Last week, I joined 55 participants from 24 sub-Saharan African countries at the WYDE Women’s Leadership Inter-Regional Dialogue, convened by International IDEA in Zanzibar. Over two days, journalists, political leaders, women’s rights organisations, activists and other stakeholders examined the social norms that continue to constrain women’s and young people’s participation in leadership and decision-making.
The conversations in Zanzibar were important. But the real measure of their impact will not be the number of delegates who attended, speeches delivered or commitments made in conference rooms. It will be whether those conversations translate into meaningful change in the communities where discriminatory social norms are formed, reinforced and, ultimately, challenged.
To be honest, the discussions were necessary. We explored the media’s influence in shaping perceptions of women leaders, violence against women in politics, the importance of male engagement and the deeply rooted social expectations that continue to determine who is considered suitable to lead.
Yet, one question remained with me throughout the dialogue: How do we take these conversations beyond conference rooms and bring them closer to the people whose attitudes, behaviours and everyday decisions ultimately determine whether gender equality becomes a reality?
In Zimbabwe, as in many other African countries, gender inequality is not confined to Parliament, political parties or corporate boardrooms. It is experienced in homes, churches, schools, workplaces and communities. It is reflected in the unequal distribution of care responsibilities, the expectations placed on girls, the limited opportunities available to women and the resistance women encounter when they seek positions of influence.
Progressive policies, regional commitments and high-level dialogues are important. But their impact will remain limited if a young girl in a rural community continues to grow up believing that leadership is primarily a man’s responsibility.
Transforming gender relations requires more than changing laws and institutional frameworks. It requires sustained efforts to address the social norms, attitudes and power structures that reproduce inequality in everyday life.
The media must move beyond reporting the conversation
The media has considerable influence over how societies understand leadership, power and gender equality. It can reinforce discriminatory stereotypes or challenge them by providing platforms for alternative narratives and experiences.
Yet, women in public life continue to face disproportionate scrutiny, with media coverage frequently focusing on their appearance, family lives, personal relationships or perceived character rather than their policies, leadership capabilities and public performance.
Women who demonstrate assertiveness may be portrayed as difficult, while their mistakes can sometimes be framed as evidence of broader assumptions about women’s suitability for leadership.
This is not an argument for shielding women leaders from scrutiny. They must be held to the same standards of accountability as their male counterparts. However, scrutiny must be fair, evidence-based and focused on their public responsibilities rather than gender stereotypes.
For Zimbabwean newsrooms, gender-responsive journalism must become an institutional practice rather than an occasional editorial theme reserved for International Women’s Day or the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
Editors and journalists must interrogate whose voices are represented, who is considered an expert and whether women are given opportunities to contribute to conversations beyond traditionally defined gender issues.
Media organisations also need to invest in reporting that reaches beyond urban centres and established digital audiences. Community radio, vernacular programming, local newspapers and public discussions offer important opportunities to engage communities that are often excluded from national conversations.
There is also an opportunity for stronger partnerships between media organisations and women’s rights organisations. Such collaborations can support public education, amplify grassroots experiences, challenge misinformation and bring evidence-based conversations about women’s leadership into communities.
A conversation about women’s political participation has limited reach if it only engages audiences who already believe in gender equality.
Women’s organisations must take ownership of community-level transformation
Women’s rights organisations and civil society groups remain critical actors in advancing gender equality. Their advocacy has contributed to legal reforms, institutional accountability and the expansion of opportunities for women in public life.
However, there is a need to complement policy advocacy and high-level engagement with sustained, community-driven approaches that address the everyday realities of gender inequality.
Changing social norms requires engaging the people and institutions that influence them: traditional leaders, religious institutions, parents, teachers, community structures, young people and men.
This means creating opportunities for communities to examine why women continue to carry a disproportionate share of unpaid care work, why girls may be discouraged from aspiring to leadership, and why women who enter politics often face harassment, intimidation and gender-based violence.
These engagements should not be approached as top-down awareness campaigns in which communities are simply expected to receive information. They must be participatory, locally informed and responsive to the experiences of the people they seek to reach.
In Zimbabwe, for example, women’s organisations can work with traditional leadership structures to strengthen women’s participation in community development committees and local decision-making processes. Schools can provide girls with leadership and mentorship opportunities, while community-based organisations can connect aspiring young women with established leaders.
Importantly, these interventions should not place the burden of changing discriminatory systems solely on women and girls. They must also engage those who hold institutional, social and economic power to influence change.
