‘Women Want to Be Heard, Not Saved’: Yomi Wilcox challenges traditional advocacy

In an era saturated with corporate catchphrases around female empowerment, Iya Henry (IH) is building an alternative model. Founded in 2020 by Yomi Wilcox, a brand strategist, educator, and creative director the tech-enabled organization provides curated spaces for women to engage with the realities of modern life without the pressure of performance.

Iya Henry (IH) is a Women-focused, tech-enabled and impact-driven organisation creating spaces where women can engage honestly with the realities of modern womanhood through community, conversation, storytelling, curated experiences and support systems. By leveraging technology—most notably through its “Listening Line”—IH moves beyond traditional, location-bound women’s support groups to cultivate a decentralized ecosystem of trust and shared humanity.

In an exclusive interview, with Lehlé Baldé and Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha; Yomi Wilcox speaks on dismantling the “helpless” advocacy framework, the systemic intersection of childhood education and adult reinvention, and why corporate institutions must stop treating employee well-being as a secondary issue.

You’ve stated that IH recognizes women as “capable and high-functioning” rather than “broken.” Why was it important to shift the advocacy narrative away from the traditional “help the helpless” model?

For a long time, many conversations around women have unconsciously been framed around fixing deficits — what women lack, what women need saving from, or where women are struggling. While challenges absolutely exist, I felt there was room for a different lens.
Speaking to women from a position of helping the helpless reinforces the belief that they are not enough and require a saviour to come an rescue them or give them permission to save themselves. It reinforces the belief that without the education from, the resources of or intervention of another hope is fleeting.
The women I encounter daily are intelligent, resilient, productive and deeply capable. They are leading teams, building businesses, pursuing careers, nurturing communities, creating opportunities and navigating multiple responsibilities in different ways. The issue is often not capability; it is having spaces that recognize their humanity beyond their functionality.

One of the things that shaped IH was recognizing that support should not always begin with the assumption that people need solutions. Sometimes they simply need room to speak honestly. That thinking influenced initiatives like our Listening Line — a space designed to give women room to vent, process and be heard without immediately being met with condescending advice or attempts to “fix” them. Sometimes women want to be heard, not saved. IH was built around the belief that support does not only exist for people in crisis. Strong people also need community, reflection and spaces that sustain them.

How does being a “tech-enabled” organization change the way you deliver community and support compared to traditional women’s groups? 

Technology allows community to move beyond geography and scheduled interactions into something more continuous and accessible.

Traditional support systems often rely heavily on physical gatherings or occasional meetings. While those remain valuable, technology allows us to create multiple touchpoints that fit into the realities of modern life.

For example, our Listening Line uses technology to create accessible channels where women can speak, process experiences and feel heard in a way that feels intimate and immediate. We also use technology to host virtual hangouts, community conversations, shared experiences and resource-driven interactions that allow women to connect regardless of where they are.
Technology also helps us create more personalized experiences because women are not a single demographic with identical needs. A young professional navigating identity and purpose, an entrepreneur building a business, a woman transitioning careers or someone redefining herself after a major life change may all need different forms of support. Being tech-enabled allows us to meet women where they are rather than expecting everyone to fit into one model of community.

You speak about women navigating “increasingly layered lives.” In your view, what is the single biggest challenge modern Nigerian women face that isn’t being discussed in mainstream corporate circles?

I would hesitate to identify one single challenge because women are not a monolithic group and our experiences are incredibly diverse. I think, the belief that there is a single biggest issue might be the issue in and of itself.

Not every woman is married. Not every woman is a mother. Not every woman is balancing family responsibilities alongside a career. Different women are navigating different realities and different pressures.

What I do think deserves more conversation is the pressure many women experience to fit into predefined expectations of what success, fulfilment or womanhood should look like.

For some women, that pressure may exist around career progression. For others, it may relate to marriage, motherhood, financial independence, entrepreneurship, identity or personal choices.

Mainstream corporate conversations often focus heavily on professional milestones while paying less attention to the complexity of the person behind the role. Many women today are trying to build lives that are authentic to who they are while simultaneously managing external expectations from society, culture and even social media. I think creating room for more honest and nuanced conversations around that complexity is important.

How has your background in branding and development strategy influenced the way you curated the IH experience?

Branding taught me that people do not simply buy products; they connect with experiences, emotions and meaning.
Development strategy taught me that intentions are not enough. You need systems, structure and measurable outcomes.

So with IH, we intentionally curated an experience rather than simply building a platform. Every touchpoint matters — the language, the visuals, the environment, the conversations and even what people feel when they enter the space. Women already live in environments where they are constantly performing. We wanted to create something that felt thoughtful, non-perfomative and authentic.

Community is a word many organizations use. What makes the IH community experience intentionally different?

Community has become a very popular word, but proximity alone does not automatically create connection. You can place thousands of people in a WhatsApp group or online space and still have people feel unseen.

