UN Global Compact Network Nigeria, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), International Finance Corporation, and UN Women have called for a policy that will promote women’s empowerment for a sustainable future.
The UN body and the groups made the call at a virtual symposium organised in commemoration of the 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD).
The symposium, organised by UN Global Compact Network Nigeria in partnership with the NGX Group and the UN Women, highlighted ways top business leaders could embrace equity and create safe spaces for women within the work environment.
The Day which has the theme, “Embrace Equity: Setting the standard for a sustainable future”, featured hybrid “Closing-Gong” ceremony in commemoration of the annual World Federation of Exchange’s Ring-the-Bell for gender equality event.
Speaking at the event, Naomi Nwokolo, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Nigeria, said the theme was in tandem with that of the UN’s “DigitAll: Innovation and technology towards the promotion of gender equality.”
Nwokolo, also the Chair of African Regional Network Council, described equity as fairness and a pathway to ensuring gender equality.
According to her, the advocacy for gender equality seeks to promote fairness in terms of the creation of inclusive policies that support women in all walks of life.
“This is dependent on the development of both inclusive and transformative technologies, recognising women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative and digital education.
“There is a critical need to improve digital gender gap, which aids in widening economic and social inequalities; another aspect is safeguarding the rights of women and girls in digital spaces.
“As well as taking action to combat gender-based violence that occurs online or through the use of information and communication technologies,” Nwokolo added.
She said significant economic losses could result from excluding women and girls in digital spaces and STEM fields.
“An outstanding $1trillion loss from the Gross Domestic Product of low and middle-income countries in the past decade.
“The loss is predicted to grow to $1.5 trillion by 2025 without action.
“Including women in technology not only leads to more imaginative solutions but also holds immense potential for developing innovations that cater to and advance gender equality,” she observed.
She spoke of the UN Global Compact Network’s commitment to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, promising to mobilise the business community to take the required actions.
Nwokolo reiterated that gender equality would be beneficial to businesses that were inclusive and that such would enjoy high productivity and profitability through implementation of diverse and innovative ideas.
Also speaking at the symposium, Mr Oscar Onyema, Group Chief Executive Officer, NGX Group, said the symposium was designed to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world.
According to him, it was also in recognition of the vital role women played to shape their society and economy, as well as acknowledge challenges faced in pursuit of equity and inclusivity.
“We recognise that promoting equity and inclusion is not just the right thing to do, but it is also good for business.
“Research proves that diverse and inclusive organisations are more innovative, resilient, and better equipped to meet the evolving needs of their customers and communities.
“As a leading financial market infrastructure group championing Africa’s sustainable growth, NGX Group is committed to creating diverse and inclusive workplaces where all employees are valued, respected, and empowered to reach their full potential.
“We believe that by embracing equity and inclusion, we can create a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive and contribute to our collective success,” Onyema said.
Meanwhile, Beatrice Eyong, Country Representative, Nigeria, and ECOWAS, UN Women, commended the role being played by women as critical to national development.
According to her, it helped immensely to shape the world around us.
“I applaud the NGX Group for championing the cause of finance ecosystems through the introduction of gender-responsive and inclusive financial platform.
“Such increased advocacy for the participation of women on the boards of organisations, senior management, and support for capacity building initiatives.
“In spite of that, women are still significantly underrepresented globally in the capital market industry with only 17 per cent of the Board seats and two per cents of CEO positions occupied by women,” she said.
She, however, called for an improvement in the rate of advancement of the living standard of women to enable them to achieve their desired goals.
