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EACC Women ‘Overthrow’ Complacent Men, Set Agenda

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By Samuel Muwanguzi

In Summary: The strong showing of women power at the recent East Africa Chamber of Commerce (EACC) conference in Dallas, Texas was no accident. It was a tip of the iceberg. It was a result of some deliberate hard work spanning several years. Signs of a ‘bloodless coup’; an effective overthrow of men by women in the EACC became more apparent last May. It was long time coming. It was long written on the wall. Complacent men looked the other way. Ironically, by omission or commission, the men acted as accomplices and co-conspirators against themselves! The women doubled down their social networking efforts to recruit their kind. Buoyed by the election of the first ever chairwoman Elsa Juko-McDowell last year, the chamber women did what they do best—spread the word and recruited more women into the chamber. They succeeded. The men?  Your guess is as good as mine. Complacent and oblivious of the wind of change, only felt a change in the wind! But the chickens came to roost last May at the chamber monthly round table meeting hosted by the Texas Center for Proton Therapy at their ultra-modern facility in Los Carinas, near Irving, Texas. By the time the recent 2016 EACC conference got underway, the ‘take-over’ was a fait accompli! While it had never been a race to out-number each other, the sheer growth in numbers of women from one founder member to a full house was in itself remarkable and worth celebrating. After years living in the shadows of men, who should begrudge the women? I can’t! Can you?

The EACC board members at the May meeting

Irving, Texas— the strong showing of women power at the recent East Africa Chamber of Commerce (EACC) conference in Dallas, Texas was no accident. It was a tip of the iceberg. It was a result of some deliberate hard work spanning several years. Signs of a ‘bloodless coup’; an effective overthrow of men by women in the EACC became more apparent last May. It was long time coming. It was long written on the wall. Complacent men looked the other way. Ironically, by omission or commission, the men acted as accomplices and co-conspirators against themselves! The women doubled down their social networking efforts to recruit their kind. Buoyed by the election of the first ever chairwoman Elsa Juko-McDowell last year, the chamber women did what they do best—spread the word and recruited more women into the chamber. They succeeded. The men?  Your guess is as good as mine. Complacent and oblivious to the wind of change, only felt a change in the wind!

But the chickens came to roost last May at the chamber monthly round table meeting hosted by the Texas Center for Proton Therapy at their ultra-modern facility in Los Carinas, near Irving, Texas.

Elsa Juko McDowell leading a ‘bloodless coup’ at the EACC

This was more than a business meeting. It was a kind of fellowship with an air of camaraderie hovering in the air. With good food and great company, the EACC members and their visitors opened –up and voiced their strengths, expertise, expectations, and skills they bring to the organization. Even the shy ones had their day and time in the ambience to feel at ease and speak without fear or apprehension.  Elsa Juko, the EACC chairwoman and board of trustees Benson Kasue and vice chair Bill Morgan with Secretary Robert Muruli in their element, the stage was set for a joyous evening.

Ben, Bill, and Bob, facilitated the gradual ‘takeover’ of the EACC by the women

Elsa Juko, in full control of the proceedings, was in charming mood and displayed her otherwise hidden warmth and organizational capabilities to steer a meeting with spontaneous and random, or impromptu speakers. Timing was a challenge she had to first contend with as most a speaker wanted to endear the audience by articulating their entire resumes in the little time available. This was quickly resolved but not without some hedgers. But make no mistake. The women power was evidently on show at this meeting. “The women have overwhelmingly trumped us,” one of the male founder members told the EADM in confidence.   By the time the recent 2016 EACC conference got underway, the take-over was a fait accompli! While it had never been a race to out-number each other, the sheer growth in numbers of women from one founder member to a full house was in itself remarkable and worth celebrating. After years living in the shadows of men, who should begrudge the women? I can’t! Can you?

With one woman among the two founding men, the balance was inadvertently tilted against the womenfolk from the word go. But the women took notice and quietly networked to reverse their fortunes. No wonder that took the women six solid years before fronting a candidate to assume the top most leadership spot of the nearly seven-year old chamber.  While women may yet to outnumber men as paid-up members, the symbolism in their presence and participation in chamber activities sends a clear message that they are now a force to reckon with.

