The Federal Government has been urged to harness the immense potential of the women population in terms of their multi-tasking ability, intuitiveness, diligence, integrity, and organisational capacity, as Nigeria continues to build towards economic growth and sustainability.
This position was stated by Ahmed Rufai Mohammed, president and chairman, governing council, Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria at the 2019 women directors’ luncheon in Lagos with the theme, ‘Are You Board Ready?: Strategies for Success.’
According to Mohammed, no nation can afford to ignore half of its population in its economic activities, especially when a reasonable number of that population is acknowledged to have the physical and intellectual ability to contribute towards nation building.
“The persistent lack of diversity in many of our corporate boardrooms is an issue that requires continuing focus until our corporate boardrooms (in both private and public sectors) reflect the diversity in our population and take advantage of the potential of our female gender who are increasingly becoming highly educated, sophisticated and professional like their male counterparts,” Mohammed said.
Idiat Oluranti Adebule, deputy governor of Lagos State, said women were known to be more emphatic, assertive and persuasive as well as having strong interpersonal skills to ensure successful implementation of policies and programmes for the growth and development of the society.
Adebule said the focus should be to increase the number and influence of women in politics and business leadership positions. “What needs to be done is to take leadership amongst women to the next level and we must adopt the right approach and embrace practical solutions that can improve women’s path to leadership role in proportion to our numbers.
“The strategy must include creative thinking, the will to speak up and stand up for other women, work hard to build the critical muscle of assertiveness, adopt women mentors that will be ready to invest time and energy into guiding others,” she said.
Aisha Abubakar, minister for women affairs and social development, said insufficient data to gender analysis meant women contribution and concerns remained ignored in economic structures.
“The ministry will continue to remain committed to the quest for gender equality and total social inclusion,” Abubakar said, as she urged women to be continuously strategic and innovative in the alliances they build, to enhance their visibility in governance at all levels and in all facets of their lives.
In the recent past, gender diversity indicator has been identified as key drivers of socio-economic growth and sustainability. As efforts are increasingly pushed towards improving gender diversity on corporate boards, it is also important that government agencies adopt desired attitude to reflect multicultural environment.
