Catalog

SHAMSHAD AKHTAR
Moving Up Through Merit
ADB Review [ January - February 2004 ]

By Guy Sacerdoti (gsacerdoti@adb.org)
Consultant, Office of External Relations

Shamshad Akhtar, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Director General (DG), Southeast Asia Department, is the first female in ADB to rise to the rank of DG from within the institution. Despite her success, Shamshad shuns labels like “homegrown female executive” as she underscores that her progression is “...based on merit—not just gender.”

Don’t just promote women for the sake of promoting women. Promote competent professionals. By design you will promote women who have contributed substantially to the good work of ADB

Shamshad Akhtar, ADB Director General, Southeast Asia Department

During her 23 years of working with multilateral development banks (MDBs), she has witnessed a gradual, but significant increase in the numbers of professional women. But with culture and attitudes slow to change, Ms. Akhtar—and many other colleagues—have struggled with institutional preconceptions about women’s leadership and management potential. But change is here—and she predicts there will be more women in senior management as MDBs provide a level playing field for women and acknowledge their competence, skills, and leadership capabilities.

With a doctorate in economics, Ms. Akhtar was a World Bank economist based in Islamabad until a Fullbright sabbatical in 1987 took her to the Department of Economics at the Harvard University. There she did extensive research on poverty. She joined ADB in 1990 and says “It has been an exciting 13 years or so of broad-based regional experience, and I feel I have contributed professionally to the institution, while taking advantage of the rich diversified experience offered by it.”

Professionally, she has covered the different aspects of economics, while handling a broad range of sector issues. Through the rotation process within ADB—which sometimes could be quite painstaking— she has covered the region. “It has been rewarding personally since I have managed to broaden the breadth and depth of experience,” she says. “I have had the opportunity to extend my experience from Pakistan to South Asia at large and subsequently to the People’s Republic of China, Central Asian republics, and Southeast Asia, including selective and brief exposure to the Mekong subregion.”

Ms. Akhtar stresses that in general, if you have right skills and produce quality work, you’ll do well and be recognized sooner or later. But she also recognizes that sometimes implicit distortions can result in delayed recognition and promotion of women. “To enhance its institutional credibility, MDBs would do well by introducing further changes in incentive mechanisms, including enhanced accountability at supervisory level for providing equal opportunities for women,” she explains. “But don’t just promote women for the sake of promoting women. Promote competent professionals. By design you will promote women who have contributed substantially to the good work of ADB.

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