Miriam Fugfugosh
Senior Faculty, Center for Creative Leadership
Miriam is the lead facilitator for the WomenLift Heath East Africa journey. She is a content designer and facilitator, she focuses on topics of leadership, inclusion, self-awareness building, team effectiveness and dialogue. She has founded and contributes to various programmes in women’s leadership enhancement internationally. For over 25 years, Miriam has contributed to learning opportunities for professionals in the public and private sector. She has worked with clients in the fields of peace enhancement, governance, global health systems, community resilience and human rights with individuals associated with national ministries, international organizations, foundations, NGOs, civil society and international corporations. Miriam works in multicultural, multinational, and multilingual environments across four continents with individuals of varying educational and professional backgrounds, and in various positions of hierarchies. A proud mother of two young men, Miriam was raised in Djibouti, is Somali-American and Swiss. She is fluent in English and French, and proficient in Spanish.
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All Sessions by Miriam Fugfugosh
Navigating Workplace Politics
Led by: WomenLift Health.
Developing political competence is an essential leadership skill. Being politically savvy or skilled informs our ability to leverage our influence to advance our own goals, as well as those of our teams and our organizations. The nature and intensity of workplace politics differs in each context. These politics are dynamic, explicit and implicit, and fundamental to the functioning of organizations. What are politics like in your context?
The negativity often associated with organizational politics creates hurdles to our ability and willingness to embrace them. The fact is that politics are natural. It would be naïve to deny that organizational politics can be potentially destructive, yet when leveraged strategically and effectively they advance our leadership efforts.
This session will help you reflect on and potentially reframe your relationship with organizational politics. The objectives of this session are to unpack what organizational politics actually are, to acknowledge that they can be burdensome, to recognize their value, and develop your ability to navigate them. Develop and refine politically savvy mindsets and skillsets which will enable you to navigate relationships more naturally and effectively. Join us to explore your political savviness and assess the political landscape in which you lead.
Addressing Gender Bias in the Workplace
Led by: WomenLift Health.
Every society possesses beliefs around the roles that men and women should take in our families, communities, and workplaces. These are called gender roles, and they are a social construct, meaning they are neither discussed openly, challenged, nor objectively true. These beliefs, taught through our families, schools, media, and cultures, are transmitted from generation to generation. Gender roles become accepted as the “regular” or “normal” ways we treat men and women differently.
It’s a short step from here to stereotypes, reinforced throughout our lives, which create opportunities for some and obstacles for others. These obstacles hold back not only women and men, but entire societies. In many countries around the world, development has suffered as a significant portion of the population is excluded from active participation in the workforce or from realizing their full potential. This is not a zero-sum game: closing the gender gap between men and women’s access to education, political voice, employment opportunities, and pay equity could give the global economy a USD 7 trillion boost (UN Women).
In this interactive workshop we use small group discussions, individual reflections, and a case study to unpack the concept of gender, unearth stereotypes that create obstacles for women’s advancement at work and at home, and identify practices to enhance organizational culture for women and men alike. Whether gender bias is a new concept for you, or you’re looking for some activities to bring back to people in your organization who need to understand gender bias better, this workshop is for you.