Nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd have thrown issues of economic inequality, already exasperated by the coronavirus crisis, into sharp relief. The wealth gap in America has been growing since at least the 1970s as income levels stagnated for lower and middle class households while continuing to grow for households at the top of the spectrum.&nbsp;



Centuries of racism and discrimination mean that this divide is a great deal wider for black households that are denied the access to the opportunities and resources available to white households. “No progress has been made in reducing income and wealth inequalities between black and white households over the past 70 years,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/institute-working-papers/income-and-wealth-inequality-in-america-1949-2016" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to economists Moritz Kuhn, Moritz Schularick and Ulrike I. Steins who published a 2018 paper on U.S. incomes and wealth since 1949. The Brookings Institution&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/02/27/examining-the-black-white-wealth-gap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">points out</a>&nbsp;that the ratio of white family wealth to black family wealth is higher today that it was at the beginning of the century.&nbsp;



Here are 9 numbers that sum up the vast gap.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">16.8%</h3>



That’s the May 2020 jobless rate for black workers. During the same month, white workers were unemployed at a rate of 12.4%.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/business/economy/black-workers-inequality-economic-risks.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Less than half of black adults</a>&nbsp;currently have a job, compared with just under 60% prior to the beginning of the pandemic layoffs in February. The sobering statistic comes after unemployment rates for black workers reached a record low in the months before the pandemic.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">$17,150</h3>



That was the median net worth of black households in 2016, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/02/27/examining-the-black-white-wealth-gap/" target="_blank">Brookings Institution</a> notes. The median net worth of a white family at the same time was $171,000—nearly ten times as much.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">8.7%</h3>



The Washington Post <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/04/economic-divide-black-households/" target="_blank">points out</a> that in 1968, the median black household had just 9.4% of the wealth of the median white household, according to Fed data. Yet by 2016, that ratio had fallen to just 8.7%. In other words, the wealth divide actually widened a bit over nearly a half century of what is commonly thought of as progress for African-Americans. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">44.3%</h3>



That’s how much the median net worth of black families fell between 2007 and 2013, reflecting lingering damage from the Great Recession. White families experienced a smaller, though still substantial, drop in median net worth of 26%.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">40%</h3>



That’s how much less likely black families are to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/currenthvspress.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">own their homes</a>&nbsp;than white families, according to the Census Bureau.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">28%</h3>



That’s the portion of black homeowners who didn’t pay or deferred their mortgage payment in May, during the depths of the covid-19 crisis, compared with just 9% for white homeowners, according to the Urban Institute’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/new-data-suggest-covid-19-widening-housing-disparities-race-and-income" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a>&nbsp;of the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey .&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">36%</h3>



That’s the percentage of black respondents who said they had money in the stock market, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/211052/stock-ownership-down-among-older-higher-income.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2017 Gallup poll</a>. The rate was 60% for white respondents. Investing in the stock market is one of many ways families compound their wealth.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">46%</h3>



According to a&nbsp;<a href="https://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/measuring-racial-ethnic-retirement-wealth-inequality/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;from Boston College’s Center for Retirement research, the typical black household had just 46% of the retirement wealth of a typical white household in 2016. The study notes that the gap would be much larger if it weren’t for the value of Social Security benefits households have earned and are expected to receive.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2 out of 5</h3>



That’s the share of black small businesses that were forced to close down in April because of the pandemic, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://siepr.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/20-022.pdf" target="_blank">according to</a> University of California, Santa Cruz economist Robert Fairlie. Among white businesses, just 1 out of 5 was forced to close.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/">Sarah Hansen</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/markets">Markets</a>

Miniature people standing on a pile of coins. A concept of income disparity.