At IH, community is intentionally curated rather than simply assembled. We are not trying to build a crowd; we are trying to build meaningful relationships and experiences. That means paying attention to culture, not just numbers. It means creating spaces where women feel safe enough to speak honestly, where listening matters as much as speaking and where interactions go beyond networking or surface-level engagement.

Our Listening Line, virtual hangouts and community experiences are designed around genuine connection because we believe women should not have to perform strength or perfection to belong.
The goal is not simply access to people; it is access to support, understanding and shared humanity.

IH describes itself as “a safe space for women to exist without explanation.” What does that actually look like in practice beyond being a slogan?

For us, a safe space is not simply a room where people are allowed to speak. It is an environment intentionally designed around trust, respect and authenticity.

In practice, it means women do not have to arrive with perfectly packaged stories or polished versions of themselves. They do not have to justify every life choice, defend every season they are in or constantly prove productivity and strength.

Sometimes existing without explanation means having a difficult day and not feeling pressure to immediately turn it into a lesson. Sometimes it means being able to say, “I am figuring things out.” Sometimes it means being able to vent without immediately receiving unsolicited advice.

We want women to feel that they can enter IH spaces and just be themselves.

Many platforms focus on empowering women to do more. Does IH promote the messaging of doing more and being more?

I think women today already receive enormous messaging around becoming more — be more productive, be more successful, be more present, be more accomplished, do more, achieve more.
While growth and ambition are important, I do not think every conversation around women should begin with adding more pressure.

IH is less focused on telling women they need to become someone else and more focused on creating room for women to acknowledge and understand who they already are. Sometimes growth looks like building a business or stepping into leadership. Sometimes growth looks like resting, setting boundaries or changing direction. We are not interested in promoting endless performance. We are interested in supporting authentic evolution.

In an era of social media influencers, how does Iya Henry distinguish between “having a following” and “building an impact-driven support system”?

Reach and impact are not necessarily the same thing.

A following can create visibility, but visibility alone does not always create transformation. Impact requires consistency, trust and meaningful outcomes. At IH, success is not measured simply by audience size. We ask different questions: Are women finding support systems? Are they having healthier conversations? Are they feeling seen? Are meaningful relationships and opportunities being created?
For us, depth matters as much as scale.

Your work spans lifestyle, wellness, education and entrepreneurship. How do these different ventures connect with the broader mission of Iya Henry?

At first glance they may appear like separate ventures, but for me they all sit under the same philosophy: creating experiences and systems that improve everyday life.

Food, wellness, education, self-care and community all influence how people live and function. Lekki Living, the frozen ready-meal business addresses practical realities around time and nourishment. ASq Life, a self-care brand speaks to restoration and intentional living. My work in education, through The Rock Montessori School, shapes growth and development.

IH exists at the intersection of many of those ideas because women do not experience life in separate categories. Our personal well-being, work, relationships, growth and environment constantly influence one another.

As a Director of The Rock Montessori School, a Christian nursery and primary school, how does your experience in early childhood education inform your perspective on growth and evolution in adult women?

Working with children teaches you something powerful: growth is rarely linear.

Children learn through exploration, mistakes, repetition and encouragement. They need safe environments where they are given room to develop at their own pace. I don’t think adults are different. Many women are navigating seasons of rediscovery and reinvention. Some are revisiting dreams they paused years ago. Others are entering entirely new chapters of life. My experience in education constantly reminds me that people flourish when they are given support, patience and space to grow.

Why should conversations around well-being and community matter to businesses and institutions, not just individuals?

Human beings thrive through connection and companionship. I once read a thought that stayed with me: “It is not good for man to be alone.” Simply put, people need people.

Now people do not stop being human when they enter workplaces. Employees, leaders and entrepreneurs do not leave their experiences, responsibilities or personal realities at the door. Staff well-being influences how people think, collaborate, create and lead.

Organisations often focus heavily on performance outcomes, but sustainable productivity is built on healthy people operating within healthy environments.

When people feel supported and connected, they become more engaged, more creative and better able to contribute meaningfully. Community and well-being should not be viewed as soft issues or secondary conversations; they are essential components of building stronger institutions, healthier cultures and ultimately stronger societies.

As you scale Iya Henry, what is your vision for the organization’s role in Nigeria’s creative and business ecosystem over the next five years?

My vision is for Iya Henry to become a living network of support, opportunity and growth rather than simply a platform. I see IH creating spaces where community, technology, creativity, business and social impact intersect. I see opportunities for mentorship, partnerships, learning experiences, content creation and initiatives that help women build meaningful lives and meaningful work.

I would like IH to become a trusted institution that helps women not only navigate life but also create, contribute and thrive.

Ultimately, I want women to encounter IH and feel seen, supported and equipped to evolve into the fullest versions of themselves.

To know more about Iya Henry, you can visit its website www.IyaHenry.com and Instagram handle @IyaHenry