Article January 1, 2001 ISSUE

Marie-Céline Mbousnoum

Executive

with contributions from Marie-Céline Mbousnoum—Douala, Cameroon

When my husband found himself out of work, he asked me to help him launch a new business in metallurgy. At first, I didn't want to, because for me it was an unknown field, and there were only men in this business. Besides, I had legal training, and that was the most attractive profession for me.

In our new business, my husband planned and supervised the execution of the work. I did the marketing and looked for new customers. I also took care of administrative responsibilities, banking, and personnel management — the personnel being entirely male.