Unlocking women’s potential: Pathfinder International’s CEO Quam launches her book in Uganda

The book themed, “Unlocking the Talent and Inventiveness of Women Everywhere”,  is dedicated to hardworking, innovative and brilliant women across the world.

The Chief Executive of Pathfinder International, Lois Quam, on Thursday held a global launch of her new book, ‘Who Runs the World?’ at Serena Hotel Kigo.

The book titled, “Unlocking the Talent and Inventiveness of Women Everywhere”,  is dedicated to hardworking, innovative and brilliant women across the world.

Speaking at the book launch, Dr Ritah Waddimba, the Pathfinder country director, hailed Quam for not only authoring a book that showcases the transformative power of investing in women but also for being an inspiration to women leaders.

“The dedication to unlocking the potential of women isn't just something she talks about. It is a core principle that drives everything she does. I'm sure my fellow pathfinders can attest to this,”

“Named three times to Fortune magazine's list of most influential women leaders in business, Quam is a senior leader in the corporate, government and civil society, and through her leadership, I have seen firsthand her changing impact of empowering women,” Waddimba said.

Drawing inspiration from Quam’s book, Waddimba highlighted the need to unlock talent and potential of women for development of communities and the entire society.

“This book can be a valuable resource for everyone who wants to be at the solution. Whether you're a leader looking to create more inclusive workplace, whether you are looking to create more inclusive workplace, or interpreting your building a diverse team, or simply someone who wants to make a difference in the world,” Waddimba said.

Power of women in transforming the world

The chief guest, Lydia Saloucou, who is also the president of Pathfinder Africa, quoting the an African saying, “A house becomes a home when you bring a woman inside”, underscored the power of women and young girls in transforming the world.

“All of us here understand when I'm talking about the power of women, because you have excellent ones in front of you, your mother, your sisters, your colleague, and your girls. And above all, we, the women, are trying to serve.” Saloucou said.

She advocated for more support and empowerment of women through inclusivity and believing in their power, to unlock their potential.

“If we want really to transform this world, our continent, we need to believe in their power. Women can make a change in life, but also for the population.” Saloucou said.

What inspired the book

In her remarks, the book author, Quam said her unwavering desire to unlock the talent and skills of the world’s women inspired her to write the book.

She further revealed that the work that Pathfinder has done in Uganda and around the world also inspired the book.

“Today, our African leaders have been meeting in Uganda to look at the ways that we can help women and girls across Uganda to fulfill their full potential for all of us.” Quam said.

She added, “The other thing that led me to do the book was we recognize there are so many challenges in the world today and the price of food, the price of goods, the epidemic we've just had, the changing climate and what that means for agriculture.”

Quam, further emphasised the need to support teenage girls in Uganda by making sure they have access to all basic services throughout their academic journeys.

“And I think there's more work to be done there and that's something that we're committed to doing at Pathfinder, and we're very honoured to work with the government of Uganda to do that work.”

She noted that her new book inspires her to write more because there are still more stories to tell.

The book launch was attended by several guests including, Rev Can. Diana Nkesiga, Pathfinder representatives from across the globe and influential Ugandan women leaders.

Pathfinder is one of the world’s premier organisations empowering women, girls, their families, and communities.

The organization operates in Africa, Middle East, and South Asia.

*Who is Lois Quam?”

Quam joined Pathfinder International in 2017 as the chief executive officer.

She has since brought to the organisation, a lifelong passion for women’s empowerment and lessons learned as a senior leader in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.

Before joining Pathfinder, Lois served as chief operating officer of The Nature Conservancy and as a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

She was selected by President Obama to head his signature Global Health Initiative at the Department of State, which provided more than $8 billion dollars annually to help solve major health challenges facing millions of individuals across 80 countries.

Reporting directly to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she advanced a comprehensive strategy to increase US global health diplomacy, created a $200 million public private partnership, and introduced integrated systems approaches for global health problems.