Founder and Chairperson, Women In Successful Careers (WISCAR), Amina Oyagbola, has noted that Nigeria’s ranking on the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index is still pathetically very poor, saying the country is among top-10 of countries with the highest gender discrimination on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) social institutions and gender index.
Mrs Oyagbola, who made this known while giving her welcome address at the 16th annual leadership advisory conference of WISCAR held in Lagos on Thursday, said the annual parley was intended to showcase the achievements, mentoring programmes, leadership trainings, advocacy initiatives and the impacts these have made on women in particular and the nation in general.
Oyagbola said “Nigeria’s ranking on the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index is very poor ranking in the top 10 of countries with the highest gender discrimination on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) social institutions and gender index. These indicators highlight enduring systemic challenges such as discriminatory family codes, restricted access to resources and limited civil liberties for women, although a signatory to the International Convention, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.”
She added that “This event is intended to showcase the achievements of our mentorship programmes, our leadership training and our advocacy initiatives, and the impacts that we have made on women and the nation. This year, we deepen the advocacy efforts, forging strategic partnerships focused on women’s leadership and the implementation of the women economic empowerment policy.”
Themed “Fueling Resilience: Empowering Diversity For Economic Success”, WISCAR 2024 conference had Mrs Funke Opeke, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MainOne, as the keynote speaker, Kwara State First Lady, Prof. Olufolake. Abdulrasaq, as one of the keynote panelists, and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, former Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Access Bank, as the Chief Launcher of “The WISCAR Mentoring Book” that was also unveiled at the event.
While doing justice to the theme of the conference, Funke Opeke said “I am biased, and I think women bring the natural resilience to situations, because we’re all willing to accept when things do not go as planned, we embrace change easier. We deal with the realities. And I think egos tend not to overcome common sense. I’m not sure if it is due to our cultural adaptation as caregivers who seek to make things right rather than prove to be right, and also to make do when there is not enough.
She added that “there is also the fact that women are less ego driven and do not have a sense of pragmatism that doesn’t always come with our male personalities. Diversity was key to our success in MainOne both internal diversity and external diversity. People we chose to work with, because working with capable women, in addition to strong, capable men, brought a diversity of opinion and execute our capacity. And as I meant, as I said, we pivoted so many times to expand our strategy or change our direction.
“I recall some of the fierce arguments and some of the women of the team advocating for some of the changes that we made to the business plan, building a business with donor funding and naira revenues, where the currency was depreciating, or has depreciated, from 120 Naira to $1 to 1600 or 1700 as the case might be today, to $1 meant, not only did we have to be resilient as a business and our approach to market. Well, we also experienced the resilience of the Nigerian economy, which has enabled us to keep growing. So when I think of withstanding but current challenges in our economy, and what it means for Nigeria, I know from that experience of having grown a successful business in a period of such change in our economic fortunes that we do have the human capital, the natural resources, the intellect, the drive, the capacity, indeed, the grit, for this country to thrive.”
Honourable Cecilia Bolaji Dada, Commissioner of Women Affairs and Poverty. Alleviation, Lagos State, who represented Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, the Chief Host of the event, noted that “Today’s theme, ‘fueling resilience, empowering diversity for economic success,’ aptly captures the transformative role of women in shaping our society and economy and labor.”
She added that “Lagos State takes pride in its commitment to empowering women and advancing diversity as part of our over a king team’s first agenda. Through strategic policies and initiatives, we continue to foster an enabling environment where women can drive and see for partners in the economic, social and political development of our state, our efforts are underpinned by a strong belief that when women succeed, families, communities and indeed, the entire state prospers. The resilience of Nigerian women is unmatched.
“Time and again, women demonstrated their ability to overcome barriers, adapt to challenges and seize opportunities to excel. This resilience is not just a personal strength, it is a collective resource that propels businesses and communities forward in Lagos, we have witnessed and fostered the contributions of women, entrepreneurs, professionals and leaders in driving innovation, enhancing productivity and fostering sustainability across various sectors. Diversity and inclusion are not just ideals, but essential drivers of progress,” she concluded while promising the state’s continual partnership with WISCAR to deepen mentorship opportunities and create pathways for leadership development.
