lesson on its own. Women can achieve a lot if they work hard.
SUMMARY
The networking lunch was held on the 5th of March 2022 at Alechi Restaurant in celebration of International Women’s Day with the theme BreakTheBias. The main goal of the event was to celebrate women doctors and medical students. Rufaro Maunze-Bhebhe was the guest speaker. Pedigree Events was responsible for the registration process and 21 people came through including the guest speaker. Dr Munhutu gave welcome remarks and introduced guest speaker. Rufaro spoke on many things including women rights, being active/working hard for great achievements, importance of networking, giving back to the community and she also encouraged women to be each other’s cheerleader. After her speech people had their questions answered by the guest speaker and they then enjoyed lunch and networking. The event ended at 14.15pm.