A cross-section of the women at one of the monthly chamber meetings in Dallas

Although the women are yet to gained and claim a super majority in the chamber, for all intents and purposes, they appear to have overthrown men by their rate of numerical growth. As such, they have not only taken over the leadership of the chamber but are also setting the agenda while the complacent men look on. Speak of a bloodless internal coup and this is a classic case! For this, you have to give it to the women. Elsa Juko McDowell and her women colleagues who have campaigned earnestly to recruit women into the chamber deserve all the kudos.  As the chamber turns seven this year, the number of women in the organization has exponentially increased even beyond the expectations of the unbelievers. This is a development that was celebrated at the recent 2016 EACC annual conference in Dallas. But that story is for another day.

Sylvia Karuga, the sole female founder member among the men

For the uninitiated, the attendance at the EACC May meeting held at the Texas Center for Proton Therapy in Irving, Texas, read as a who is who in the chamber, in particular, among the women. On the board of directors, four men; Bill Morgan, Benson Kasue, and Roy Kayizzi were present while Secretary Robert Muruli pulled the rear. For the women, the lineup included the chairwoman Elsa Juko McDowell, Jolly Kahunde, Karen, and Mumbi Baskin. This parity was not lost on some keen observers of the chamber evolution and its rapidly changing demographics.  Yet, while the gender equity was a genuinely welcome development among the women and men, it was hard to discern whether the men were cognizant of the somewhat zero growth rates in the membership of men in the chamber. It is this  male stagnation in membership; a laxity in recruiting new male members, compared with the exponential growth in the numerical strength of the women, more than anything else, that has helped EACC women to ‘overthrow’ men and gradually start setting the chamber agenda. A progressive development if you will.

Some of the EACC members at the May event at the Texas Center of Proton Therapy in Irving, Texas

Taking the gender equity in good stride, the mood and morale of the menfolk in the chamber remains as upbeat as before. Indeed, Benson Kasue, a founder member, trustee, and treasurer, is still not short of his comics that keep audiences cracking up with laughter.  Little wonder that his colleague, the serious-looking Robert Muruli refers to Benson as the ‘defacto comedian’ of the chamber.  Benson Kasue, fondly referred to as Ben, possesses bagfuls of jokes that do not only liven up chamber members but can also squeeze laughter from a solid rock! For many, including this writer, Benson makes membership and participation in chamber activities feel comfortably enjoyable as a glorious homecoming.

As for the thoughtful Robert Muruli, every word he speaks reminds one of the serious business that goes on in the chamber; to network, grow, and develop businesses and professions for all its members. Then enter Bill Morgan, the cosmopolitan vice chairperson with bagful’s of links and contacts among international business communities. For the uninitiated, one would think that Bill is simply and only about the bottom-line--money. But up close and with a little more interaction with him, reveals a man with deep spiritual convictions; a man whose love for Jesus Christ is as solid as that for his neighbor. Try him and before you know it, you will be an instant convert and giving testimonies. Yet, even in this spiritual realm, EACC women are not without representation. Bill Morgan’s spiritual credentials are evenly matched by those reflected by Karen Henry, one of the women board members and pastor.

For a brief sneak peek into what transpired at the  EACC meeting held at the Texas Center for Proton Therapy in Irving, Texas, the women  power and their embrace of the chamber was evident. A conservative estimate of the attendance put the ratio at two women to one man. Few of the women had dragged their husbands to the meeting as one of the ladies who came with her reluctant hubby told the meeting. The four men on the board and executive were joined by a handful of others, one from as  far away as Zimbabwe, a clear indictment of native East African men living in the  DFW area  hailing from the 6 EAC-member countries; Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, and lately, South Sudan.

For the ladies, a spur-of-the-moment glimpse through the attendance list revealed, as far as the memory could allow, such first names as; Karen, Jullian, Jolly, Rita, Elsa, Angie, Hope, Mumbi, Betty, Catherine, Margaret, Carol, Susan, Christine, etc. Evidently, these ladies were starting to appreciate what means to network, collaborate, and communicate to survive and thrive in this interdependent and fast-paced digital-driven economy. In face-to-face interactions using soft skills to start, enhance, and consolidate confidence in all forms of relationships, women are next to none. The EACC women have got it. These women are living it. These women are using it to beat the men black and blue! And the men, in their complacency, are kissing the proverbial dust!

