NEWS. ARTICLES. INTERVIEWS.

Articles tagged with: career

Josefina Stubbs has lived “too many lives,” she joked with Devex, though her continued passion for development work suggests she’s just getting started.

Hailing from the Dominican Republic, where she began working with smallholder farmers in the coffee sector more than 30 years ago, she then spent 16 years at Oxfam International and 11 years at the World Bank. Stubbs is now one of two associate vice presidents at the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a specialized United Nations agency.

Appointed in Oct. 2014 as VP and chief development strategist, Stubbs describes herself as a “passionate development worker” who firmly believes that everybody should have the same opportunities she had and whose objective is to “permanently remind the world that it cannot live without the rural sector.”

Stubbs joined IFAD in 2008 as regional director for Latin America and doesn’t regret having left Washington, D.C., noting the “incredible position” that her agency enjoys.

“We have the resources to get to people that really need them; we have the instruments that many other international financing institutions have; and we work under the umbrella of the U.N. What else do we want to have?” she said. “We work with the people there, we have the money to do it and we have the ears of the world on what we do.”

A political scientist by training, Stubbs is shaped by the belief that “everything we do, every day, should contribute to a better world.”

In an exclusive interview at IFAD’s headquarters in Rome, she shared with Devex some of the challenges women face to rise through the ranks to assume leadership positions within global development organizations, as well as key lessons learned during her own career.

Below are several excerpts from that conversation:    

You are one of just a few women in such a high-profile leadership role at IFAD. What does it mean to you to be a woman in that position? What are the challenges you face and how do you overcome them?

I haven’t thought about that since I took this post. I’ve been so busy that I just need to see that we achieve the objectives that we have. Certainly, when I came to IFAD in 2008 there were only two women as regional directors — myself and one for the Middle East.

I have to say that coming from Washington, D.C. and from Oxfam before that, IFAD was lagging a little bit behind compared to other agencies, but we have seen a very fast move in terms of commitment to having women in decision-making positions. Since he came in during 2009 as IFAD president, Kanayo Nwanze has personally made enormous efforts and we even won an award for gender inclusion, not only in our projects — which you see by loan regulations and by procedures that half of all beneficiaries have to be women — but also in terms of internal HR and the distribution of posts. We have made a lot of progress, although there is more to do ...

What does it mean to be a woman? First of all, we are at the table — we don’t ask for permission. We have to assume our responsibility to be equal. Nobody is going to give it to you, you have to exercise your responsibility of being equal. We work hard, probably a little bit harder … I don’t want to be different — I hope I am not different — but I know that others understand that I am different. We have to work to have our presence recognized and work to educate others …

What are the lessons you have learned as a woman in your career, in achieving your goals and rising to a leadership position? And what would you have done differently?

First lesson: Be yourself, always. Be truthful to yourself and to your principles, to what you think, because at the end of the day, it’s about being passionate in what you do. If you are not yourself, you cannot find the passion and fire that really moves you to achieve what you want to achieve.

Second lesson: Lean in. Don't sit at the back of the room waiting for someone to invite you to sit at the table. If you have things to say — and we always have something to say — be there, be heard and don’t be afraid.

Third lesson: Work with others so that they can understand that you are prepared to collaborate ... It is not enough to go off into a corner saying “because I am a woman I am discriminated against.” No. Reach out, work with people, talk to them so they know where you’re coming from and they’ll understand.

What are the challenges? We have to manage too many things at once: the family, the household, our own life. Sometimes we really need to work with our colleagues, with our partners and with our families to really assume some of the many responsibilities that, by default, have been unfairly assigned to women. We [need] time for ourselves and that is the biggest struggle that we women all have.

And so what advice, what recommendations would you give to women wanting to build a career within an agency like IFAD or a development organization?

There’s no mystery. Just work, follow you heart and be there. Don’t put yourself aside. Don't think “because I am a woman.” ... Just be there, with confidence, with assertiveness, with kindness, with love — and people will recognize you.

What can women bring to an organization like IFAD?

