Date Published: January, 2024

To deliver on our gender commitments, JCM has taken significant actions over the past few years; namely the development of a multi-year Gender Action Plan in 2020 and formulation of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Access (IDEA) Committee. A diagnostics assessment of JCM in 2021 carried out by Value for Women (VfW) revealed several areas of good practice across the JCM entities, in addition to opportunities for improvement. One such opportunity was that JCM is: “…positioned to take a more progressive stance on gender inclusion, going beyond the 2X Challenge criteria particularly in terms of leadership by creating a pipeline of future women leaders through training, networking, and mentoring opportunities.”

In response to this, in 2022, we developed the JCM Women’s Leadership Programme (WLP) with the overarching objective to support women’s progression in the workplace through investing in high potential women in the organisation and supporting their growth in areas such as leadership and strategic thinking. JCM received technical assistance funding for the WLP from Swedfund and IFU and, through this financial assistance, has been able to support the growth of five of our female employees through the following training programmes:

1. LAND ACQUISITION, RESETTLEMENT AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY COURSE, 2022
   Grace Kaonga, (Malawi Senior Social Performance Specialist) attended this course presented by the University of Groningen, in partnership with the IFC and CiG. This practical training course promoted understanding about and developed skills in managing the social risks and impacts associated with the development of public and private investment projects and particularly issues related to land acquisition and resettlement and managing social issues.
   
2. MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR WOMEN IN RENEWABLE ENERGY, 2023
   Lisa Muller (ESG Associate), Tiwonge Hara (Malawi HR Manager) and Jessica Dragt (Principal Electrical Engineer) took part in this inaugural programme which was organised by the Witwatersrand University Business School and the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA). The aim of the programme was to explain the key functions of a leader in terms of setting a vision, maintaining a focus on the strategy and energising followers; and helping to create a pipeline of women managers and leaders who will help take the sector to the next level.
   
3. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ASSERTIVENESS SKILLS, 2023
   Alishba Khan (Business Analyst) and Sawera Khan (Senior Accounts Executive) from JCM’s Karachi office travelled to Canada to attend two courses run over five days (Leadership Development for Early Career Women at the Rotman School of Management, and ‘Assertiveness Skills for Women in Business’ at the Canadian Management Centre). The two courses offered practical strategies for effective communication in professional settings and a holistic approach to leadership.
   
4. GENDER LENS INVESTING AND PREVENTION OF AND RESPONSE TO SEXUAL EXPLOITATION, ABUSE AND HARASSMENT COURSE, 2024
   Tiwonge Hara, Malawi HR Manager attended this course in Nairobi, Kenya which focused on GLI, emphasizing the integration of gender perspectives in investment strategies and lending practices. The programme also covered the prevention and response to SEAH in the context of investment and credit processes and was organised by Swedfund in association with Value for Women.