Moving forward, as the EACC turns seven and forges ahead, make no mistake, the women in the chamber, as their colleagues in other professions and various fields of human endeavor, are leaving nothing to chance. They are setting the agenda. This is their time and moment. They are stepping up to the plate, disrupting the status quo by assuming leadership positions, and ultimately, rewriting history.  Interestingly, the men are relishing the development and as a way of downplaying their bewilderment, are not only cheering the loudest but putting their best defenses forward. “We helped them get to where they are and we are gratified that they are proving themselves,” one of the board members says. One wonders why the men are not doing it to fellow men.

While this is generally correct, EACC chairwoman Elsa Juko McDowell is not concealing her excitement at the dramatic turn of fortunes for women. “This is a big deal for me and the rest of the chamber leadership. I am excited that women are joining in large numbers,” the first woman EACC boss says. “I want to attract as many women, young people; millennials, and men to join the chamber to share ideas, grow and develop their businesses and professions,” she says. “I am passionate about this and I am committed to it as my calling,” Elsa Juko McDowell says with a discernible mixture of passion and glee in her voice.

Complacent but pleasantly surprised, the men are putting up a brave face. “We love it when women come out and take the lead in an organization such as the EACC.  It is our joy because we can now take a back seat and even plan better, Benson Kasue, a founder member and treasurer of the EACC says.  Speak of a quintessential male response to rationalize a new development that has taken a life of its own. “We warmly welcome the women embrace of the chamber and we will support each other in ensuring the organization attracts even more membership from other demographic groups,” Mr. Kasue says with genuine seriousness. While all that sounds great, the number of men joining the chamber seems to have either stagnated or reduced dramatically.

Yet, signs of women ‘overthrowing men’ in the EACC have long been around and written on the proverbial wall for all the men to see. And, indeed, men did see these signs coming to pass. If the EACC women ‘takeover’ is not a microcosm for anyone to see the bigger picture of how drums are changing sticks and a new era dawning within the chamber, it is hard to think of a more rude awakening of the menfolk that the sleeping giant is indeed up and running.

One of the treatment rooms at the center

Placed into context, however, for the men in the EACC and indeed North Texas in general, the symbolism reflected in the venue of the meeting, the state-of-the-art Texas Center for Proton Therapy in Irving, Texas, opened in 2013, offers some consolation and hope. At least, in the event of another setback, manifesting through a typical and common male affliction, prostate cancer, the venue offered a radiance of hope.  With the new pencil-beam scanning treatment for prostate cancer, using the highly advanced proton therapy, taking up to 8 weeks of treatment depending on a particular case, there is something to smile about. Because the therapy gives a patient an opportunity to go play a game of golf after a days’ treatment, is a welcome redress to men facing a loss of the EACC leadership. What more, then, should men ask for?

At the ultra-modern $111 million facility, sitting at a 63,000 square feet, the largest proton center in Texas and surrounding states offers multiple pencil-beam scanning treatment using the latest- generation equipment. The treatment “drastically reduces side effects in men, such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction that can follow prostate removal surgery or other treatment options,” the erudite and eloquent  Gary Barlow, the director  of the Texas Center for Proton Therapy  says. If nothing else offers hope to any man of sound physical and mental needs, then nothing else will. For now, unless the hope in this restoration is embraced, the loss of the EACC agenda to women may continue to loom large in the men’s psyche!

Gary Barlow, the director of the Texas Center for Proton Therapy

With that win-win state of affairs, EACC members headed for this year’s conference cognizant of the fact that drums had indeed changed sticks.  This Friday, the East Africa Chamber of Commerce will hold its Membership Appreciation Dinner to celebrate the progress it has made in 2016. Elsa Juko McDowell, a year after she assumed instruments of power, she will look back with confidence and have every reason to smile and even promise to bring more women and the youth into the chamber fold.  You can take that to the bank!