There’s been a lot of talk about women’s leadership in addressing the challenges of the current pandemic. Let me share what I’ve been doing as leader in the 11 weeks since this pandemic was declared. I’d love to hear from other women leaders too #COVID19 #womeninleadership 1/n

Following devels in the UK & decisions from @Hewlett_Found to cancel a meeting in Ghana, I had alerted all my staff to the risks v early on and increased hygiene across the office - the woman in the pharmacy thought I was crazy buying 25 sanitizers for our desks 2/n

5 days before lockdown began I met with our management team and we decided together how we would move all our projects online. We met all our staff outdoors, announced we were moving fully online, and encouraged people to start working from home as soon as possible 3/n

I spoke with teachers at my daughter’s school about the likely length and severity of the pandemic and started a food collection for their staff 4/n

That day I also brought in all my old baby stuff and ensured my pregnant team member went home fully equipped for the birth of her baby. I went shopping and provided food parcels for our cleaners 5/n

By the Tuesday my own home was fully supplied and supermarket deliveries booked for a month in advance. I visited waitresses and other acquaintances in informal work and made sure they had my number incase of emergencies 6/n

At the office we printed hundreds of information sheets and distributed them to staff, in our communities, at traffic lights. Ordinary people were scared and had no information. People came back again and again with questions. 7/n

I worked with @nataliejhbsa to make announcements about our work moving online, our contributions to the effort to tackle the challenges of COVID19 and our attempts to practice solidarity with our communities 8/n

My team and I started to shift our work priorities quickly to respond to new demands. This shift is ongoing, challenging and requires agility I didn’t know we had. We reached out to partners around the world to offer solidarity and seek their advice as we adapted 9/n

With the support of my fantastic colleagues, we have set up a buddy system for our staff who need it. We’ve instigated daily check-ins for all staff. Everyone who has needed has been sent data and been supported in securing more reliable internet access. 10/n

We have delivered new laptops to staff whose personal machines stopped working and have another batch on order so we are ready for future demand. We’ve learnt to use MS Teams and adopted all sorts of new work practices. 11/n

But as for many of us, and especially for the women I know, work has not been my only or even my biggest challenge - COVID19 has required both generosity and courage to keep focused on solutions and taxed me to the limit 12/n

In addition to the 6 staff I have kept paying despite them being unable to work for months, my husband and I have been paying 4 other salaries for domestic staff to stay home and stay safe 13/n

I’ve been making regular emergency payments to 6 women who have lost their income and/or their jobs over the last 2 months. I’ve supported a man and his family to avoid eviction. I’ve provided phones and data to several friends. I’ve delivered baby supplies to another mum 14/n

I’ve given out food parcels each week to the guys who take away our rubbish and recycling. I’ve had masks delivered to all my staff. I’ve arranged emergency food deliveries and cash to Zimbabwe for a friend whose children there were hungry and unable to access food or money. 15/n

My husband and I have kept working long and demanding hours with 4 children at home. Lockdown rules in SA mean we’ve barely left the house in 9 weeks. Its chaos and stressful for us all. I’m fairly sure the happy 2 year old gets top prize for taking care of the rest of us. 16/n

I have done international meetings with children on my knee, at my feet and (literally) in my hair. All of us are still friends (just). And I’ve kept on top of work (more or less). No, I haven’t been catching up on reading or writing papers. 17/n

In truth this is just a fraction of what I’ve been doing in the last 11 weeks and I’m exhausted. I am learning to take care of myself as well as everyone-else. I remain driven by a strong sense of solidarity and commitment to practice the values that guide us all @ACE_UJ 18/n

I’m incredibly well supported by my amazing team @ACE_UJ and grateful to work with such committed people. I believe in good leadership and I’m learning how to practice it every day. I would be lost without my family’s backing. 19/n

COVID19 has stretched us all and we know women are bearing much of the burden. I am in awe of the amazing women I know who are multitasking like never before. I’d love to hear from you about your leadership and what it really involves 20/n

So many of you have been inspiring me to keep doing this more and better. Thank you! @profsandyoliver @rhona_ona @TarynYoung3 @MapulaTshangelM @Dayal70 @olfasc @KarenRotM @robynmildon @VivianT88 @AlbrightKerry @RuthLevine5 @MajellaMcCl @trishgreenhalgh @BreneBrown n/n

PS At ACE @ACE_UJ and through the African evidence community @Africa_evidence we have also been contributing to solutions for #Covid19SA Thanks to @Laurenz_ml @carinavr @NasreenJessani @SiziweNgcwabe @nataliejhbsa @ndukup1 and all our amazing colleagues #strongertogether