LocationsAs African Women's Month comes to an end, we wanted to take a moment to share thoughts and advice from one of our inspiring outgoing staff members from UNDP Lesotho.
Meet Mapheello
August 31, 2026
We're sharing Mapheello J. Nkopane's story to mark the conclusion of African Women's Month.
From District Electoral Officer to a senior executive role at Lesotho's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), her journey has been shaped by demanding postings across Mafeteng, Leribe, and Maseru—where she led teams through back-to-back snap elections—and by a commitment to keep learning and refusing to quit.
Along the way, she has navigated the barriers faced by women in male-dominated electoral spaces with quiet determination, leaning on family, mentors, and sisterhoods like FemWise-Africa. Now leading at the IEC as the Director of Elections, her vision is for democratic processes that are genuinely inclusive, where persons with disabilities, diaspora citizens, and young women can participate with dignity and see themselves as leaders, not just voters.
This conversation covers her career milestones, how she turned setbacks into stepping stones, and the legacy she hopes to leave for the next generation of women in public service.
Looking back at your career, what do you consider the most pivotal milestones or decisions that prepared you for this critical leadership role in Lesotho's electoral space?
I started out in 2009 as a District Electoral Officer, and honestly, I never sat down and planned this path I just kept saying yes to the next hard thing. Mafeteng taught me how to make a little go a long way. Leribe taught me how to lead large teams through two snap elections back-to-back, in 2015 and 2017, when there was barely time to breathe between them. Maseru, our biggest and busiest district, taught me how to hold everything together at once: people, pressure, and problems that don't wait politely in line.
Choosing to go back to school while I was already working full-time was another turning point. Sitting in a room with people from all over the world studying elections showed me that I belonged there just as much as anyone else. Every one of those steps: the districts, the studying, the disputes I sat up late resolving was really the same lesson repeating itself: if I put in the effort, kept learning, and refused to quit, the next door would open. It always did.
Stepping into a high-level executive position is a tremendous achievement. What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspect of your transition into this role so far?
The most rewarding thing has been watching lessons I learned at district level - patience, discipline, showing up for people matter just as much, if not more, in a national role. What surprised me is that the higher you go, the more leadership is really about people and trust, not titles. Getting the IEC, our development partners, and other institutions rowing in the same direction takes more heart and more listening than I expected, and I've grown a lot just learning to do that well.
The political and electoral spheres have historically been male dominated. How have you navigated structural or cultural barriers throughout your climb to the top?
I won't pretend the barriers weren't real. As a young woman coming up in this space, I have been undermined, doubted, and dismissed before I even had a chance to open my mouth. I've faced my fair share of rejection. What I decided early on is that other people's opinion of my capability was never going to become my own opinion of myself. I just kept doing the work quietly and well, trusted that it would speak for itself eventually, and leaned on my family and the mentors around me whenever I needed reminding of who I was on the days it got hard. Being part of spaces like African Union FemWise-Africa confirmed what I already knew in my bones: that women belong in this work, fully and without apology.
Resilience is a recurring theme in the stories of successful women. Can you share a specific moment where you faced a significant setback, and how you turned it into a stepping stone?
Managing two snap elections back-to-back, in 2015 and 2017, tested me in ways I hadn't been tested before. There is almost no time to plan for a snap election... You build the plane while you're flying it. Things went wrong along the way, disputes flared up, and there were nights I genuinely didn't know how it would come together. What carried me through was a belief I hold onto tightly: challenges will always be there, but what matters is how you act and resolve them, not letting them define who you are. I leaned on my family and friends for strength on the hardest days, and I treated every setback simply as the next problem to solve rather than a verdict on me. That mindset is what eventually got me recognised as one of the best performers in electoral operations, and it's still how I approach hard days now.
"...confirmed what I already knew in my bones: that women belong in this work, fully and without apology."Mapheello J. Nkopane
Behind many great leaders is a strong support system. How important have mentorship and sponsorship been in your career, and how can women better support one another in professional environments?
