As you’re reading this sentence someone lost the opportunity of a lifetime simply because they are a woman. And as you’re reading this sentence, someone else was denied their dream for the exact same reason. Worldwide the proverbial glass ceiling has been cracked and battered over the past century. For most of us, we live in a world where women can vote, have aspirations, and are considered equal human beings instead of someone’s property. But damaged as the glass ceiling may be, it still hangs over the heads of many women. If you find this hard to believe, just ask any woman you know, and they will tell you how hard they had to fight for the same thing others take for granted. So, how can a woman become a leader in a world dominated by men?   The Alliance for African Partnership (AAP) recently launched a Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Anemia and Other Neglected Tropical Diseases during their annual consortium meeting at Makerere University (MAK). Nothing fell short of a tag “impressive”. Sarah Kiguli, a MAK scholar based in Uganda, has not only consistently been a leader amongst the academic and medical academic community, but she has been on the forefront of decisions affecting the country’s future. She sat on the council for Makerere University for eight years, she served as the president of the Association of Uganda Women Medical Doctors for four years and most recently, she has founded the Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Anemia and Other Neglected Tropical Diseases and spear heading this noble idea.    The center promises to be a turning point for Uganda, doing research on how to combat diseases which have been plaguing Uganda unabetted for years. Despite the center only existing for a month, it has already set up a system to register patients with sickle cell disease. By registering them, they and others will be aware of the risks of passing this disease down to the next generation and can take the necessary steps to prevent that.   Sarah’s resume of consistence excellence in leadership is a testament to her determination, but as with every woman before her she needed to scratch and claw at the glass ceiling to reach where she is today. Thanks to the leadership of Vice Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe of recognizing these challenges, Sarah finds herself at the helm of this noble institution. When asked about the challenges she and other Ugandan woman have faced, she spoke about the difficulty of gaining the necessary skills to lead while raising a family. Worldwide, the common perception is that the women raise the family, and the men earn the money. Even if a woman is doing her best to earn, she is expected to shoulder the burden of cooking, cleaning, tending to the children. Can you imagine earning a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees and fellowship while having to juggle being a mother? Many people don’t need to imagine, and still, like Sarah, they manage to thrive. Even with less sleep, even with more stress, they succeed.   But despite her climb through the ceiling, Sarah is humble. Her story is not known because she does not go out of her way to share it. Partially due to introversion, Sarah does not make the obstacles she has broken through evident to those around her. Instead, she uses her passion to inspire. Using Vice Chancellor Nawangwe as an example, she explained that her passion for helping Ugandans suffering from diseases such as anemia is often enough to persuade him to trust in her ideas. This wouldn’t be the only time her passion for helping others aided her in her journey. She would note that she didn’t ascend the ladder to leadership alone. While her world is indeed dominated by men, many of them were swayed by her care for others and her willingness to do whatever is needed as she went through training in medical school as well as through her service in pediatrics. They mentored and supported her on her path to leadership, and she feels that without them she would not be where she is today.  She pays this forward to women that she works with. As she keeps an eye out for women to add to her team or to mentor into becoming leaders of their own. According to Sarah, she doesn’t just do this out of the kindness of her heart though, she knows and understands that women are necessary for science to continue to surge forward. When asked on the perspectives that women bring to science she used her experiences in Uganda as an example. In her culture, she noted that most women think broadly, beyond science, but the social and psychosocial effects of what they are studying and how to best mobilize communities to put solutions into effect. When looking at sickle cell research itself, she noted that the nurturing perspectives of older women allows for better research and mobilization teams to be built as well as patient care to be improved.  Finally, when Sarah Kiguli was asked to give advice to women who want to become leaders, or women who have been inspired by her story, she had the following to say:  Think that woman should believe in herself. Believe in yourself, set your goals so that you can know where you want to go. Make targets, work with other people, work with people who support you. It is lonely, it is a lonely path moving up there, but also being up there is extremely lonely, especially if you are successful. It is lonely. So, surround yourself with people who support you. And we should always look out for each other as women. I know that there are groups holding researchers i know for doctors, we have groups holding doctors. But find, find, find a mentor if you don't have a mentor. mentorship is really important and find men and women who are willing to look out for you. So that they support you as you go through this journey. And it is actually possible. It is possible!  If you want to go there, identify what your niche is, what you want to do.  And then start the journey.     Read more