Women Lament Poor Participation, Seek Same Gender Support 

Mary Nnah

Nigerian women who have distinguished themselves in various sectors of the economy have bemoaned low participation of women in politics and governance as women’s participation in governance is estimated to be at 6.7% for elective and appointed positions.

Delivering a paper at the 2022 Class of MMS Woman of Fortune Hall of Fame induction ceremony and purple symposium with the theme, “Women Arise in Leadership, SMEs Development and Port Efficiency in a Multi-Port”, the Chairperson, Zoe Maritime Resources Limited, Mrs. Oritsematosan Edodo-Emore pointed out the abysmal statistics.

While stating that the global average of women participation in governance is 22.5% and the African continent rated 23.5%, Edodo-Emore stated that Nigeria’s 6.7% participation is worrisome when compared to the West African sub-regional average of 15%.

The Guest Speaker, who referenced a report by Gender Strategy Advancement Initiative, noted that there are only seven women out of the 109 Nigerian senators and 22 of the nation’s 360 House of Representatives members are women.

However, she identified some of the factors limiting the advancement of Nigerian women in politics to include; stigmatisation, poor girl-child education, ungodly meeting hours, religion, and son of the soil syndrome, among others.

The event organised by MMS WoFHoF Initiative, a non-governmental organisation took place in Lagos recently.

The female participants were unanimous about the gender gap in leadership representation and urged the Federal Government and political players to begin the process of genuine distribution of leadership power between the male and the female gender in the promotion of gender balancing.

According to the Chairperson of MMS WOFHOF Board of Trustees(BOT), Mrs. Margaret Orakwusi, while Nigerian women far outweigh men in the ratio of electorates, women should encourage one another and deploy their numerical strength the support women political candidates in the future.

Orakwusi, who also chaired the event, expressed delight at the advancement of women in the maritime sector, businesses and corporate governance. While maintaining that women should show more interest in a leadership positions in the political and governance system, she commended the MMS WOFHOF Initiative for its commitment to women’s recognition, even as she eulogized the 2022 Hall of Famers and urged them to help in advancing the cause of women, both in empowerment and leadership pursuits.

On her part, the President of Women in Mining (WIMIN), Engr. Janet Adeyemi said women can achieve as much and even more than men, in a fair and even distributed workplace situation, and described the induction/ symposium as an ideal place to do an audit of women in managerial space across various sectors of the nation’s economy.

She noted that women’s emancipation in any skewed gender society is usually a tough situation that has taken lots of struggle towards correcting any perceived gender balance. She urged women in leadership to encourage and mentor others to attain skills and be able to aspire.

Adeyemi averred that oftentimes, some of the greatest drag on women’s emancipation is caused by gender pulldown syndrome, and urged women to free their minds from tendencies that promote narrow mindsets.

She said, “We have to strengthen this assembly to have a viable group even as we recall those top women today aren’t at the zenith because they are more educated or more beautiful, but because someone paid the price.

“Some women threaded these parts in the past and paid the price for more women to have the platform we have today. We should be able to give back by creating a more enabling environment for younger women to thrive.

“We should be able to ascertain how many women are in management positions across critical sectors, study and analyze the gaps in skills,” Adeyemi said.

Also speaking, one of the inductees, Mrs. Augustina Igbokwe, who is the Managing Director of Tyse Oil and Gas, informed the gathering that countries governed by women perform better; in all yards of evaluation.

Igbokwe warned that unless women are accorded positions in the administration of critical sectors like oil and gas and embedded in the implementation of processes and procedures, Nigeria may not attain her potential economic capabilities.

“The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) is now in place, but what’s the role of women in this transformational oil sector legislation? If PIA would be a success and deliver the numerous potentials, there has to be a place for women,” she stated.