Experts list hindrances to achieving gender equality
Stakeholders in the women empowerment has listed lack of access to capital, inadequate support, and domestic activities as major hindrance achieving gender equality globally.
Speaking at a webinar organized by FirstBank in collaboration with UN Women empowerment, tagged ” Invest in Woman: Accelerate Progress” experts insisted that inadequate participation of woman in both political and economic solace made it difficult to achieve sustainable economic development across the world.
The Country Representative to United Nations (UN) Women Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Beatrice Eyong said there was need to invest in woman personal development in the areas of education, leadership for them to have marketable skills.
She stated that investment in technology would go a long way to liberate women from child care services and other family activities.
She said investment in women became necessary because there is huge inequality in political, economic activities and digital space.
She said available statistic showed that about 22 per cent of women are working in digital space while 20 per cent top positions are occupied by woman in the financial industry.
She said as long as woman continued lagging behind in certain positions, there is increase inequality in our working places, political and economic space, it would be difficult to have sustainable economic development.
Speaking further she said by 2030 if we do not invest in woman in the gender inequality, about 340 million women will go into extreme poverty.
She said that financing Architecture does not favour women, noting that young women needs special support while participating political environment.
She said no institution, government, private organisation will handle the problem of inequality alone we need to work together to achieve positive result.
Also speaking Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ebonylife Media, Ms MO Abudu said that women need to be innovative and keep on rebranding to continue to excel in all their endeavour.
She said women need to set a goal, set strategy on how to achieve them, noting that the major challenges women faced is limiting themselves in achieving those goals.
According to her, if you set your goal and your dream, think big, be creative, how to actualize the dream, adding that if you should have the believe that she can achieve those goals, then it is achievable.
She said that obstacle is one of things one encountered while working towards launching new project.
Describing obstacles as opportunities,she said obstacles means that there’s a solution that is waiting for that particular thing to be fixed and to be rearranged.
Head Media and External Relations FirstBank, Mr Ismail Omumegbe said that the webinar set to provide context and conceptual clarity on women empowerment in Nigeria. He said it was designed to explore the importance of investing in women both as human rights issue and a sustainable socioeconomic development priority.
He said FirstBank has continued to demonstrate its commitment to integrating the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in its operations and activities as core to its business philosophy. The Bank drives the implementation of WEPs through various initiatives and programmes aimed at promoting gender equality, supporting women entrepreneurs, and advancing women economic participation.
According to the bank as an equal opportunity employer with an inclusive approach to products and services development, the Bank has made tremendous effort to close the gender gap by institutionalising a diversity and inclusion policy, gender-based violence and harassment policy (GBVH), implementing workplace practices, programmes and developing products and offerings specifically for the socioeconomic empowerment of women, remove barriers hindering women empowerment as well as advance behavioural change.
