Post Bank equips women leaders for top positions
From the first cohort which had 26 young ladies in the bank trained, Rachael Nakato who was then the Bank’s Head of Information Technology was promoted to Chief Operations Officer all showing the program is bearing fruit.
By Michael Kanaabi Dollar
In a deliberate attempt to have more women take up management and Executive positions within the bank, Post Bank Uganda partnered with the project Girls for Girls an organisation that helps train young women for leadership at all levels to train ladies with Leadership potential in the Bank.
According to Post Bank’s CEO Julius Kakeeto, the Bank has embraced a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) approach which is aimed at bringing more people of different ages, sexes and especially women into management to have more diversity and inclusiveness at the decision-making level.
While presiding over the graduation of the second cohort of the Girls for Girls mentorship program for Post Bank that took place recently at Protea Hotel in Kololo, Kakeeto said “ this initiative will not only ensure more women are better equipped and get into management roles at the bank or outside but will also improve the quality plus inclusiveness of decisions being made by management something the bank has been striving to achieve.”
He also urged the ladies to raise their level of competitiveness by looking at the workplace as global in nature, equipping themselves to stay relevant continuously and striving to uphold meritocracy in whatever they undertake.
22 ladies graduated from the second cohort of the program that run from May to September with tangible results already being seen in one of the participants Priscilla Akora who was acting Head of Marketing when she joined the program being fully promoted to Head the bank’s Marketing and Communications.
From the first cohort which had 26 young ladies in the bank trained, Rachael Nakato who was then the Bank’s Head of Information Technology was promoted to Chief Operations Officer all showing the program is bearing fruit.
Former UIA Executive Director turned Entrepreneur and Management Consultant Dr. Maggie Kigozi who was the Chief Guest at the Graduation implored the ladies to put Ethics and Integrity at the core of their value system and decision-making to help them rise smoothly through the ranks in the Bank.
“Decision-making for both big and small decisions will become a little easier for you if you put Ethics and Integrity at the core of your work as you won’t have to taint your record by cutting corners and making dangerous compromises which may land you into trouble and derail your careers”, she said.
Dr. Maggie Kigozi advised the graduating ladies to be patient and realistic as they build their careers lest they lose it all as they try to get to the top overnight. “ You have the brains and have been equipped with the skills too to propel you to the top, you don’t need to get compromised into giving in your body for favours or any promotion whatsoever as this will taint and discredit whatever merit may be in your career growth,” she said.
Making CEO at 30 years is nearly impossible and so is driving a powerful 4×4 SUV but if you are patient and consistent all of that will come to you with time.
Priscilla Akora one of the graduates of the program who is also Post Bank Uganda’s Head of Marketing and Communications applauded the Bank for this initiative. “ I joined the program at a tough time in my department as we had no substantive Head and we were understaffed but the mentorship, encouragement and lessons I got from there helped me step up and steer the team through the challenging time and I am profoundly grateful,” she said.
It is therefore a great initiative that I think will not only see more women grow into management at the bank but also positively impact its bottom line substantively over time she concluded.
