Catherine describes her experiences

When a married father in Senegal dies, each of his sons inherits a full share of his estate. Each daughter gets half a share. Each wife? An eighth of a share.

About 20% of Senegalese women have paid employment, and they’re taxed at a higher rate than men. Child allowances go only to men, because they’re considered the head of the household.

At the Women's Skills Program

Fewer than half of the women in Senegal are literate. Husbands, fathers, brothers, even uncles have rights over women and what those women earn or produce.

And yet, in much of Senegal, increasing numbers of women are supporting themselves and their children. They’re running farms and shops and scrounging for jobs because the men they’d be depending on have left for Europe in a desperate effort to find work.

So Senegalese women need skills. And jobs. Education. And a voice.

Catherine and David

That’s what brought me to Senegal. A chance to support women in developing that voice along with the personal presence to be heard and counted.

The young women and girls in EMUS’s Women’s Skills Program are preparing for jobs at hotels, restaurants, and dress shops. Some plan to start their own couture businesses. They’re well on their way to the cooking and sewing skills that will get them there.

But here’s the rub. Most of them are so timid they can barely introduce themselves to a stranger. How will they talk to customers? Or to prospective employers? How do they position themselves as the best for the job?

How can they possibly persuade someone to pay them what their work is worth in a culture where bargaining is the norm...when they have no idea how to articulate their value?

Role play

Those are some of the questions we tackled together. Shyly, even fearfully at first. But with increasing confidence as we worked. Even the youngest and most timid learned to introduce herself and offer the reasons she’d be the best choice for a position.

Young women who will graduate soon showed off their new ability in some role plays, discovering how challenging it can be to connect with a customer and, with some help, finding ways to be more persuasive.

Rama teaches them sewing—and they do beautiful work. Now she’ll also continue to coach them in the communication skills we’ve begun so that by graduation they’ll be ready for job interviews and connecting with clients.

I’ve been lucky enough to do some work with the United Methodist Women here too—they are a delightful group. Some have jobs, some have small enterprises of their own, some have husbands who support them. Most have children. And all of them are looking for a way to make an impact at church.

We unleashed some powerful voices in our afternoons together.

These women learned to take a stand...literally. To be grounded, with their posture open and expansive. To use Power Poses to develop confidence. To look someone in the eye and say what they mean. To amplify each other’s voices so that all of them get more respect and have more influence in church affairs.

They spoke with passion and power about their goals for their church. And about their personal goals for playing a more substantive role in the church.

I’ve done similar training with countless groups of professional women. I’ve never encountered participants more grateful for every bit of learning.

It would be shocking if executives in a corporate workshop were to stand up and thank God for bringing me to them. That was my experience at Eglise Methodiste Unie au Senegal.

However blessed the United Methodist Women felt, I was doubly blessed. I’m grateful for every bit of this experience.