I would not be standing here without the people who believed in me before I fully believed in myself. My family has been my strongest support system from the very beginning the ones who cheered me on, kept me grounded, and reminded me who I was whenever the world outside tried to convince me otherwise. Alongside them, I've had mentors and colleagues who recommended me for opportunities, supervisors who trusted me with responsibility, and now sisterhoods like FemWise-Africa where women deliberately build each other up. Building genuine networks - people who teach you, challenge you, and open doors for you - has been one of the biggest reasons I've grown. I believe women can support each other better by being active sponsors, not just cheerleaders or pulling one another down: recommending one another for rooms we haven't yet entered and being honest about what it really takes to get there.
Did you ever experience imposter syndrome during your career progression, and if so, what strategies did you use to overcome it?
Yes, especially in rooms where I was often the youngest or newest person there. What helped me most was going back to something simple: know yourself, and don't let anyone else win the story about who you are. People will always have something to say. I learned to tune that out, lean on my family and close mentors when self-doubt crept in, focus on doing my best with what was in front of me, and trust that the rest would fall into place. That combination - self-knowledge, faith, and family behind me got me through every room that once felt too big.
As you take on this mandate at the Independent Electoral Commission, what is your vision for fostering greater inclusivity and female participation in Lesotho's democratic processes?
My vision is simple: no one should be left out of the democratic process because the system wasn't built with them in mind. That means making sure persons with disabilities, our diaspora, and any other disadvantaged electors can access elections with dignity and ease and making sure young women, in particular, see themselves reflected — not just as voters, but as leaders, officials, and decision-makers in this space. Inclusion has to be built in on purpose, not left to chance.
How do you ensure that your leadership style remains authentic to who you are, rather than conforming to traditional or expected molds of executive leadership?
I lead the way I always have - with a clear vision, care for the people doing the work alongside me, and honesty about who I am. I don't try to perform a version of leadership that was never built for someone like me. I stay fearless, I stay resilient, and I build people up rather than command them. Staying close to my family and my faith keeps me grounded, so that no title ever changes who I fundamentally am. Being clear about my vision and working steadily toward it, despite whatever resistance comes my way, has always felt more authentic than squeezing myself into a mould.
"...no one should be left out of the democratic process because the system wasn't built with them in mind ... Inclusion has to be built in on purpose, not left to chance."Mapheello J. Nkopane
If you could give one piece of advice to a young woman in Lesotho or anywhere across the continent who aspires to break glass ceilings and reach executive leadership, what would it be?
Be fearless and never give up easily. If someone else has done it, you can too — it simply takes more effort, the right people around you, resilience, and a clear vision that you work toward despite the challenges. Challenges will always be there; what defines you is how you act to resolve them, not the setbacks themselves. People will always say something about you — know yourself well enough that their words cannot shake you. Hold your family and prayer close, they will carry you on the days you can't carry yourself. Focus, do your best, and trust that God will do the rest.
What legacy do you hope to leave behind for the next generation of women entering public service?
More than anything, I want the young women coming after me to inherit proof. Proof that a girl who starts out with very little, faces rejection and doubt along the way, and refuses to let that define her, can still rise to lead. I want them to see that it's possible to stay soft-hearted and family-oriented while also being strong and decisive in a boardroom. If I can leave behind stronger, more inclusive institutions and a living example that this path is possible, I'll consider it a life well spent.
What is your last message to Women working with UNDP Lesotho?
To every woman working with UNDP Lesotho — know yourself, and don't let anyone else win the narrative about who you are or what you're capable of. Be fearless. Build genuine relationships, stay resilient when things get hard, and hold on to a clear vision even when the path isn't easy. You will face rejection, and at times you will be undermined, I have lived that too but none of that has to define you. Lean on your family, they are often your first and truest support system. Put in the effort, focus on your work, do your best, and trust that God will do the rest. Let's keep supporting one another honestly, so more of us reach the rooms we deserve to be in.
Related
content
content