Here’s What The Racial Wealth Gap In America Looks Like Today

I had to wake up early for the long walk and leave the warmth of my three-star room in Queenstown, Eastern Cape. Getting up this early on a Saturday morning wasn’t helped by a little hangover left from the welcoming of athletes in a guest house for the Chris Hani Freedom Marathon the previous night. This was where I met the town’s flamboyant politicians who spoke proudly and loudly of their hero, Hani, and Lungile Gongqa, the champion of the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town.
The early start gave me just enough time to rinse my face. The five-kilometer race was set for 6.30AM, in rural Cofimvaba, an hour’s drive from Queenstown. We went up and down the hills before dawn, before joining a convoy of about 15 buses.
We hoped the buses would lead the way – they didn’t, the convoy got lost and we had to make a turn and follow Google Maps which landed us about three kilometers off the tar road in Sabalele, Cofimvaba. Fortunately, a speeding taxi arrived behind us and told us the race was nearby. We sped off thinking we must be late.
By the time we found parking at 6.45AM, the race hasn’t started. People were still collecting their race numbers and some were even registering at the Chris Hani Community Centre for the race. People had stayed the night there; mattresses and food parcels were everywhere and a foul smell was in the air.
We received our numbers and walked to the starting point, stretched and waited for the race to start. There were 1,000 of us.
It was now 8:30AM. “African time is an issue,” I thought to myself. Despite this, the participants were patient and relaxed.
Finally, at 9:30AM, the first whistle went for the 25-kilometer race; at 9:45AM, the second one blasted for the 10-kilometer race and finally the five-kilometer walk – my walk – started at 10AM.
I walked with the councillor from the local Chris Hani municipality and the chief whip. Both ladies couldn’t wait to turn back after two kilometers.
I asked what the walk was about while walking uphill. The councillor, breathing heavily, answered, “the walk is for their fallen hero, Chris Hani, who walked that route daily to school.” It wasn’t easy walking on gravel. But I believe I spurred them on because I was photographing them all the way.
Once we finally finished the race, got our medals, mingled and hugged, it was time to drive back to the cosy rooms in a small town. It was a long drive. Cows, sheep and goats were all over the road. Children were also playing on the newly tarred road which meant we had to slow down even more. To make the arduous drive worse, my room didn’t have electricity. With no hot water, I couldn’t shower nor bathe; but almost two hours later the electricians sorted my wiring and I could refresh myself for the first time since arriving from Johannesburg.
Although my feet were sore, I was happy I had walked in the footsteps of one of the great South African struggle heroes. I slept knowing that Hani walked 25 kilometers to school; became leader of the South African Communist Party; Chief of Staff for uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) opposing the apartheid government; but sadly got gunned down in his driveway in 1993.
This is a journey that would have never happened without the struggle of the hero, Chris Hani.

