• Friday, March 29, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

ANWBN calls for women inclusion in all sectors

ANWBN calls for women inclusion in all sectors

The Association of Nigerian Business Women Network (ANWBN) has called for women’s inclusion in all sectors of the economy, saying it would help them occupy their rightful place in governance.

Speaking at a one-day advocacy training organised by the association which is a coalition of businesswomen in Nigeria, Lagos State representative of the network, Moshebolatan Abiodun opined that such inclusion would not only place women in their legal spot but also move the country forward.

According to her, women’s issues have been left laxity for a long time and added that the time has come to break barriers hindering women from participating effectively in all spheres of the economy.

Driving her points home, she said: “Like we all know the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) is actually breaking the barriers, so this year we want to break all kinds of barriers that have been preventing women or standing against them.’’

To her, the training was also an opportunity for the organisation to press more on the agenda of the coalition, adding “women have to occupy their rightful positions, in governance, before now they had looked at women as if we are just these people who have to be at other room, just to have children and cook food, no it has gone beyond that, what becomes of a woman after her child birth, after she had cooked all the food, so what next.

“It is not too much to ask, we have equal opportunity, we went to school, just like our counterpart did, we are not competing with men, we are only saying, let the women be included in politics, academia and other spheres of life, by so doing there will be a balance.’’

Considering some of the challenges facing women in business, she said it includes: insecurity; dilapidated and poor road networks; gender inequality in governance; inadequate power supply among others.

Read also: Kofo Akinkugbe receives FG’s National Productivity Order of merit award

Describing insecurity as a serious obstacle affecting women in business community, she said that the state of insecurity has led to a loss in patronage.

On the way forward, she believes that the provision of skills and capacity development for unemployed youths by the government will lead to an improved security situation in the country.

She observed that about 85 percent of women entrepreneurs use generators as a reliable alternative source of power.

Abiodun noted that the expansion of transmission and distribution networks by the government will ultimately improve power supply in the country.

Speaking earlier, National coordinator of ANWBN, Modupe Oyekunle, explained that the training was supported by the Center of International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and she urged members to be determined, dedicated so as to create a better working environment for other women.

Oyekunle, who was represented by the national secretary of the coalition, Yetunde Oladeinde, stressed the need for members to look in to their Women’s National Business Agenda (WNBA) which according to her would yield desired change if implemented.

On her part, a zonal coordinator of the coalition, Omotola Omole said the training was necessary as it would let women know their place in the governance.

Omole, appealed to government at all levels to assist women in business by creating an enabling environment for business to thrive in the country.

She frowned at the increased cases of violence against women in the country and called on the appropriate authority to ensure that perpetrators of these crimes are brought to book.

In her words: “The social media hype on violence against women at the point of occurrence is always much, after a while, it goes down, there is no real follow up on it to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book.

“When the culprits are made to face the wrought of the law, it will serve as a deterrent and such will reduce if not eradicate violence against women in the society.”