WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP: ACHIEVING AN EQUAL FUTURE IN A COVID WORLD

Having experienced the first few months of 2021, I am sure we all can agree that it is safe to say that 2020 was a hell of a rollercoaster. Till date the whole world is still trying to understand the pandemic, how did the covid-19 virus take over our world? To re-define the different spheres of  our lives: personal development, relationships, leadership and business growth. Our world has been severely challenged and with challenge as humans we can only become more intentional about our choices or get lost in the fury of events, depression, economic hardship and failed dreams. Through this change, the spotlight has increasingly been on gender across continents with movements building that are challenging status quo. Critical questions have been raised by activists, organisations and individuals alike: How can we help forge a gender equal world?
How do we celebrate women’s achievement? How can we raise awareness against bias and finally take action for equality in our personal spaces, the office, communities, religious institutions but to name a few areas of influence.

DID YOU KNOW THAT?

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on the front lines, have shown that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified.

GLOBAL PERCEPTION OF THE FEMALE GENDER

In a world ruled by men, women are often times seen and treated as second class citizens or in most countries, they are not given the deserved credit for their work compared to their male counterparts but regardless of these inequalities, we still find a lot of prestigious women raising the standard. On this platform we believe that this rhetoric is changing and we can propel it further through the celebration of outstanding women leaders whose actions are breaking down negative perceptions around women, who they are, what they can do and how they should do it.

SOME OUTSTANDING WOMEN

Most times it’s been reported that women leaders are more transformational. It’s so easy for them to function as role models through their natural instinct to ‘mother/ direct’ and bring others along. They inspire their teams and spend a lot of time coaching them. We have come to understand these truths by studying a few exceptional women. These women leaders emphasize teamwork and authentic communication as a key to success. If you observe closely you will find that this is a common trend for most female leaders.

One of such amazing women is our very own : Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo Iweala

An economist, a former minister of finance to Nigeria, former minister of foreign affairs amongst many positions held through hard work and dedication and currently to cap it all, she has attained an honorable position at the world trade organization as the director general. Our very own Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo Iweala who resumes today, 1st of March 2021 has become a beacon of hope for other women around the world today and set a pace where the girl child can emulate and adopt to attain an enviable position in the real world. One thing that we particularly love about this woman is that her efforts that has contributed to positive media for Africans in the midst of the negative news all over the world about the black race especially of people in Africa, especially Nigerians . She has shown that in the midst of all the negativity, Africa as a continent produces people of integrity.

Here are some of our favorite quotes from  Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala below that speaks about the importance of women.

• “Women account for about 70% of Africa’s food production and manage a large proportion of small enterprises. They are also increasingly represented in legislative and executive leadership positions.”

• “I can take hardship. I can sleep on the cold floor anytime. I can also sleep on a feather bed.”

Another phenomenal woman that we have grown to love and admire  is Connie Chan, Chief Executive Officer of Nippecraft Limited. In an interview with Connie Chan whom is the CEO of an SGX-listed company, she was asked,

What are the main challenges that the next generation of female leaders need to be cognizant of?

“I think it is the pressure to conform. Many people are not used to having women in senior roles, and they have a lot of opinions on who you are, who you should be, how you should behave, if you are too aggressive, things like that. And these opinions could come from the family, colleagues or even well-meaning managers. So I think the main challenge is how to navigate that. The way I went through this myself was to listen, learn to adapt and do things your own way, because you may not have too many exact role models out there. So listen with an open mind, but understand people have biases of their own.”

COVID -19 BRINGING ON NEW CHALLENGES 

The global pandemic has been a troubling one. It alone was and still is responsible for recorded and unrecorded deaths, families being divided, it’s affected countries by causing the most staggering economies ever recorded in a year, a lot of employees have been laid off work, businesses are shutting down and huge financial losses. It’s quite interesting that through these phases of adversity, some people choose to keep going and they have thrived, both men and women. 

Let’s talk about how it has affected women leadership, throughout the world, women are at the forefront of institutions contributing to effective and inclusive COVID-19 responses, from the highest levels of decision-making to frontline service delivery.

At the same time, there are pre-existing and new constraints to women’s participation and leadership which has equally been met. Advocates  are pushing for measures to facilitate women’s influence over decision-making processes, making recommendations to be considered by national, regional and international policymakers all over the world. So regardless of the challenges that comes with the pandemic, we can proudly report that dedicated female leaders are consistently looking for innovative ways to rise above.

In the past, leaders are those who possesses strong physical qualities and obviously men were physically stronger and went on to lead. Those stereotypes are now been challenged! In the present world we #ChooseToChallenge bias, our leaders will emerge on the basis of their creativity, intellect and ability to make impact. Women will continue to develop themselves and make contributions. Slowly but surely equality in leadership will be natural and spontaneous across gender  and regardless of the obstacles.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day today, How do you choose to challenge yourself and others?