Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), a Nigerian non-profit organisation, has launched its advocacy program in a bid to increase female participation in the upcoming general elections in 2023.
According to a press statement by the organization, it has already inaugurated a committee to plan and execute advocacy programs on its behalf.
“The advocacy committee’s mandate for this year is centered around the sensitization of women and positively influencing their attitude towards the exercise of their civic duties during the upcoming general elections,” the statement stated.
It further stated that this year’s campaign centers around informing and reminding women about their voting history, their rights, responsibilities, and rewards regarding voting, and encouraging women to perform their civic duty.
The theme of the program which is “Women and Civic Duties, Voters’ Attitude and Elections in Nigeria”, will also feature a report, infomercials, and a mini-historical documentary on Nigeria’s suffragettes.
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Commenting on the WIMBIZ advocacy pillar as well as the theme, Ronke Onadeko, 2022 advocacy committee chairperson, said the goal of WIMBIZ in its advocacy efforts is to increase women’s awareness of our historical journey in public and private participation and politics and advocate improvements in inclusion, participation, and visibility on all related indices.
“The WIMBIZ advocacy pillar is focused on engaging both the public and private sectors and individuals through strategic partnerships, collaborations, and direct engagement while preparing females to position them to contribute to nation-building and performance of their civic duties,” Onadeko also said.
She added that the goal for public sector engagement is to have a higher representation of women developed, equipped, and positioned to increase their representation at all levels of government and in politics for both appointive and elective roles from 3.8 percent to 30 percent by 2030.
“We also want to increase the representation of women in the corporate sector occupying senior and executive positions.”
Since the inauguration of the pioneer WIMBIZ Women on Boards Advocacy committee in 2018 and followed by the WIMBIZ Private and Public Sector Advocacy Committees in 2020, some of the highlights and successful interventions are the WIMBIZ Women on Boards Mentoring Program and Women on Boards Training Institute.
Others are WIMBIZ Private Sector Gender Equity and Equality Scorecard “The Scorecard” in Partnership with PWC, WIMBIZ Public Procurement training in partnership with Nigeria Export Promotion Council and WIMBIZ advocacy initiatives are championed by standing committees staffed by loyal Associates in collaboration with WIMBIZ HQ.
