CGIAR’s Gender and Diversity (G&D) Program hosted its 10 th Women’s Leadership and Management Course at ICARDA
in May.

“I enjoyed it immensely! The combination of personal analyses and management tools made it an extremely useful course,” enthused Anneke Fermont, a cassava scientist with IITA. “I feel better equipped now to solve problems. Hopefully, all my team members will reap the fruits of this course!”

The course covers multicultural teamwork, power dynamics, emotional intelligence and networking. Nearly a third of the participants were women from Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) national agricultural research institutions, thanks to support from the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.

“Before attending the course, I was rather skeptical because it was billed as a ‘Women’s Only’ course but I have now seen its value,” said Ms. Fermont. “Being with women created the safe environment needed to analyze one’s personality and to dare experimenting with new behaviors. It also enabled learning from each other as many of us were experiencing similar
problems.”

Another participant reflected, “The most beautiful gift the course has given me is the power to give to myself, and to others.”

This year could easily be described as “Year of Women’s Leadership in the CGIAR,” with a record three courses being offered. July will see the alumnae of previous courses re-convening in Mombasa, Kenya for the 10th anniversary Advanced Women’s Leadership Course. The curriculum will cover important topics such as understanding how women are “tested” in their leadership roles and learning how to respond strategically; recognizing how territorial games affect leadership and organizational effectiveness; adjusting leadership style according to organizational changes, and acknowledging internal sources of power, trust, energy and competence.

An impact assessment of the CGIAR Gender and Diversity
program will be conducted by the Center for Gender in Organizations. This study will not only help G&D take stock
of the past, but also better prepare for the future needs of women leaders in the CGIAR system.

A second women’s leadership course will be held in October 2005 at the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa. Participants will include the fellows of a new program for women scientists working in crop sciences in East African national agricultural research systems and universities. This new fellowship program is supported by The Rockefeller Foundation.

For more information visit www.genderdiversity.cgiar.org