Chris-Hani-057

Dusty Walk For A Hero

Strong powerful legs slam the tartan floor, each stride gaining an increasingly large distance from the rest of the field. Arms pumping gently, mouth slightly ajar, his body moves in a methodical rhythm. Suddenly, oozing a combination of grace and power, he quickens the pace, his eyes locked on the stopwatch ahead. A crescendo applause fills the stadium as he glides towards the finish line. “They’ve done it again,” the commentator roars, “Kenya takes the gold medal.” Heartfelt celebrations ensue as he fights against the post-race exhaustion. One man has an entire nation on its feet. Glory!
Every four years at the Olympic Games, an interpretation of this scene seems to occur in the track events. Since the incomparable Kipchoge Keino won two medals in Mexico in 1968, Kenyan athletes have dominated middle to long distance running at the Olympic Games.
While the Games are never without drama, the months preceding are usually fairly calm for athletes. This year was an exception. The months before the 2016 Rio Olympics proved to be arguably the most contentious period for Kenyan athletes in the nation’s Olympic history. From delayed legislation, to surprise Twitter announcements, Kenyan athletes and supporters rode a rollercoaster of emotions before the East African nation was finally given the green light to participate in the Games this August.
The strife first emerged at the beginning of the year when the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) announced that Kenya would be placed on a watch list. Stemming from a Wada report that was bolstered by more claims of bribery, extortion and Kenya’s legislation towards doping (or lack thereof), the country was in hot water. In February, Wada Director General David Howman stated
“Wada is most disturbed by these reports regarding extortion and bribery at the national level of sport,” said Wada Director General, David Howman, after claims that Athletics Kenya had asked two banned Kenyan athletes for a bribe in exchange for a shorter sentence.
Following these claims, the country missed two Wada deadlines to establish anti-doping legislation (February and April). The athletics powerhouse was officially at risk of being banned from the 2016 Games. In April, however, President Uhuru Kenyatta assured the nation that an Anti-Doping Bill would be passed by Parliament and that he would sign it into law before the May 2 deadline.
“There would be no excuse to deny [the Kenyan] team from participation in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August,” said Kenyatta.
On April 22, Kenyatta signed the bill, which criminalized doping in Kenya. Kenyans were reassured that they would watch their heroes strive for Olympic glory once again.
Back in Kenya, athletes continued to train for the Games. In late April, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Athletics Championships took place on the outskirts of Nairobi. Winners would represent the KDF team, which would participate in the National Athletics Championships in July. This is where the Olympic fate of Kenya’s best athletes is decided.
Kenyan athletes also continued to excel internationally in the build-up to August. Scooping top spots in both the women’s and men’s races at the London Marathon, where Eliud Kipchoge beat the course record, Kenya’s athletes showed the world that they were able to remain focused despite the controversy.
More controversy was to come though. In May, Athletics Kenya announced the marathon squad to participate in the Olympics. The current holder of the marathon world record, Dennis Kimetto, wasn’t selected, sparking furious debate as sports enthusiasts put the doping controversy aside. Less than 72 hours later however, WADA would divert attention with the following statement: “The WADA CRC has made the unanimous recommendation that Kenya be declared non-compliant with immediate effect.” It claimed there were “inconsistencies” with the Kenyan legislation.
The news was a huge blow to the country, which believed it was on track for Rio.
“How is this happening? …I’m shocked,” said Keino, the former Olympic hero and Chairman of the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (Nock).
The rest of Kenya was just as flabbergasted. Many took to social media to express their disbelief and disappointment, including World Champion javelin thrower Julius Yego, who is an avid social media user (Yego learned how to throw the javelin by watching YouTube videos).
“It’s worrying and painful to remember the sacrifice, perseverance, dedication put towards achieving the success and ultimate goal and suddenly get [it taken away from] you! It’s heartbreaking and saddening!!” (sic),” said a perturbed Yego, who had been regularly updating his supporters through his Facebook page.
Yego’s words personalized a debate that had raged around the world for months. A blanket ban for Kenya would be disastrous for the country, but it would be devastating for the Kenyan athletes who were genuinely training hard to fulfil their Olympic ambitions come August 2016. Perhaps for the first time, Kenya started to envision an Olympics without its proud athletes participating.
Shocked into action, a couple of days later, a Kenyan delegation, with Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Amina Mohamed, and Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Hassan Wario, flew to Montreal, Canada, to meet Wada officials. Here Kenya agreed to a roadmap allowing the country to become fully compliant with Wada’s code after making amendments to the Anti-Doping Act. In addition to this, reports flooded in that while WADA had deemed Kenya non-compliant, the power to ban the country from Rio ultimately lay with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which said that Kenya was eligible to participate in Rio, unless the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said otherwise. A collective sigh of relief could be heard in Kenya.
For now it appears that Kenya is in the clear, and while it is very evident that the issue of doping is a complex challenge that Kenya must urgently deal with, one can only wonder how prepared Kenyan athletes are. They need to put the drama behind them and represent their country at the Olympics with as much conviction as ever.

