thought leadership
I think it is right that as a woman I am
paid the same as my male counterparts.
I think it is right that I should be able
to make decisions about my own body.
I think it is right that women be involved
on my behalf in the policies and decisionmaking
of my country. I think it is right that
socially I am afforded the same respect as
men. But, sadly, I can say that there is no
one country in the world where all women
can expect to receive these rights.”
Those were the words of actress Emma
Watson at the very beginning of the United
Nations’ “He for She” campaign. Launched
in 2014, the campaign has garnered strong
support from corporate partners and highprofile
media attention.
And the woman behind the curtain, so
to speak, is Elizabeth Nyamayaro – senior
advisor to the executive director of UN
Women – is one of two keynote speakers
at the HRPA Annual Conference, presenting
“How to Create a Social Movement.”
A LEGACY OF WORK
Nyamayaro’s involvement in He for She
comes after an impressive resume of social
activism, and specifically feminist-focused
initiatives. Nyamayaro has also worked
at the forefront of Africa’s development
agenda for more than a decade, helping
to improve the lives of under-served populations.
She came to UN Women after
serving as senior leadership within the corporate
strategy office at Merck, working in
support of the company’s ongoing efforts
to broaden access to medicine in the developing
world.
During her tenure at Merck, Nyamayaro
also served as director of external affairs
and policy, Africa, where she supported
the launch of key women initiatives. Prior
to Merck, Nyamayaro held positions with
UNAIDS, World Health Organization
(WHO) and the World Bank, where she
led and supported key public health access
initiatives.
“It became really clear that if we were
going to advance the conversation about
young women, we needed something that
was going to change how we look at gender
equality in a positive way. We need to make
it a global issue. If it remains a women’s issue,
then progress will remain slow. Men
still hold power so you can’t really speak
about imbalance against women without
finding a way to engage men as meaningful
partners,” said Nyamayaro.
A strong advocate for economic empowerment,
she founded Africa IQ, an
innovative social impact organization with
a mission to promote Africa’s sustainable
economic growth and development.
Nyamayaro holds a M.Sc. in politics from
the London School of Economics and
Political Science.
Nyamayaro will be co-presenting with
Kelly Joscelyne, global talent management
leader at PwC. A senior HR professional
currently based in the U.S. with international
experience working in Australia and
United Kingdom, Joscelyne has more than
20 years of HR management experience
working in global consulting firms, professional
services and banking and finance.
She has managed global cultural and behavioural
transformation projects, and has
specialist skills in strategic resourcing, international
mobility, talent management,
diversity and assessment strategies.
In her role at PwC, Joscelyne works
closely with critical markets to develop
talent strategies for future business growth.
She also runs PwC’s Leadership &
Gender Equality Series, “Aspire to Lead.”
Joscelyne consults and supports the United
Nations Women team on the He For She
movement.
HOW TO START A FIRE
How does an organization mobilize people
around one critical issue to create a mass
movement? That’s the central question this
powerful keynote session will answer. Two
dynamic, impactful and inspiring speakers,
Nyamayaro and Joscelyne will share
lessons corporations can adopt from the
realm of social activism. With at least one
man in every single country in the world
signing on to the He for She initiative within
its first week of launch, the campaign
has become one of the most important social
movements in the world today, and has
been subject to more than two billion conversations
online. Explore valuable lessons
about creating a successful social movement
as Nyamayaro and Joscelyne share
campaign insights and perspectives.
Attend Kelly Joscelyne and Elizabeth
Nyamayaro’s keynote address at HRPA’s
Annual Conference and Trade Show,
February 1 at 12:00 p.m.
“
HOW DOES AN ORGANIZATION MOBILIZE PEOPLE
AROUND ONE CRITICAL ISSUE TO CREATE A MASS
MOVEMENT? THAT’S THE CENTRAL QUESTION THIS
POWERFUL KEYNOTE SESSION WILL ANSWER.
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ SPECIAL CONFERENCE EDITION 2017 ❚ 27