The Nigerian Exchange Group of Companies and its partners, the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, United Nations (UN) Women, United Nations Global Compact and International Finance Corporation (IFC) have called on private and public sector stakeholders to close the gender gap by creating more opportunities for women to thrive.
This deliberation was made at the 2023 International Women’s
Day symposium themed ‘Embrace Equity: Setting the Standard for a Sustainable
Future’ which held on Wednesday, 8 March 2023.
The event brought together stakeholders across sectors to
chart the cause for driving sustainable outcomes for women and men to thrive.
In his welcome remarks, the Group Chief Executive Officer,
Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group), Mr Oscar N. Onyema, noted that the Group
is committed to prioritizing equity, diversity and inclusion in its workplace.
“Gender equity is an ongoing journey that requires sustained
efforts and commitment from all of us. We must commit to continuing to push the
boundaries of what is possible, embrace new ideas to challenge ourselves and
each other for a more equitable and sustainable future.”
The CEO, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Temo Popoola,
spoke about the Exchange’s strides in promoting diversity and inclusion in the
capital market.
Citing the progress made on NGX’s collaboration with IFC on
the Nigeria2Equal Initiative, he added: “With Nigeria2Equal, we have been able
to galvanize private sector action to close the gender gap, the most recent
programme of which is the launch of the Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in
Workplaces research.”
The fireside talk on gender diversity and inclusion in the
boardroom between the Chief Executive Officer, NGX Regulation Limited, Ms
Tinuade Awe, and Co-chair, Women Executives on Boards, Mrs Rosie Bichard, was
another highlight of the day as the discussions underlined that culture
transformation remained crucial to address inclusion on the board, despite the
need to introduce younger women to the board, as well as complete transparency
with proven metrics in relation to the corporate governance structure.
Other highlights of the event was a goodwill message from
Mrs. Catherine Echeozo, Chairperson, NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo); Ms.
Naomi Nwokolo, Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact Network
Nigeria; Ms Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and
ECOWAS; Mrs. Ojinika Olaghere, Board Member, NGX Group Plc and a keynote
address by Ms Dahlia Khalifa, Regional Director, International Finance
Corporation, (IFC) themed Promoting Equity for Women and Men for a Sustainable
World.
The symposium also featured a panel session to discuss ways
to create safe spaces for women to thrive, which was moderated by Dr. Kemi
Dasilva-Ibru, Founder, Women at Risk Foundation (WARIF) and featured
discussions from Adesuwa Rhodes, CEO Aruwa Capital Management; Kate Henshaw,
actress and entrepreneur; Dr Dipo Awojide, Founder, BTDT HUB; Nkechi Anyagwa,
Lady Wheelers Association and Chidinma Chukwueke-Okolo, Head, Product Development,
NGX.
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