Heroes Almost Heartbroken

Doug Ryder says he nearly passed out when his cycling team got a wild card place at last year’s Tour de France.
But this July he will have all his wits about him as Team Dimension Data compete as a fully-fledged top division team, with realistic hopes of snagging stage wins and enjoying a spell in the leader’s yellow jersey, at the sport’s ultimate challenge.
Usually wildcards in the Tour make as much impact as a wildcard at Wimbledon. But last year MTN-Qhubeka (as they were known before a change in sponsor), were second, at a time, in the overall team classification. Daniel Teklehaimanot, one of the Eritreans in the team, wore the polka-dot jersey for several stages, as he became the first African to lead the mountain classification.
The team then trumped all of that by winning stage 14 on what Ryder calls “the Mandela Day stage”. The British journeyman Steve Cummings finished first on the anniversary of the former South African president’s birthday.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4960" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Douglas-Ryder-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" />
No longer a novelty, Ryder and his African side will be every bit a legitimate part of the Tour, now elevated to the status of the UCI World Tour – the equivalent of playing in the English Premier League.
To develop the footballing analogy, the team have been promoted rapidly through the leagues. It was only in 2013 that they were granted a place on the international circuit.
And in doing so they have captured the attention of the sport globally, making headlines across the world for what has been seen as an over-achievement for a group of riders most outside of the sport had never heard of before.
It has been a dramatic rise for a team built by a little known South African cyclist who has gone from trying to balance his own career with a job in IT to now effectively being the chief executive of a multi-million-dollar business.
Last year the team were operating with a budget of around $6.5 million. Now they are “well north of that that,” says Ryder as he seeks to compete with the best by signing the likes of Mark Cavendish, Nathan Haas and Omar Fraile to his team. Top cycling outfits, like Team Sky, have operating budgets estimated around $28 million.
Ryder, an energetic and effervescent 44-year-old from Cape Town, rode for South Africa at the Atlanta Olympics and three World Road Race Championships but never enjoyed the pampered existence of a professional in a major race team.
“Pretty much everywhere we went we had to make things happen for ourselves,” he says of his racing days.
So he built his own team, way back in 1997, going through a series of different names as he solicited sponsorship from the likes of Lotus Development, Microsoft, Energade and MTN.
“It was only when MTN came on board as sponsors in 2007 that is when it really started to take off. We wanted to first be the best team in South Africa, then Africa and then to try and take on the world,” says Ryder in an interview with FORBES AFRICA.
“I always wanted to do something uniquely different, to show the ability of the African continent. When I was racing in the late 90s and early 2000s as a professional in Europe, I didn’t get that many opportunities, cycling was really hard then and lot was going on in the sport. It was a bit like racing motorbikes.”
“So I came back to South Africa and said ‘let me start my own team and believe in taking African cyclists as far as they can go’.”
By 2013, the small operation had advanced to 21 riders and 25 staff, 70% of them from Africa. Riders from South Africa were joined by professionals from Algeria, Eritrea and Rwanda. Now, as they ride on the bigger stages, it is full of some of the sports top stars – notably the sprinter Cavendish, whose annual salary is in the $4 million range. Signing him was a massive publicity coup, almost as big a statement as their exploits in the inaugural Tour de France.
“He’s probably the biggest name in the sport. He loves that we are partnered with Qhubeka and what we stand for. It has created an incredible buzz in the team.”
Five years ago, Ryder added Qhubeka to the team name, handing an international profile to a non-profit organization who give bicycles to people in return for community service.
“There is a perception about bicycles in Africa and riding them. Some people would rather walk than ride a bicycle because they feel it shows they cannot afford a car. We’ve tried to make bike riding cool. If the bicycle becomes a cool thing that people want to have, then maybe we can mobilize this continent forward. But we need heroes to do so. And that was the theory, the method in the madness to put this team together,” says Ryder.
The Tour de France offers a massive worldwide profile again but since January, Team Dimension Data have ridden in all the World Tour events, from Australia to Spain, then Dubai and Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, Belgium and Switzerland. In August, they will be in the Vuelta a Espana (the Tour of Spain) and ride in Canada and then the Netherlands before the year is out.
It is a remarkable story of persistence and dogged determination, as Ryder spent much of last year just negotiating and seeking to secure a myriad of sponsors to elevate his Johannesburg-registered team into a proper international concern.
He remains the driving force behind the team and the key element in the success they have had to date with his passion to see the team not just compete, an achievement of his own, but win stages and, ultimately, races.
Never has any sports outfit from Africa made such a dramatic rise.
Now Ryder is able to take more of a hands-on role, planning to manage the team on a daily basis as the look forward to an exciting future.

