By Adenike Fajemirokun
Every International Women’s Day, we tend to see the obligatory kudos to women across various facets of life. During this period, many organizations and individuals will go on to commend the efforts of their female staff, counterparts and contemporaries, however, the age-old struggle for higher representation, better pay, equality in certain circumstances and overall equity continues.
The push for equality/equity can be traced back to the early 1900s when the first coordinated protest against oppression and inequality, a march of 15,000 women in New York City, was recorded. Now, this continued battle has been entrenched in internationally recognized policies most notably the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and specifically the SDG 5- Gender Equality.
Nigeria has also experienced its instances of pushback from women in protest of inequality from the days of Funmilayo Ransom-Kuti, a leading advocate for women’s rights in the early 20th century, to the most recent push for better representation in the nation’s constitution.
While we continue to strive for a world where gender imbalances are far from the norm, I want to use this letter to charge all women to continue to strive for irrefutable excellence in everything that we do. I have gone through life, long before any noteworthy career feat, with an inherent drive to execute based on performance.
At the most elementary level, the word ‘excellence’ means the quality of being outstanding or extremely good. Variations may exist in one’s understanding of the word, but the underlying message is surpassing standards. I grew up with this principle and I have been fortunate to see numerous expressions of excellence throughout my life.
I have witnessed ‘excellence’ giving women seats at tables hitherto they would not have occupied; I have also seen excellence giving women a voice and an audience, even at global levels. This is why I continue to strive for excellence in all that pertains to me. I truly doubt that I would have achieved most milestones without this fundamental drive.
Please do not by any means think this letter trivializes the real struggle women face in today’s world. Statistics show that there is still a long way to go in achieving adequate representation and equity. Nigeria as of 2021 ranked poorly 139 out of 156 in the Global Gender Gap Index which measures the gap between men and women in four fundamental categories – Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival and Political Empowerment.
I aim to ensure that while the work to achieve the desired outcome continues, we women, do not neglect to be so intentional about excelling in what we do in such a manner that is hard to deny our place wherever we find ourselves.
– Fajemirokun (Ph.D.) is the Group Executive Director, Special Duties; Group Chief Risk Officer, Dangote Industries Limited
