Kamala Harris’s Election Speech: Reflecting on the Strength of Women and the Ways Forward
During her VP acceptance speech on Saturday, November 7, 2020, Kamala Devi Harris said “Women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality, liberty and justice for all, including the Black women, who are often, too often overlooked, but so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy…Tonight, I reflect on their struggle, their determination and the strength of their vision — to see what can be, unburdened by what has been.”
The Vice President-elect’s words strongly resonated with those who fight for equality, have been overlooked, or have struggled to be recognized. Activists, social entrepreneurs, and non-profit founders, in particular, felt a sense of alignment with the expression “see what can be, unburdened by what has been.” As a fighter for a greater cause, social entrepreneurs often observe the history of a particular group’s struggle. Yet, their vision enables them to look past the historical barriers and suppression and envision “what can be” and not be “burdened by what has been.”
In my own personal and professional journey, I saw many opportunities of what could be possible for the most marginalized female populations on earth, namely African women farmers living in extreme poverty. For the women’s farming cooperatives recruited into The Harvest Fund’s program, at least 75% live at or below the World Bank threshold for extreme poverty of $1.90 per day. They typically lived in rural villages in homes with straw-thatched roof huts and without running water or electricity. Yet, through their humble yet energetic spirit, they weren’t shamed by their socioeconomic status or being overlooked by capitalism — instead, they inspired me to see “what can be” if they were given opportunities.
I launched The Harvest Fund to provide microfinance for agricultural technologies to African women farmers who would normally be overlooked by standard business models. Yet, I found a way to engage them, build their self-sufficiency, and view them as capable customers of The Harvest Fund — women who could obtain farm loans and pay for farming services. As Vice President-elect Harris saw that black American women were the backbone of democracy, I saw that black African women were the backbone of African agriculture. It was not a personal opinion, it was based on extensive research. Increasing numbers of reports showed that the majority of economically active women in least-developed countries work in agriculture. In fact, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that women are of vital importance to rural economies, responsible for 60% — 80% of food production in developing countries. Just as Vice President-elect Harris had seen that “women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality, liberty and justice for all,” I had seen millions of black African women who fought and sacrificed so much to produce food and nutritionally sustain millions of people. Yet, due to patriarchal systems, socioeconomic discrimination, and racial biases, they were one of the most overlooked groups in the world.
Through my business education and consulting background from the first half of my career, I was able to see “what can be” possible even from an economic perspective. There were market gaps in the marketing and distribution of proven agricultural technologies as well as the microfinance to afford them, particularly to the customer market who needed them the most — women farmers. In the country where we decided to launch The Harvest Fund, Zambia, women constitute up to 70% of the agricultural workforce yet the country ranks 113 out of 117 on the Global Hunger Index scale. The country’s staple crop is maize which is used for their traditional nsima (maize meal mixed with water) yet worsening seasonal drought affects the production, particularly since the majority of farmers rely on rainfed farming. Unfortunately, in Zambia, the rains fell for a few short months and the rainfall becomes more and more erratic with climate change. Productivity is further hampered by barren soils, poor seed, and manual outdated farming practices. If women had adequate farming resources byway of year-round access to water, nutrients for healthy soil, mechanization via tractors, harvest storage, imagine the growth of the agricultural sector, and the implications for hunger and malnutrition! This realization was one of the founding factors behind The Harvest Fund and shaped the various loan products and services that we offer to our farmers. During my reflection on the struggles, determination, and strength of the vision of African women farmers, I was able to see what could be and burdened by what has been.
As inspirational as it might be to witness this grassroots-level work, we can collectively agree that there is a tremendous amount of gender-equality work to be done at the highest corporate and government ranks. As I reflected on the struggles of African women farmers, I reflected on my personal struggles within the American corporate sector and even engaged in discussions with other female professionals on their challenges. Even with advanced degrees from top American universities and a decade of work experience, including managerial experience, I still was asked to take on the “office housework” of scheduling meetings, ordering lunch, and taking notes. In fact, I was not alone and even heard similar stories from female lawyers. However, I still reflected on my privilege to obtain a quality education, earn a salary to pay off my loans, and be gainfully employed, and realized that the struggles of African women farmers were far worse than anything I had faced. They summoned their utmost physical strength to dig holes in the ground to access water, and painstakingly removed tons of kernels off of corn cobs with their bare fingers only to have the absolute basic necessities of life. Still, after a backbreaking day in the field under the hot sun, they still had to go home, prepare food, and care for their husband and children. Like many women in corporate America, I saw them taking on an unfair share of the less glamorous tasks so that others can flourish. Women still had to go home to tend to an unfair share of housework. Don’t women get to relax in the evenings so they can be refreshed and energized for the next workday? Moreover, no farmer started an agribusiness solely because they could quickly de-kernel corn by hand and, similarly in corporate America, no one was appointed to CEO solely because they could order the best lunch for meetings.
Even though I left a traditional corporate career to focus on social impact, I realize that there is still much work to be done in the corporate world despite the historic election of the first female vice president in the US. To illustrate, the corporate role with the greatest male-female balance (53% male; 47% female) is actually within entry-level roles because there is a significant drop-off in gender balance after managerial roles (62% male; 38% female). The inequality worsens with each progressive corporate level — senior manager, director, vice president, etc. While gender, diversity, and inclusion corporate efforts are to be applauded, the real work happens within each individual. Government institutions and companies are made up of individuals. Even aside from formal corporate gender, diversity, and inclusion initiatives, everyday opportunities exist for people of all genders to mentor corporate minorities whether racial or gender minorities. What might this look like? It may be as simple as answering somebody’s request for an informational phone call. Or, provide an opportunity for a junior colleague to build their analytical skills, rather than having them fetch coffee or schedule meetings. Have you seen a shy female colleague sit on the outskirts of a conference room? Invite them to sit at the table. In many cultures, women are not taught how to build their self-confidence or use their voice (myself included). In other scenarios, underrepresented minorities may not feel comfortable at office social gatherings. Here’s a call to action: as you go about your daily work routines, identify a simple thing you can do to create — as Melinda French Gates would say — a “moment of lift” for a junior or peer colleague.
Written by: Michelle Kurian
Michelle is the Executive Director of The Harvest Fund, a social enterprise focused on linking Zambian women farmers with microfinance and agricultural technologies. Michelle left the corporate world to focus on international agricultural development and co-founded The Harvest Fund to address the “agricultural gender gap” in Africa. Outside of her work, she enjoys spending time outdoors, learning languages, and listening to audiobooks. She is a second generation Indian-American who currently resides in the US.
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