The Man Plotting How Africa Can Win The Tour De France

With almost a year until the Olympic Games in Rio, athletes are preparing to perform on the world’s greatest sporting platform. Our weeks are not measured by days but by number of training sessions. Citius, Altius, Fortius is not just the Olympic motto, it is our lifestyle and we are doing everything to become ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’.
Our training and competitions have been improving, quietly, over the past three years. Like gladiators working hard in the dungeons, we have been building our strength, shaping our bodies, and preparing our minds. As the time draws near for us to perform in front of billions, curiosity rises among the crowds, eager to know what they can expect to see.
Science in sport has increased dramatically and the older, more brutal, Spartan ways of training have been superseded by smarter methods of quality rather than quantity. Brute strength alone does not have a place in modern day competition. The athlete of today requires natural talent, an inborn competitive nature, instinctive decision-making abilities, and the strength of mind to continuously overcome difficult challenges.
In addition to the above, athletes need a passion for their sport and dedication to training. Over the last few years, I have been religiously building a strong physical foundation. My workouts have focused on full body and functional exercises to develop a base that will be strong enough to withstand the next phase of my training – perfecting my race. I don’t believe I have ever swum my perfect race and I am beginning to believe one can never swim a perfect race, but I aim to be as close to perfect as possible. This means every tiny detail must become as natural as breathing: the split-second explosive start, fast turns, efficient strokes, perfect technique and powerful kicking. There is no time to think what must be done; it should have already been done.
For this to happen every hour of the day must be accounted for. This includes:
Swim training: 50-60km per week
Gym Workouts: 4-6 hours per week
Other Workouts (Barre Class): 2 per week
Nutrition: 5 meals per day (plus snacks)
Sleep: 7-8 hours per night
Rest: 1-2 hours of sleep per day
&nbsp;
Unbelievable goals will be set to increase our failures, destroy our confidence, and reduce us to tears. We will be hammered into shape and mentally manipulated by our coaches to push us past our breaking points. It is physically demanding. Sleep is essential. I always arrive early, day after day to face the same grueling beat down. I will be drained by the thought of how much there is still to do and drained by my coach’s rigorous requests. But, suddenly, I will get the goal we are after and the tears will stop, the pain will go away, and my confidence will skyrocket. Then, my coach will tell me to do it all over again.
Athletes can generally handle pressure extremely well but as the Olympics approach, stresses need to be managed. They have to be reduced as these can have big impacts on our focus. Creating a good entourage will help manage these pressures, increasing the possibility of success. This includes:
&nbsp;
My friends and family helping to take the pressure off by having fun
My coaches ensuring I have the best program to follow
My teammates challenging me and keeping me focused
My sponsors ensuring I have the tools necessary to train and compete
My fans encouraging me
&nbsp;
It is because of this support; my passion and experience, that I have managed to go from no ranking to top 20 in the world this year. I even swam my fastest time in one of my events, breaking the African record, but this is still not good enough. I have to get stronger, I have to get leaner, and I have to be fitter than I have ever been in my life and that is just to make it into the semi-finals.
Enhanced training techniques, fierce competition, and the quest for glory have created athletes who are swimming faster, jumping higher, and performing stronger which could make the Rio Olympics quite possibly the most exhilarating Games ever; and I will be a part of it.

Drained, Weeping And In Pain Towards The Gain

Caroline Wöstmann is like an energizer bunny, always on the go. She barely breaks a sweat as she jets up the unending flight of steps to her office kitted in running gear. The 32-year-old mother of two won the women’s race earlier this year at the 56 kilometer Two Oceans ultra-marathon in Cape Town. She ran the distance in three hours, 41 minutes and 23 seconds, becoming the first South African woman  to win in 14 years.
A lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Wöstmann only started running six years ago, to alter her lifestyle after giving birth to her first child. She’s not a professional marathoner.
At first, she began by running around her neighborhood in Pretoria, South Africa, where she lives. The first day was a challenge but she soon found a rhythm to the routine.
“Running allows you to relate to everyone. You can understand the dream to win just as you understand the dream to just finish a race. It’s so individual. Everyone can experience the same amount of joy or devastation,” she says.
Her first attempt at the ultra-marathon in 2013 was a harrowing experience. The weeks of intense training gave her a stress fracture. Not knowing the extent of her injuries, she ignored the pain and ran the marathon.
“During the race, the pain got so bad, I couldn’t walk anymore. Eventually I managed to hobble to the end and finish but I found out that week that my fibula was actually broken.”
Wöstmann was hesitant to do the race again, the memory of her fracture still fresh. She began a rehabilitation program, working on her muscle imbalances.
“Maybe naturally I wasn’t built strong enough but by doing strength work and training and fixing those imbalances, I was able to train harder,” she says.
Although her focus is on the Comrades Marathon (at the end of May), the world&#8217;s largest and oldest ultra-marathon run annually in KwaZulu-Natal, a province in South Africa, she is using local marathons as training platforms.
“Two Oceans was just meant to be training for my Comrades build-up. I had one of those days where everything fell into place. If you get an opportunity like that, you can’t bypass it. I was having the best run of my life.”
The Two Oceans route includes a breathtaking view of the sea to Chapman’s Peak, Hout Bay and Constantia Nek. With the recent fires in Cape Town, which began in Muizenberg fanned by strong winds that soon spread to Ou Kaapse Weg, Chapman’s Peak, Hout Bay and Tokai, the Two Oceans route had to be changed to include a steeper incline.
“It was a much easier route for me because my bone wasn’t broken,” she laughs now.
Recharged after her recent win, she is working towards her next goal – coming in the top three at the Comrades. Juggling lectures, a family and her sport, every day is a marathon for her and she’s in it to win.