The objective is not simply to prepare more women to enter existing leadership structures. It is also to transform the environments in which they lead, ensuring that institutions and communities become more inclusive, responsive and accountable.
Men must move from passive support to active allyship
One of the important themes emerging from the Zanzibar dialogue was the need for men to become proactive stakeholders in advancing gender equality.
For too long, gender equality has been framed, in some spaces, as a women’s issue. This has allowed many men to remain on the periphery of conversations that require their active participation.
Yet men occupy influential positions in households, political parties, newsrooms, religious institutions and community leadership structures. They can either reinforce discriminatory power relations or become important partners in transforming them.
As a male journalist participating in the dialogue, I highlighted the importance of engaging men, particularly male journalists, in challenging harmful narratives within their professional spaces and communities.
Male journalists can influence newsroom cultures, question discriminatory framing, and ensure women’s experiences are reported with dignity, fairness, and context.
Beyond the newsroom, men can challenge sexist attitudes among their peers, share domestic and caregiving responsibilities, support women’s leadership ambitions and speak out against harassment and intimidation.
Political leaders and institutions must also move beyond symbolic commitments to gender equality and create environments where women can participate meaningfully, safely and on equal terms.
However, male engagement must be grounded in accountability and an understanding of unequal power relations. It should not displace women’s voices, leadership or decision-making authority, nor should it shift attention away from the structural barriers women continue to face.
The goal is to move men from silent sympathisers and occasional supporters to proactive allies and transformative actors who actively challenge the systems that sustain gender inequality.
Leaving no one behind requires recognising different experiences of exclusion
A gender-transformative approach must also recognise that women and girls are not a homogenous group. Their experiences of exclusion are shaped by intersecting factors, including age, disability, geographical location, economic circumstances and access to education and opportunities.
A young woman in an urban professional environment may experience different barriers from a woman in a rural community. Women with disabilities, young mothers and those from marginalised communities may encounter multiple and overlapping forms of discrimination that further limit their participation in public life.
This means gender equality programmes and advocacy interventions must be informed by the lived experiences of different groups of women and girls.
It also requires moving beyond counting participation as the primary measure of inclusion. Inviting young women to conferences, consultations and public events is important, but their presence alone does not guarantee influence.
They must have meaningful opportunities to shape decisions, contribute to policy processes and participate in the institutions that affect their lives.
For development partners, civil society organisations and public institutions, this calls for more deliberate investment in locally led initiatives, inclusive participation mechanisms and interventions that respond to the specific barriers faced by marginalised groups.
Leaving no one behind must be reflected not only in programme language but also in resource allocation, implementation and the measurement of results.ge
The Zanzibar dialogue provided an important opportunity to exchange experiences, strengthen regional solidarity and identify approaches to advancing women’s leadership.
But its value will ultimately depend on what participants, organisations and institutions do after returning home.
For Zimbabwe, this should translate into stronger partnerships between media organisations and women’s rights groups, sustained community conversations on gender equality, more deliberate coverage of women in leadership and meaningful engagement with men, boys and young people.
It should also involve a shift in how progress is measured.
Beyond the number of workshops conducted, participants reached or policies adopted, we must ask whether more women are influencing decisions at community level; whether young women can participate in public life without intimidation; whether harmful gender stereotypes are being challenged; and whether institutions are becoming more responsive to women’s leadership and participation.
These outcomes require long-term investment, coordinated action and accountability across sectors.
Development partners have an important role to play in supporting this transition, particularly by investing in community-led initiatives, strengthening the capacity of local organisations and facilitating partnerships between the media, civil society, public institutions and grassroots movements.
Such support should recognise that sustainable social change is not achieved through short-term interventions alone. It requires consistent engagement, local ownership and the ability to adapt strategies to changing community realities.
Conferences are important. They bring people together, challenge assumptions and create opportunities for collective action. But they must be starting points, not destinations.
The real work begins when delegates return home: when a journalist chooses a different angle, when a community leader challenges a discriminatory practice, when a father encourages his daughter to aspire to leadership, and when a women’s organisation creates space for women whose experiences have long been excluded from public conversations.
Gender equality cannot be achieved by speaking only to those who are already convinced. We must take the conversation to the communities where change is needed most, listen to their experiences and work alongside them to challenge the structures that sustain inequality.
Ultimately, the ambition must go beyond getting more women into leadership positions. It must be about transforming the social, political and institutional environments that determine whether women and young people can exercise their rights, influence decisions and lead without discrimination or violence.
The success of our commitments will not be determined by how well we speak about gender equality in conference rooms, but by how much our societies change when we leave them.
