Johannesburg, 14 August, 2025 / 10:33 PM
A Kenyan Nun working at the Initiative for Women Religious in Africa of the U.S.-based Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has called for deliberate efforts to ensure women’s inclusion in leadership and decision-making at all levels of society, including the Church and even in government.
In a Tuesday, August 12 interview with ACI Africa during the Group 20 (G20) Interfaith Forum (IF20) in Cape Town, South Africa, Sr.Agnes Njeri said that in Kenya, for instance, the Constitution provides for the two-thirds gender rule to prevent dominance by one gender, but its implementation is still far from reality.
She said that women “are the people who are running social services, homes” and therefore, “they matter.”
“When you don't include women in decisions… you make policies that will only remain in the books,” Sr.Njeri said.
“So we are here to push that women should also be included. Give them access to loans. Give them access to owning property, land. We also want to see that women are included in the church,” the Programs Officer in charge of the Sister’s initiative at the Hilton Foundation said.
The Catholic Nun urged the governments, the Church, and non-governmental organizations to give Women Religious positions that matter, saying, “Sisters should be included where decisions are made. That is one part of the leadership for the Sisters we want to see.”
In her August 11 presentation at the G20 IF20 Forum, Sr.Agnes said women need to be supported in both decision-making and leadership for gender equality to be attained by 2030.
She said that inclusion requires “systemic, cultural, and institutional changes”, noting that despite positions women hold they still lack opportunities in spaces where decisions are made.
“Countries should take a wide range of actions across political, economic, social, and legal spheres. In every corner of the globe, women are driving progress in governments, in boardrooms, in science labs, on factory floors at home, just to name but a few. Yet, across the globe, women remain underrepresented in the very spaces where decisions are made. This is not merely a gender issue. It is an economic, social, and moral imperative,” she said.
In her presentation, the Nairobi-based official referred to the United Nations statistics of men and women, claiming that despite the almost equal number of both genders in the world, there is still a huge gap in women's leadership and decision-making.
“Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world,” Sr. Njeri said.
Kenyan member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Mombasa (SSJ) also referred to the UN report on Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) 5, which indicates some of the progress women have made, including, increase in school-going girls, fewer forced marriages, more women serving in leadership positions, and the formation of some laws to advance gender equality.
“Despite these gains, many challenges remain, such as discriminatory laws and social norms remain pervasive, and women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of leadership,” she said.
Regarding women's leadership in the Catholic Church, Sr.Njeri lauded the late Pope Francis’ initiative of involving women in the leadership of the Vatican, unlike previous years, where she said many key positions were offered to men.
She mentioned some women appointed to Vatican leadership, including Sr. Simona Brambilla the first woman to serve as Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life, Sr.Alesandra Smerilli, Secretary of the Dicastery of Integral Human Development, and Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State.
Representation of women in key positions at the Vatican, she however clarified, remains limited particularly when compared to other major institutions and even many other Christian denominations.
The Kenyan Catholic Nun expressed optimism that the ongoing Synod on Synodality will give women the opportunity to lead and make decisions in the Catholic Church.
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The Kenyan-based Hilton Foundation official underscored the importance of women in leadership and decision-making, saying, “When we empower women to lead, we do more than uplift individuals do actually we transform societies because women bring different perspectives in decision-making, and problem-solving approaches that complement existing dynamics.”
Sr. Njeri further highlighted the need to address challenges in girls' education, women entrepreneurship, and involvement of Religious Women in decision-making.
The Catholic Nun proposed that future women leaders be molded through education and mentorship, saying, “Leadership does not emerge overnight. It is built through access to quality education, mentorship, and skills development.”
“We must prioritize STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education for girls, leadership programs for young women, and access to digital tools that prepare them for the jobs of the future,” she said, and added, “We must make sure we eliminate all cultural practices that hinder girls from advancing in education, such as early marriages, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and other harmful practices.”
In the business sector, the Catholic Nun highlighted the need for supporting women entrepreneurs by “improving the access to credit, property rights, and business networks.”
She underlined the need to implement family-friendly workplace policies such as maternity and paternity leave, flexible hours, and childcare help to retain women in the workforce.
Also important, she noted, is the need to eliminate barriers in male-dominated industries by encouraging women to enter and lead in sectors like tech, engineering, and finance.
Describing women as a “cradle for all humanity” the Catholic Nun encouraged women's involvement in policies regarding childcare, healthcare, and parental leave for the policies to work more effectively.
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