Old Mutual Two Oceans Ultra Marathon 56km race

The Best Run Of Her Life

Some race reductionists have argued that black people cannot be racist. According to this argument, black people are so dominated by whites in every sphere that they could not possibly be racist, even if they tried.
To be racist, goes their argument, a group must possess state or economic power to collectively subjugate those of a different group, those who do not look like them.
At best, blacks can despise whites for all the pain they have caused since their ancestors first left Europe in search of new lands and resources some 500 years ago.
As you might imagine, such an argument has the ability to raise passions, regardless of which side of the debate one chooses. It is also, of course, a nonsensical premise. Blacks are human, and from time immemorial, human beings have had prejudices based on all sorts of things, from which side of the river one hails to the color of their hair.
There is an equally flawed theory, based on more or less the same sentiments, held by the ‘blacks cannot be racist’ brigade. This time, it is led by women, who think that by merely being women, they possess the magical skills to manage people.
Women bosses are allegedly more compassionate, consensus-orientated and, unlike their male counterparts, not overly competitive.
Really?
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let me hasten to add that I have no doubt that there are women leaders out there like that. By the same token, however, there are women leaders who are everything but.
To assume, therefore, that for no other reason than they are blessed with
more X chromosomes, that they bring to boardrooms, the shop floor and wherever else they manage people, a divinely ordained insight into how to get human beings to be more productive, get on with each other and go home to be excellent partners and parents, is ridiculous.
It is no better than the delusion that blacks are incapable of racism simply because they are black. It may make women feel better, but it is bigoted, for it attributes to women, characteristics that they acquired by mere membership of a group they had no say in joining and therefore cannot escape.
Anyone who believes that the biological factors they possess – the color of their skin, eyes or the dominant hand they use – give them special powers and advantages over other human beings, is on the road to nowhere.
One would think that people with some experience in the workplace and the boardroom have seen that both great and lousy leaders come in all shapes, sizes and genders.
Political correctness demands that we believe women bring a ‘softness’ and more ‘heart’ to the boardroom, as if women in business are recruited from the convent rather than the coalface where business leaders are made. We are told that their maternal instincts (and goodness knows what else) gives them the abilities that their peers around the boardroom table do not share.
As is the case with black people, by now women should refuse to be treated as if they are monolithic judged on the performance of those who look like them. They should not only refuse this association when it is negative, but should reject it altogether when told they are the better species for no other reason than they are women.
To accept, as some women have, that their gender gives them some advantage is to deny their own humanness and the effort and skill it takes to climb the corporate ladder.
The ‘I am a great boss because I am a woman’ brigade denies the role of training, mentoring and old-fashioned hard work that makes excellent bosses excellent. It tells men that kindness and empathy are feminine traits and they should therefore play them down, lest their masculinity be questioned.
It is up to women to correct this ever-growing misconception that it is something to do with gender and not abilities and skills that makes them excellent leaders.
If the women’s movement has learnt anything from centuries of patriarchy it should be that sooner rather than later, those who imagine themselves to be virtuous because of who they are rather than what they do, are eventually caught out and put in their place.
It is women who must call the likes of Margaret Thatcher to order for saying: ‘if you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman’. It may be a great quote, but it brings with it seeds of counterarguments and examples of how the opposite is true.
Nature and nurture have provided men and women with different ways of seeing the world. That, however, is no excuse for allowing how we have been socialized to determine what it takes to be an excellent business leader.