We bring something that, I believe, our male colleagues can’t develop — a sense of wholeness. That sense of wholeness, being aware of others, even means letting yourself be guided by intuition, listening to others. I think that we women have the capacity to listen, [which] is not only listening to words, but listening to how much your staff is working and acting accordingly: I want a work-life balance and I also want that for my staff. So listen in an active way, recognize others in an active way. And do your job, delivering the best you can. There are no secrets, that's it. Just do it. Take the power of doing it. That’s what makes us powerful.

Videos

Rural Development Report 2016
Rural Development Report 2016
Interview with Josefina Stubbs from UN on World Humanitarian Summit
Interview with Josefina Stubbs from UN on World Humanitarian Summit
Josefina Stubbs directora del FIDA Se fortalecerá las relaciones para mejorar los proyectos
Josefina Stubbs directora del FIDA Se fortalecerá las relaciones para mejorar los proyectos

See more on YouTube.

Articles

11.02.17
Mario Osava et Baher Kamal s'entretiennent avec Josefina Stubbs, IPS News.

FIDA 2017 - Place aux femmes dans le développement rural


07.02.17
Por Mario Osava e Baher Kamal, da IPS, IPS Notícias.

É tempo das mulheres no setor rural


06.02.17
Mario Osava y Baher Kamal entrevistan a Josefina Stubbs, IPS Noticias.

FIDA 2017 – Tiempo de las mujeres en el desarrollo rural


06.02.17
Mario Osava and Baher Kamal interview Josefina Stubbs, IPS News.

IFAD 2017 – It’s women’s turn in rural development


02.02.17
Josefina Stubbs, LinkedIn.

Investing in poor rural communities makes business sense


25.01.17
Josefina Stubbs, IPS Noticias.

La paz se siembra con el desarrollo rural


25.01.17
Josefina Stubbs, IPS News.

Récolter la paix: comment le développement rural fonctionne pour la prévention des conflits


23.01.17
Josefina Stubbs, IPS News.

Harvesting peace: how rural development works for conflict prevention


09.01.17
Josefina Stubbs, LinkedIn.

How a changing climate affects what makes it onto your plate


21.12.16
Josefina Stubbs, LinkedIn.

Food for the soul – a recipe for transforming poor rural communities


25.11.16
Josefina Stubbs, LinkedIn.

Powerless and bruised: why violence against women hurts development


25.11.16
Antonio Pita, El País.

Dar oportunidades al mundo rural es la única manera de regular la migración


17.11.16
Josefina Stubbs and David Lewis, IPS News.

Thriving rural communities is a recipe for healthy cities


17.11.16
Josefina Stubbs y David Lewis, IPS Noticias.

Las ciudades saludables requieren comunidades rurales prósperas


17.11.16
Josefina Stubbs et David Lewis, IPS News.

Les communautés rurales florissantes sont une recette pour des villes saines


23.05.16
Ashok Kumar, OneWorld South Asia.

World will make it in terms of SDGs only if India can: Josefina Stubbs, IFAD


20.05.16
Baher Kamal, IPS News.

We cannot keep jumping from crisis to crisis


25.08.15
Elena L. Pasquini, Devex News.

IFAD VP: Career success isn’t a mystery, it’s hard work


26.06.15
Massimo Latini & Nicola Nosengo, Rai EXPO Milano 2015.

Stubbs: “1 more billion people out of poverty” Interview with Associate Vice-president of Ifad about the ‘Millennium goals’, to be reached within 2015


News releases

14.02.17

The Government of the Dominican Republic decides to join forces with Togo in the last round of the elections and support its candidate.


11.02.17

Minister of Agriculture Ángel Estévez will travel to Rome to support the Dominican Republic Candidate Josefina Stubbs to the Presidency of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)


Publications

  • Rural Development Report 2016. IFAD (Stubbs, J. and Binswanger, H., eds.)
  • MÁS ALLÁ DE LOS PROMEDIOS: Afrodescendientes en América Latina. By Ponce, J. (Josefina Stubbs & Hiska N. Reyes ed.). (2006). The World Bank.
  • Gender in Development: A Long Haul-But We’re Getting There! By Stubbs, J. (2000). Development in Practice.
 
 
 

Contact

communications@josefinastubbs.net

Sending your message. Please wait...

Thank you for communicating with us.
We will respond as soon as possible.

Sorry, we were unable to send your message.
Please try again.

Please complete all fields before sending your message.
Please complete all fields before sending your message.