{"id":2930,"date":"2021-01-25T21:04:02","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T21:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=2930"},"modified":"2021-01-25T17:45:21","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T17:45:21","slug":"in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss","title":{"rendered":"In the shoes of Bata\u2019s ever first female boss"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>Let\u2019s see the shoes you are wearing.<\/b><\/p>\n

(Unfoots a pair) These. I am wearing what we call the Bata flexible. It\u2019s got ultra-flex cushioning insoles, so very comfortable. When you get to my age, of which you\u2019re kinda there as we have determined (Laughter) you no longer wear high stiletto shoes. Comfort is very important now unlike before when it was all about fashion. Yes, fashion and the look is important but comfort is very important. One of the fastest-growing categories of shoes is sports. In the West, you\u2019ll see people wearing suits with sports sneakers or sports-oriented shoes.<\/p>\n

Yeah, a Kamala Harris look. How are your 40s, are they kind to you?<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite good actually. For me, 40 is just a number. But I\u2019m also realising that from a career perspective, I probably have 15 or so years until I retire, God willing. I\u2019m enjoying the journey because I feel like I\u2019ve evolved into the kind of woman I wanted to be. I still have some growth and more importantly, I have young girls looking up to me, wanting me to be their mentor, encouraged by the impact I\u2019m making in society.<\/p>\n

And what kind of woman did you want to be?<\/b><\/p>\n

Growing up, I wanted to be a leader and I have held leadership positions since. I attended a school down the road – Loreto High school, Limuru – and I was a games captain. In the US, I was a hostel leader, acting like a mother taking care of the rest.I also wanted to have a large family but I only have two children.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve done poorly.<\/b><\/p>\n

(Laughs) I have. But when I look back, I see young girls drawing closer to me. So they\u2019re like my children.<\/p>\n

What do you remember fondly about your 30s?<\/b><\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I started to take on leadership roles in the corporate world. I started to get managerial, director roles…I didn\u2019t yet have a family, I\u2019m a late bloomer. I got children much later. They are seven and five years old. You go to the hospital and they\u2019re like…, there\u2019s a terminology they use for older women giving birth. (Laughs) So in my 30s, I was still single, living and working in the US. I had a good time in the US, a career, and a strong social network. It was about partying, going to Vegas, California, Hawaii, Florida, meeting new people, eating different kinds of food, but no real responsibilities. My 30s were good.<\/p>\n

And what do you want to remember about your 40s?<\/b><\/p>\n

Creating change in society. From a leadership perspective, now I have a role in Bata. I have numbers to deliver. But at the same time, I have a responsibility to make a change in society. I want to be known for having made a difference, having inspired.<\/p>\n

When do you say you really discovered yourself as a human, as a woman?<\/b><\/p>\n

I think in my 30s. I was working for a multinational, one of the Fortune 100 companies in the US. I had a career spanning about 12 years that had inclined to the director level where I was the only black woman. But that was also the ceiling because beyond that I wasn\u2019t going to go anywhere.It was also the time the American economy collapsed, hit by the recession, so companies globally started laying off people. I thought, \u2018oh my goodness, if I\u2019m laid off, then what? Am I going back to Kenya? Then what?\u2019<\/p>\n

I\u2019d made enough money but I didn\u2019t know what would happen after that? I started soul-searching, to try and find the meaning in life. I had property, but I wasn\u2019t young and I had no children, no family. I reached out to family members here in Kenya. They\u2019d tell me \u2018Jeddidah come back. There\u2019ll be lots of opportunities for you here.\u2019 And I was thinking, \u2018my friend, I\u2019m working for a massive organisation with thousands of stores, who will I work for in Kenya?\u2019<\/p>\n

(Laughs) Arrogance and ego. It felt like coming would have been a downgrade. Then I slowly warmed up to the idea. I did a few interviews and landed at Deacons which was a perfect match. They had just received funds from an institutional investor. They had a small footprint, and were looking to expand. And they were looking for somebody with international experience, passionate about retail. I also became a mother. That\u2019s how I discovered myself.<\/p>\n

You mentioned your anxiety of time running out when you were riding high in corporate life in the US. Now that you have children, do you find that your anxiety had merit, in retrospect? Is it important to have children?<\/b><\/p>\n

I think it is, at least for me. It\u2019s made me more humane. To be honest I was very self-absorbed, it was all about me, my needs, my clothes, my career… Nobody else mattered, just Jeddidah. But now I have people to take care of, people with their own needs and vulnerabilities. I have to be empathetic towards those needs without placing myself in that path.Being a mother has also helped me to be a better leader because when somebody comes here with a problem, I look at them as somebody\u2019s child.<\/p>\n

How would you want your child to be treated?<\/b><\/p>\n

My humanity has expanded as a result of being a mother. I see people in a different light.<\/p>\n

In 2017, you and other top managers at Deacons were retrenched. What did that do to your self-esteem, ego, and sense of security?It didn\u2019t come abruptly. My boss at the time, Wahome Muchiri, prepared us for it. Also how it was conducted was fair and amicable so it didn\u2019t necessarily knock me down. I realised that it was not personal, it was business.<\/p>\n

First black female boss [chief executive officer] at Bata in 80 years. Does that come with some pressure not to disappoint?No. I\u2019m not trying to prove anything. I\u2019m just doing a job. When my bosses put me in this role they were confident in my abilities to perform. Of course, diversity is a big thing now globally and it must have played a role but I don\u2019t think it was to tick a box. Having the right skills helped and I was here, I was ready and qualified and the moment was right.<\/p>\n

What do you want to be remembered for at Bata?<\/b><\/p>\n

My leadership. Men lead differently. They are very hardcore; results-oriented. They want numbers, bottom lines. Women are different. Sure, we want those numbers, but it\u2019s how we go about it. It\u2019s the inclusiveness of decision making, making everybody part of the organisation. I would want a more flat organisation system where I get to understand things on a very detailed level, where decision-making is collaborative and very inclusive. I want to integrate wellness and health in leadership. I want to be known for change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Let\u2019s see the shoes you are wearing. (Unfoots a pair) These. I am wearing what we call the Bata flexible. It\u2019s got ultra-flex cushioning insoles, so very comfortable. When you get to my age, of which you\u2019re kinda there as we have determined (Laughter) you no longer wear high stiletto shoes. Comfort […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":2929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,8],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-2930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nIn the shoes of Bata\u2019s ever first female boss - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Let\u2019s see the shoes you are wearing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In the shoes of Bata\u2019s ever first female boss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Let\u2019s see the shoes you are wearing.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-25T21:04:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/img-600f038f2e5c7.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"In the shoes of Bata\u2019s ever first female boss\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-25T21:04:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss\"},\"wordCount\":1197,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/01\/img-600f038f2e5c7.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/in-the-shoes-of-batas-ever-first-female-boss\",\"name\":\"In the shoes of Bata\u2019s ever first female boss - 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