Notable women in Nigeria have stressed the need to break biases against women and strive to achieve gender equality.
They spoke at the 2022 Bank of Industry (BoI) celebration held in Lagos in commemoration of International Women’s Day.
The Minister of state for Industry, Trade and Investment, Amb. Mariam Katagum, who spoke at the event, stated that biases hindered women’s progress and denied them level playing field in the career choices and decisions they made.
While decrying biases against women at home, workplace, and society at large, the minister emphasised that the solution could be found in understanding gender bias; recognising it; and speaking out against it.
Katagum said, “There is no point identifying bias if no action will be taken. It is crucial to speak up against bias when identified. It means advocating for and recognising the excellent work done by women in the workplace. It means paying attention to gender dynamics in the workplace, and how it affects the universe of available opportunities. It means responding correctly to instances of gender bias as they come up, either in conversation or in policy decisions.”
A report by McKinsey Global Institute, according to the minister, concluded that as much as $28trillion could be added to global annual Gross Domestic Products (GDP) by 2025 if women participated in the workforce at the same rate as men did.
She therefore emphasised the need to break biases limiting women’s overall involvement in the workforce, stressing that promoting gender equality and gender justice required collaborative efforts by all stakeholders.
She said, “Starting from home, parents must play their role in raising our sons and daughters to understand that both genders are important and equal. We must identify our biases and be conscious about halting their reproduction in others. This must also be reinforced in schools, places of worship, offices and government institutions, among others.
“We must collectively empower more women in the economy. We must work towards closing gender gaps in the workplace. These are critical to accomplishing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals 5, 8 and 10 that seek to achieve gender equality; promote full and productive employment and decent work for all and reduce inequalities.”
Also, the Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Dame Pauline Tallen, lauded women for their steadfastness and for keeping hope alive in the face of intimidation and biases.
She therefore encouraged women to continue to break barriers in medicine, politics, business, entrepreneurship, and other fields of endeavour.
The Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, in her goodwill message, highlighted Lagos’ stand against gender and sexual based violence through campaigns and advocacies.
She condemned violence against women, noting that empowerment were ongoing to support victims of violent acts.
Mrs. Sanwo-Olu called on women to come together to achieve more and appealed for increased representation and participation of women in politics.