Women are not inherently good

With just hours to go, the prevailing mood in Britain was hardly celebratory. On streets washed by rain, the number of tourists in London’s capital seemed below the average for the time of year. The last minute preparations were far from frenzied and all that anyone was certain of was that the opening ceremony involved live sheep.
But then the brutal cynicism that greets every major event in Britain was washed away by an event that left many around the world scratching their heads. The spectacular, which included dancing nurses, engineers, Shakespeare, James Bond and a cameo from the Queen, was a satisfying antidote to the blanket corporate sponsorship that had alienated many Londoners ahead of the games.
<div id="attachment_1187" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1187" class="size-medium wp-image-1187" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/149916643_10-300x203.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="203" />WINDSOR, ENGLAND &#8211; AUGUST 02: Sizwe Ndlovu, John Smith, Matthew Brittain and James Thompson of South Africa celebrate winning the gold medal for the Lightweight Men&#8217;s Four final on on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Eton Dorney on August 2, 2012 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)</div>
The ceremony—which saw a celebration of the National Health Service, the industrial revolution and modern day British multiculturalism—combined wit, elegance and a theatricality. It confounded a widespread belief in the country that the event would be an expensive and embarrassing disaster.
A security fiasco, which saw G4S, the lead contractor, admit with weeks to go, that it had not hired enough staff to man the games, saw the army drafted in to run X-ray scanners and patrol the venues. Last minute problems on some of the major routes into London raised fears of transport chaos, but, though the infrastructure creaked under the weight of the additional hundreds of thousands of users, it held—just.
Even the weather, which had appeared apocalyptic, from March through to July, turned. The ceaseless rain gave way to fierce sunshine as summer smiled—although the hailstorms did return to add spice to the cycling road race.
The early stages were not encouraging for African teams. Nigerian slalom kayak hopeful, Johny Akinyemi, fell at the first hurdle, accumulating too many penalties in his two runs in the K1 event and failing to reach the semi-finals.
The Nigerian basketball team, which qualified at the eleventh hour for their first appearance at an Olympic Games, showed some promise, but came up against a rampant USA ‘Dream Team’, who notched up an Olympic record winning spread of 156-73. One of the country’s two individual medalists from the Beijing Olympics in 2008—Chika Chukwumerije—had to wait until close to the end of the event to try to better his bronze in the +80kg Taekwondo.
<div id="attachment_1185" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1185" class="size-medium wp-image-1185" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/150115672_10-300x214.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="214" />LONDON, ENGLAND &#8211; AUGUST 10: Meseret Defar of Ethiopia celebrates as she crosses the finish line ahead of Jepkemoi Jepkemoi Cheruiyot of Kenya and Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia celebrates winning gold in the Women&#8217;s 5000m Final on Day 14 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 10, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)</div>
Not that it mattered—London’s large Nigerian community has been vocal in its support of its team. A three day conference saw ministers and some of the country’s leading businesspeople gather in the Dorchester Hotel, while around town other delegations turned up to show off their country’s investment opportunities.
Juliano Máquina, Mozambique’s light-flyweight boxing hopeful, was soundly beaten by a clinical Aleksandar Aleksandrov, the Bulgarian took apart the Olympic debutant over the three rounds to win on points 22-7. Thomas Essomba, from Cameroon, the other African fancied in the weight category, put in a solid first round win, but failed to make the quarter finals, beaten by the Northern Irishman Paddy Barnes.
South Africa picked up some early successes in and on the water. The South African men’s lightweight four picked up a gold in the rowing, while Cameron van der Burgh and Chad le Clos were the surprise winners in the 100m breaststroke and the 200m butterfly, respectively. The latter, saw le Clos beat the world’s best—the American, Michael Phelps—by a fingernail, and made a hero of his father, Burt le Clos, whose hoarse and emotional post-swim interview with BBC quickly went viral.
As the first week drew to a close, it was only South Africans who had made it to the podium.
Hopes were boosted when the Kenyans arrived. With three Olympic champions—Pamela Jelimo, Brimin Kipruto and Asbel Kiprop—and four world champions—Vivian Cheruiyot, Ezekiel Kemboi, Edna Kiplagat and captain David Rudisha—named in their squad for the London games, there was no doubt the East Africans had come to win. Rudisha, an 800m runner, was set to follow in the footsteps of his father by participating in the 4x400m relay—the team’s pedigree crossed generations. In Beijing, Kenya was the highest ranking African country in the medal tables, taking six golds and 14 medals overall.
This time, they rejected the offer of a training base in Bristol, to the west of London, preferring to remain in Kenya to train at altitude right up to the last minute.
<div id="attachment_1189" style="width: 215px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1189" class="size-medium wp-image-1189" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/149585173_10-205x300.jpg" alt="" width="205" height="300" />LONDON, ENGLAND &#8211; JULY 31: Chad le Clos of South Africa celebrates after winning the gold in the Men&#8217;s 200m Butterfly final on Day 4 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on July 31, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)</div>
