As we wrap up the month of March and the 2020 International women's day celebration worldwide, it calls for a continuous reflection on the career matter of #eachforeaqual and raising the bar on gender equality. It becomes imperative on all stakeholders to keep the wheel turning for advancing women empowerment. A critical stakeholder group on this subject in my view would be the "successful women of power" who have gone ahead to "break the glass ceiling" in the corporate world and achieve outstanding results. They remain the aspiration of many and through their giving back to hold the hands of the younger generation of women, we can change the 'eachforequal' landscape one female career story at a time.
Here are some of the ways I believe women can change the conversation on equality in the workplace; 1. Women mentoring Women; Offer themselves to serve as mentors to other women, practically holding their hands to excel and thereby elevating their success. 2. Sponsor Women Networks in the workplace; As Executives, work through their institutional governance to sponsor women networks in the workplace where women can meet up to draw on peer support for advancing their careers. 3. Sponsor and advocate diversity bills and policy changes; Through national and international platforms, promote an environment and infrastructure support to enable the confidence of the girl child to believe she can rule the world. 4. Establish platforms for women mentoring women; Set up not for profit organisations with structured mentoring programmes for women. 5. Lead creditably. Hold leadership positions with integrity and leave legacies of resounding corporate success. Essentially, give a good account of their stewardship as women leaders thereby setting the tone for other females to be given an opportunity to serve. In closing, I would like to acknowledge the examples of these phenomenal women who are shining examples that the actions noted above can be done. They have gone ahead to set the pace for women advocacy through their mentoring efforts to date.
Sola David Borha: Chief Executive, Africa Regions Standard Bank Group. She is a role model that is looked upon by other women in Africa as an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Sola says; # women remove the glass ceiling from your mind and move forward with courage# She is also a key driver for equal opportunity in the workplace by focusing on female talents and supporting them to develop their leadership capabilities and careers. She drives the HeforShe agenda through the Africa Regions footprints of Standard Bank Group and has to her credit as founding executive sponsor successful institutional women networks such as the Stanbic IBTC Blue Women Network. Ibukun Awosika: Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Chair Center and Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Limited. Under her leadership and influence, First Bank empowers thousands of Nigerian women under its First Gem initiative, with the aim of clearing out challenges that stop women in Nigeria from becoming economically productive. with this, women are empowered enough to break the glass ceiling. With a high interest in social issues, including women, Ibukun is a co-founder and past chairperson of Women in Business, Management and Public Service (WIMBIZ). Indra Nooyi: Former CEO of PepsiCo, First female CEO of PepsiCo who is currently a board member of amazon and as a board member, she raised the percentage of women represented on the board to 45% which is high for the corporation. In her role as CEO for PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi was an invaluable role model for women in business. She pushed the public to have an honest conversation about the difficult choices many women face in the pursuit of ambitious roles in business and the constant tradeoffs between work and family. She was a rare high-powered authentic voice. Amina Mohammed: Deputy Secretary-General United Nations. A renowned advocated for women health, education and empowerment because of her strong belief in the great transformation women bring to the society and the world. Amina has used her office to influence and ensure the implementation of this goal. She also emphasized women in the international community – her focus is to ensure that women and girls can achieve their full potential –socially, culturally, economically and politically Sheryl Sandberg: Chief Operations Officer, Facebook and author of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead#, Lean In is intended for professional women to help them achieve their career goals and for men who want to contribute to a more equitable society. The book argues that barriers are still preventing women from taking leadership roles in the workplace, barriers such as discrimination, blatant and subtle sexism, and sexual harassment. Sandberg claims there are also barriers that women create for themselves through internalizing systematic discrimination and societal gender roles. Sandberg argues that in order for change to happen, women, need to break down these societal and personal barriers by striving for and achieving leadership roles. She is the founder of the Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to build a more equal and resilient world. Bola Adesola: Senior Vice-Chairperson, Africa, Standard Chartered Bank Bola is passionate about the development and economic empowerment of women and in 2001 co-founded Women in Management, Business and Public Sector (WIMBIZ), Nigeria’s fore-most women-oriented network. this network has challenged women in their various levels of business to shatter the glass ceiling as a result of the invaluable empowerment sessions. Aishah Ahmah: Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria. She also served as the chairperson of the executive council of Women in management, Business and Public Service(WIMBIZ); a Nigerian Non-Profit organization where she was part of the establishment in 2001 which focused on addressing issues affecting the interest of women professionals in business, with particular attention on promoting leadership development and building capacities to engender growth. Aishah Ahmad is a strong advocate for female and youth empowerment; she volunteers at SOS Children’s Villages, Nigeria and was former Chairperson, Executive Council of Women in Management, Business & Public Service, WIMBIZ a leading women-focused NGO in Sub-Saharan Africa. Amina Oyagbola: Is the Managing Consultant for AKMS Consulting and she is also the founder of Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR). Amina recognized a gaping need for a new institutional framework. This framework was designed to provide professional women with inspiration, motivation, guidance and support to help them better navigate their different career pathways. Amina realized the need for a support network or mentoring framework to help light up the bright career prospects in African women so that they can draw a proper road map for career success. These women have shown excellent examples of how we can each contribute to building an eachforequal community and corporate world. It is certainly a good time to follow their examples by joining the league of "Women Mentoring Women". Calling on all women to rise to this call! Let's do it Ladies!! #eachforeaqual #iwd2020 #diversitymatters #Careermatters
Comments