Leading international business network, the Africa CEO Forum has announced plans to take its commitment to promote female leadership further. In the second edition of the Women in Business (WIMBIZ) Annual Leadership Meeting which brought together nearly 250 African female business leaders in Paris on June 17 and 18, the AFRICA CEO FORUM unveiled its Gender Diversity Charter, in partnership with consulting firm Deloitte.

The charter is aimed primarily at helping to build an African ecosystem in which women have their full place, including in senior decision-making bodies. It also sets out to enlighten people on the benefits of greater gender diversity in companies.

With input drawn from the female participants at the AFRICA CEO FORUM 2019 that was held in Kigali early this year, it will be putting into consideration the variety of countries, sectors of activity and organizations. Thus, the charter sets out four key principles to encourage gender diversity which are: diversity in recruitment; fair remuneration; diversity in management teams and executive committees and, finally, on corporate boards.

As the group aims to achieve at least 100 signatories by the end of the year, an annual survey will be conducted to measure the progress made by the signatory company and will highlight the good practices observed.

The importance of female participation in leadership and management cannot be overemphasized and it is good that developments such as this are being set in place to encourage the trend. At a time when the benefits of greater gender diversity in business are no longer in dispute, this new charter embodies a strong commitment from the AFRICA CEO FORUM’s Women in Business Initiative which, year after year, constantly expands its efforts to strengthen female leadership on the continent.