A toast to Women in Leadership

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we acknowledge the progress made in actualizing the action points at the 1995 Beijing Conference in relation to the 2015 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The SDG5 which highlights Gender Equality for world transformation and sustainable economic development has contributed significantly to the emergence of female leaders in various spheres across the world.

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The World Economic Forum through The Global Gender Gap Report continues to lead global change in this regard by tracking both economic and political progress made by countries around the world through indices such as the removal of biases in workplace  recruitment, retention and promotion, equal pay, ability to attain senior management roles, extended parental leave, political empowerment as the number of women in parliaments around the world increases, educational attainment, health and survival.

The course being charted to turn these insights into concrete action scored top points recently when world-renowned US Investment Bank, Goldman Sachs announced it’s new IPO rule; stating that they will refuse to take a company public unless it has at least one woman or non-white board member, effective July 1. In addition, Finland’s Sanna Marin’s appointment as Prime Minister, makes her the world’s youngest sitting head of government at age 34.

Likewise, here in Nigeria, top flight organizations have made bold proclamatory business statements towards their support for Gender inclusivity and parity. Good examples are Fidelity Bank Plc, with 60% female representation at board level, Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp) with its recent appointment of four (4 ) females to its board and executive management,  and the appointment of three (3) women to the Board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. With these companies blazing the trail, we expect more companies to follow suit in such admirable and exemplary leadership policies.

Starting with our dear mothers and ordinary women who held the family unit together, we highlight the labours of our heroes past, as we toast the inspirational leadership of the main protagonists of the 1929 Aba Women’s Riot; Mwannedia, Ikonnia, Nwugo, and a widow Nwayeruwa ,the principal protagonist. Ordinary but exceptional women, who led both rural and elite women of Aba, Owerri and Calabar provinces from six ethnic groups (Ibibio, Andoni, Ogoni, Bonny, Opobo, and Igbo) against the British Colonial Warrant Officers , who were oppressing women and their families with increased taxation and attempts to regulate their petty trading businesses.

We celebrate the exceptional and uncommon courage of the trail-blazing, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, who instigated the Egba (Abeokuta) women’s protest against the local representative of the ruling colonial authorities over the unfair treatment of women in the form of excessive taxes. She is recorded as the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria.

Other strong female figures in Nigerian history include Mrs. Margaret Ekpo and Hajia Sambo Sawaba, legendary political icons, and Chioma Ajunwa who was the first Nigerian to win an Olympic gold medal in a track and field event.

It is worthy to note that women have historically been strong lobbyists for economic and political issues in Nigeria and continue to play a key role in the economic development of the country, like their counterparts in Rwanda, Iceland, Ireland,  Germany Spain and the Scandinavian trio of Norway, Finland and Sweden, which rank amongst the top ten countries in the World Economic Forum Gender Gap index.

As we strive for excellence in our various fields of endeavor, we counsel ourselves to improve and raise our game to a level that is at par with our male counterparts in the workplace. We must learn to work together and to march in solidarity and strengthen our bonds, to ensure that we feature, contribute and record significant achievements in all facets of economic and social development entirely by merit and characteristic leadership skills.

Finally, we doff our hats (and most certainly our fascinators!) to all Nigerian women taking great admirable strides in all fields of endeavor, Governance, Business, Arts and Culture, Music, Education, Health, Banking and Financial Services,  Civil activism, Technology, Entrepreneurship. At the same we commend and laud the homemakers who are often and inadvertently overlooked but who form part of the bedrock of the family unit. I address all women with the words of Golda Meir, “make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement”

Happy International Women’s Day.