OKITO WEDI: ‘I’m here with my husband’ — reflections from Davos
Real transformation happens when all voices are heard
04 February 2025 - 16:37
byOkito Wedi
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Amid the icy grandeur of the Swiss Alps, where power flows through the frozen streets of Davos, a moment unfolded that cut through the usual theatre of geopolitics.
It wasn’t in the dramatic headlines about Donald Trump’s executive orders or the debates about AI reshaping the future of work. Instead, it was in the soft-spoken words of a woman who sat beside me during a session on “Women in Leadership”.
She wore the same badge as everyone else — that coveted passport to the World Economic Forum’s inner sanctums — yet she carried it with an air of discomfort, as if it didn’t quite belong to her. When I asked who she was, her answer was measured and reserved: “I’m here with my husband”.
I asked again, and she repeated the same response, each time reinforcing the sense that her presence was only tied to someone else’s authority. When I finally asked what she did, she replied quietly, almost apologetically: “I’m a homemaker.”
Her words were quickly followed by a cascade of explanations that tumbled out as if rehearsed for moments exactly like this. Initially I found myself puzzled by her hesitation to acknowledge the weight of this role, knowing that the care economy she represented accounts for 15% of global GDP. But then I thought of my mother — another homemaker who had created the foundation that allowed my me and my four siblings to become who we are today.
I wondered if she too had felt this same pressure to justify her presence in spaces where traditional markers of success dominated the conversation. Had she carried this same invisible weight of being “just” a homemaker, even as she architected the future of our lives?
That week the forum was consumed by discussions about Trump’s recent decisions, particularly his moves to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organisation (WHO). For African nations these were not abstract political manoeuvres but immediate threats to their stability and growth.
The Paris accord withdrawal jeopardised crucial funding for a continent bearing the brunt of climate change while contributing the least to it. Meanwhile, the proposed exit from the WHO threatened to disrupt global health systems, just as African countries were working to strengthen their own.
While much of the attention in Davos was drawn to these geopolitical tremors, and Africa’s efforts to recalibrate its position through the Group of 20 (G20) presidency, I found myself reflecting on a quieter, but equally significant, dynamic. In that room, the unspoken hierarchy of human value became glaringly clear, crystallised in a single interaction.
The irony was profound: in a global forum where market value determines worth, where economic metrics shape reality, she felt compelled to defend managing the home — the foundation that makes all other work possible — laying bare a profound imbalance in how we measure value and allocate power.
As Africa asserts its voice as a global leader, this encounter reflects our broader struggle with legitimacy and representation. Who do we deem qualified to shape the future? Whose voices are elevated, and whose are overlooked because of preconceived notions?
The woman beside me, with her badge and her unspoken apologies, became an unwitting metaphor for every person who has ever stood at the threshold of power, bearing the right credentials but feeling the weight of invisible barriers.
The G20 presidency offers Africa a moment to rewrite this narrative of apologetic presence. Its agenda focuses on sovereign debt sustainability, just energy transitions and digital transformation. Yet the success of these initiatives depends on recognising all forms of economic contribution, including the essential work that underpins every aspect of development.
Perhaps this is what power looks like in its truest form: not in the polished speeches echoing through the streets of Davos, but in the courage to claim your space without apology. I think often of that woman, her badge both a key and a burden, and how her silent presence spoke more truth about our world than all the forum’s grand declarations.
As Africa takes its seat at the G20, as homemakers step into rooms of global influence, as African voices rise from communities long silenced, we are witnessing the slow dismantling of old hierarchies. The future will be shaped not by those who speak the loudest, but by those who dare to speak at all; in voices trembling yet true, in accents deemed foreign to the ears of power.
The real transformation will not come from being invited to the proverbial table. It will come from knowing, bone-deep, that we were always meant to be there.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
OKITO WEDI: ‘I’m here with my husband’ — reflections from Davos
Real transformation happens when all voices are heard
Amid the icy grandeur of the Swiss Alps, where power flows through the frozen streets of Davos, a moment unfolded that cut through the usual theatre of geopolitics.
It wasn’t in the dramatic headlines about Donald Trump’s executive orders or the debates about AI reshaping the future of work. Instead, it was in the soft-spoken words of a woman who sat beside me during a session on “Women in Leadership”.
She wore the same badge as everyone else — that coveted passport to the World Economic Forum’s inner sanctums — yet she carried it with an air of discomfort, as if it didn’t quite belong to her. When I asked who she was, her answer was measured and reserved: “I’m here with my husband”.
I asked again, and she repeated the same response, each time reinforcing the sense that her presence was only tied to someone else’s authority. When I finally asked what she did, she replied quietly, almost apologetically: “I’m a homemaker.”
Her words were quickly followed by a cascade of explanations that tumbled out as if rehearsed for moments exactly like this. Initially I found myself puzzled by her hesitation to acknowledge the weight of this role, knowing that the care economy she represented accounts for 15% of global GDP. But then I thought of my mother — another homemaker who had created the foundation that allowed my me and my four siblings to become who we are today.
I wondered if she too had felt this same pressure to justify her presence in spaces where traditional markers of success dominated the conversation. Had she carried this same invisible weight of being “just” a homemaker, even as she architected the future of our lives?
That week the forum was consumed by discussions about Trump’s recent decisions, particularly his moves to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organisation (WHO). For African nations these were not abstract political manoeuvres but immediate threats to their stability and growth.
The Paris accord withdrawal jeopardised crucial funding for a continent bearing the brunt of climate change while contributing the least to it. Meanwhile, the proposed exit from the WHO threatened to disrupt global health systems, just as African countries were working to strengthen their own.
While much of the attention in Davos was drawn to these geopolitical tremors, and Africa’s efforts to recalibrate its position through the Group of 20 (G20) presidency, I found myself reflecting on a quieter, but equally significant, dynamic. In that room, the unspoken hierarchy of human value became glaringly clear, crystallised in a single interaction.
The irony was profound: in a global forum where market value determines worth, where economic metrics shape reality, she felt compelled to defend managing the home — the foundation that makes all other work possible — laying bare a profound imbalance in how we measure value and allocate power.
As Africa asserts its voice as a global leader, this encounter reflects our broader struggle with legitimacy and representation. Who do we deem qualified to shape the future? Whose voices are elevated, and whose are overlooked because of preconceived notions?
The woman beside me, with her badge and her unspoken apologies, became an unwitting metaphor for every person who has ever stood at the threshold of power, bearing the right credentials but feeling the weight of invisible barriers.
The G20 presidency offers Africa a moment to rewrite this narrative of apologetic presence. Its agenda focuses on sovereign debt sustainability, just energy transitions and digital transformation. Yet the success of these initiatives depends on recognising all forms of economic contribution, including the essential work that underpins every aspect of development.
Perhaps this is what power looks like in its truest form: not in the polished speeches echoing through the streets of Davos, but in the courage to claim your space without apology. I think often of that woman, her badge both a key and a burden, and how her silent presence spoke more truth about our world than all the forum’s grand declarations.
As Africa takes its seat at the G20, as homemakers step into rooms of global influence, as African voices rise from communities long silenced, we are witnessing the slow dismantling of old hierarchies. The future will be shaped not by those who speak the loudest, but by those who dare to speak at all; in voices trembling yet true, in accents deemed foreign to the ears of power.
The real transformation will not come from being invited to the proverbial table. It will come from knowing, bone-deep, that we were always meant to be there.
• Dr Wedi is founder & CEO at Crtve Development.
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