Challenging women’s under-representation in governance & leadership in Nigeria
Without mincing words, women worldwide are redefining what leadership and excellence mean, and this is gradually being felt across different sectors, from administration to education, health, entrepreneurship, and even engineering at both local and international levels.
Women are invariably evolving and resilient in reaching landmarks across an array of human activities. The world is not oblivious to the advent of women leaders such as Ngozi Okojo Iweala, Amina Muhammad, Hillary Clinton among others.
As leadership is not gender-specific, the qualities cultivated or developed by people in leadership positions make them great leaders who can either be males or females.
However, women’s marginalisation in political leadership has been a significant setback on Nigerian political development, as women are a strong pillar for grassroots politics and development. It is time for the nation to acknowledge the benefits of having women in leadership positions while also being committed to placing more women in power, as women are potent development agents.
Also, the growing advantages of gender parity and diversity in leadership are being recognised across all realms. Despite this development, women are still highly underrepresented in political leadership.
In a recent report, Gender Inclusion in Nigeria has noted that women leadership is for women empowerment and strategic importance due to its volume and benefits. In the same vein, the National Democratic Institute of Nigeria stated that “every country deserves to have the best possible leader, which means that women have to be given a chance to compete. If they are never given a chance to compete in the electoral process, then countries are really robbing themselves of a great deal of talent”.
Therefore, having women as political leaders and decision-makers across all levels of governance is vital to accelerating gender equality, justice and promoting economic, social and political development for the benefit of all.
With a considerable representation of women in leadership positions such as executive bodies including local government, legislatures other public offices, lawmaking and decision making are more likely to become inclusive and considerate of diverse views.
We choose to challenge women’s under-representation & relegation in governance and leadership positions.
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#InternationalWomensDay
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