Kenya: Bamburi appoints three women to all-male board

Bamburi Cement has appointed three women as directors to its previously all-male board.

Appointees include former Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner for Domestic Taxes, Alice Owuor, Rita Kavashe, chief executive of General Motors East Africa (GMEA) and Equity Group Foundation’s managing director, Dr Hellen Gichohi.

The female directors now represent 30 per cent of the cement manufacturer’s board that previously comprised of just seven men after two female directors (deputy Central Bank Governor, Sheila M’Mbijjewe, and Catherine Langreney) resigned last year.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) encourages listed firms to have diverse boards. “The appointment of directors should be sensitive to gender representation, national outlook and should not be perceived to represent single or narrow community interest,” reads part of the guidelines published by the regulator.