Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wouldnt need different girls to should observe in her footsteps. That doesnt imply she wont encourage them to run for workplace. Its simply that she needs it could possibly be much less arduous for many who come subsequent. When she ascended to the presidency of Liberia in 2006becoming Africa’s first democratically-elected feminine head of stateshe confronted deep-seated misogyny, exile, and jail. My journey to the presidency was not a straightforward one, Sirleaf says. After I work for the promotion of girls to larger positions, I accomplish that in recognition of the truth that I might not need any lady to have the experiences I had due to her ambition.
Nonetheless, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate is setting Africas subsequent technology of feminine leaders on the trail to energy, figuring out that whereas the climb is steep, the summit is price itnot only for the ladies who lead, however for all these they characterize. Girls deliver one other dimension to management, she says. They settle battle relatively than battle to resolve it. That doesn’t take away from the appliance of the energy of authority when required, however once they can discover another path to peace, they search it.
Sirleaf has been a relentless advocate for peace, democracy, and womens empowerment since she first took public workplace as Liberias Finance Minister in 1979. As president, she deftly steered her nation by means of its tumultuous post-civil conflict interval, mobilizing greater than $16 billion in international direct funding, lifting commerce sanctions, and setting a trajectory for progress, regardless of the 2014 Ebola outbreak that claimed greater than 5,000 lives. Early in her first time period, she made training free and obligatory for elementary-age youngsters, performing on her perception {that a} sturdy democracy requires an informed populace. She additionally appointed girls to a number of high-ranking cupboard positions, together with the ministries of finance, legislation, commerce, and improvement, setting examples for the subsequent technology of Liberias feminine leaders. In 2011, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside fellow Liberian Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman for his or her work amplifying womens position in peacebuilding efforts. Then, after concluding her constitutionally-limited second presidential time period in 2018, she stepped down peacefullythe first Liberian president to take action in 75 years.
Having not too long ago turned 85, Sirleaf is making use of the identical diploma of ambition, pragmatism and willpower that outlined her presidencyshe got here by her nickname, the Iron Woman of Africa, for a reasonto domesticate a brand new technology of African girls leaders. I do not settle for the studies popping out of the U.N. that it’s going to take us 130 years to attain gender equality [at the highest levels of power], she says. The tempo of girls reaching larger ranges just isn’t quick sufficient. However it has gathered a momentum that’s irreversible.
That momentum is feasible partly attributable to her efforts. Sirleafs Amujae Initiative, the flagship program of the Ellen John Sirleaf Presidential Middle for Girls and Improvement, fosters womens public service management by means of coaching, mentorships, teaching and the sharing of expertise. Practically 50 girls, drawn from all sectors of African society, have participated in this system since its 2020 launch, strengthening a rising community of succesful, dedicated girls in public service who’re already positively influencing the notion of feminine leaders throughout the continent. I doubt if girls right now will undergo the extent of the difficulties I confronted, she says, however they are going to be preparedthey have to be preparedto settle for the truth that the world has not but accepted the total equality of girls. The one strategy to overcome it, she says, is to see much more girls in energy.
For all her accomplishments and accolades, Sirleaf says crucial title she has is that of position mannequin. Regardless of the difficulties, I’ve no regrets. As we speak, I am going right into a room and younger girls come as much as me and say, I wish to be such as you.
Now, she is guaranteeing they are often.
This profile is printed as part of TIMEs TIME100 Influence Awards initiative, which acknowledges leaders from the world over who’re driving change of their communities. The subsequent TIME100 Influence Awards ceremony can be held on Nov. 17 in Kigali, Rwanda.
