Almot Maqolo, Staff Writer 
THE Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (ICAZ) is actively encouraging women to join the accountancy profession, which is male-dominated.
This call was made on the sidelines of the Women Chartered Accountants Network’s (WeCAN) annual event, marking WeCAN’s seventh anniversary.
ICAZ president Manyara Chigunduru told The Financial Gazette their goal is to “provide a platform for female members to network and share ideas to promote female chartered accountants’ influence in the economy.”
Manyara Chigunduru
Chigunduru highlighted the disparity in representation, noting, “We have a few women up there, but at the student level, it’s almost at 50-50. When you then go to the managerial level, the numbers are drop.”
She emphasised the need for change, saying, “So much can be done in terms of uplifting these women. When opportunities arise, let’s also have women be part and parcel of the leadership circles, not just because they are women but simply because they are competent. After all, we believe they can do it.”
WeCAN chairperson Janice Sambaza echoed this sentiment, saying, “A lot needs to be done to come up with activities and initiatives to promote, profile and develop female members.”
She highlighted WeCAN’s achievements, “We are celebrating seven years today, and the point at which we started women in leadership within the lCAZ spheres was 10 percent and since WeCAN started, we are now more than 50 percent. These are women sitting on the ICAZ board.”
Sambaza emphasised the importance of sustained progress, noting, “We are seeing increased women’s participation within the ICAZ committees, and the number of female students that are passing is now more than 50 percent. What we are seeing as a key driver for our success going forward is the ability to maintain this number as these go from lower management to medium and senior management to maintain that 50 percent.”
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