Cheruiyot was the first in action, taking on a strong field, including the Ethiopian Olympic champion, Tirunesh Dibaba, in the 10,000m final. In the end, it was the Ethiopian’s day, kicking ahead to win gold, with Cheruiyot trailing in third behind her compatriot Sally Kipyego.
It was the Ethiopians again who denied Kenya in the women’s marathon; Tiki Gelana beat Priscah Jeptoo by five seconds to claim gold in the thrashing rain.
The highly fancied men’s team fared even worse in the 10,000m. On home turf, the British runner, Mo Farah, took gold ahead of the American Galen Rupp and Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele, with the Kenyans trailing outside of the medal positions. It was the first time since 1984 that an African runner had not won the event—although some were quick to claim Mogadishu-born Farah for the continent. In a rather ugly series of attacks in the run-up to the games, the right-wing press had railed against Britain’s foreign-born competitors using the epithet “plastic Brits”. Farah’s response was definitive. Having taken gold, a journalist asked him whether he would have preferred to have won the medal for Somalia.
“Look, mate,” Farah replied, “This is my country.”
The Kenyans had to wait until Sunday afternoon to finally break their duck, Ezekiel Kemboi, a policeman facing an assault charge back in his home country, stormed ahead in the last lap of the 3,000m steeplechase, after his compatriot, Brimin Kipruto, had fallen. At the end of the race, Kemboi announced that he would retire from the discipline to focus on the marathon.
Amongst the running contingent was Guor Marial, whose story captured the imagination of many in the international media in the run up to the games. Marial was one of four competitors who joined the parade of athletes underneath the Olympic flag. Three—Churandy Martina, Philip Elhage and Rodion Davelaar—are previous competitors from the Netherlands Antilles, which recently became a municipality of the Netherlands.
<div id="attachment_1188" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1188" class="size-medium wp-image-1188" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/149771045_10-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />LONDON, ENGLAND &#8211; AUGUST 03: Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia celebrates winning gold in the Women&#8217;s 10,000m Final on Day 7 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 3, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)</div>
Marial, in his first Olympics, was born in South Sudan, and turned down an offer from Khartoum to run for the north. Granted refugee status by the US when he was 16, the marathon runner lost many of his relatives in the vicious civil war that saw millions displaced. With South Sudan newly independent and lacking an organizing committee, the decision by officials to allow Marial a spot marks the first time an athlete from Africa’s 54th nation has been able to compete.
While stories like that of Marial have provided great examples of the redemptive power of sport, the event continues to raise questions about the ability of athletes from the continent to be able to make their mark. While the raw talent and commitment of African competitors has seen them dominate a few important sports in recent decades, the London games more than any other may have shown that top-level sport is becoming so clearly bifurcated between the haves and the have-nots. The dominance of the US and China in the medal tables showed that financial clout can be the difference between a victor and an also-ran.
The press fell in love with the stories of hardship and graft of willing amateurs like Hamadou Djibo Issaka, the rower from Niger who took up the sport only months before the games. He worked as a gardener and swimming pool attendant in Niamey and trained in an old fishing boat. The 35-year-old finished a distant last in the single sculls. While narratives like his provide great examples of the vaunted “Olympic Spirit”, they also highlight the vast discrepancies in resources. British rowers, who had one of their best years at home, are the product of a well-established network of training facilities, coaches, equipment and finance.
In the end, African hopes fell in the most part to domestic competitors, as British athletes, fired up by the support in London, won through in events that would normally be dominated by the continent’s finest.
Although much noise was made around the ‘Africa Village’ hospitality area about a potential bid by Durban for 2024, with no African countries on the shortlist for 2020, it will be more than a decade before anyone on the continent will be able to claim that home advantage.
<div id="attachment_1186" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1186" class="size-medium wp-image-1186" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/149948438_10.jpg.-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />Track &amp; Field: 2012 Summer Olympics: Kenya Ezekiel Kemboi victorious after winning Men&#8217;s 3000M Steeplechase Final gold at Olympic Stadium. London, United Kingdom 8/5/2012 CREDIT: John W. McDonough (Photo by John W. McDonough /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X155268 TK11 R1 F174 )</div>
Kenya’s prime minister, Raila Odinga, threw his country’s hat into the ring for a bid, reminding press that the country is not only home to some of the world’s greatest runners, elite athletes already flock to the high altitude training centres in Iten, in the Rift Valley. However, major international investment—and a change in international perceptions of the country, and the continent more broadly—would be needed for that bid to take off. It is unlikely to have been enhanced by the closure of the ‘Africa Village’ early due to unpaid debts, caused by the failure of many African Olympic committees to turn up and take out space.

Tag: Race

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