INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
The 2021 Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) Annual Leadership and Mentoring Conference was successfully held from the 23rd through to the 27th of November 2021. The theme for the conference “PLAYING BIG; TIME TO TAKE OUR PLACE’’ was explored virtually and physically and showcased 3 events over 4 days with over 1600 (One Thousand Six Hundred) delegates in attendance at the various events from across Nigeria, the Continent, and the diaspora. It was truly a global event with insightful and engaging conversations with several calls to action. Conference delegates were drawn from the Corporate World, Enterprise, Government, Development, and the Civil Society Sectors.
VIRTUAL YOUTH PANEL
The first event in our lineup of events was the Virtual Youth Panel which took place on Tuesday the 23rd November 2021. Under the umbrella theme for the 2021 conference “Playing Big; Time to Take our Place” we had 9 phenomenal speakers explore two sub-themes viz “Playing Big; She Did That” and “Taking our Place”.
The first panel “Playing Big; She Did That” had young leaders pushing the boundaries of the entrepreneurial landscape through technological innovations. Our speaker line up included; Temie Giwa-Tubosun (Founder & CEO, Life Bank), Onajite Emerhor (Head, Google for Startups Accelerator Africa), Folake Owodunni (Co-Founder, Emergency Response Africa & WISCAR Alumni) and Melissa Basque Roux the Principal Officer AFAWA/African Development Bank who moderated the conversation. This discussion generated useful information such as the significant role of networks, community, and mentorship in actualizing our aspirations, they also spoke on the importance of playing bold and thriving, side by side facing challenges head-on while climbing the career ladder.
The second panel explored the sub-theme “Taking our Place” and the panelists were; Kemi Onabanjo-Joseph (Associate Partner, Mckinsey & Company), Samson Itodo (Executive Director, Yiaga Africa), Abosede Alimi (Co-Founder ElectHer), and Blessing Ocheido (Director General, Platinum Interventions Care Initiative & WISCAR Alumni). Femi Taiwo the Executive Director LEAP Africa moderated the conversation. The conversations from this panel bordered on actionable and practical steps to ensure women and people with disabilities are included and engaged in decisions that affect us and our society. They spoke on the importance of true integration and inclusion of people with disabilities through representation of women and people with disabilities in every step of the political process.
We also had goodwill messages from industry leaders and experts including Comfort Lamptey the UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Adeoye Fadeyibi the MD/CEO of EKEDC and Ayisha Osori the Director, Executive Vice President’s Office, Open Society Foundations who also provided us with recommendations for Playing Bold and Big.
Key Learnings from both sessions.
- Be intentional about mentorship and self-development.
- Build a community and network of like-minded people that hold you accountable to your goals.
- Always be prepared to seize opportunities.
- Individuals, Private Organizations and the government should take deliberate actions towards actualizing an inclusive society that provides women, people with disabilities and all marginalized persons with equal opportunities.
- Everyone should be conscious and interested in political happenings in their environment and society.
- Be politically franchised by participating in political activities and actively voting.
ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS “MEET-A-WISCAR”
The second event in the 2021 Annual Leadership & Mentoring Conference was the Virtual Roundtable Mentoring session which took place from the 24th to 26th of November 2021. This event had 9 mentoring sessions with 9 accomplished exceptional women who shared their career trajectory and journey with participants.
The Mentors for this event were; Dr. Omobola Johnson (Chairman of Guinness Nigeria), F. Boma Ayomide Alabi OON SAN (Founding partner, Primera Africa Legal), Maryam Uwais MFR (Special Advisor to the President on Social Investments), Funke Opeke (CEO of MaineOne), Funke Amobi (Regional Head, People and Culture for West Africa in Africa-regions Standard Bank Group), Titilayo Akisanya (Founder/CEO Theta Alpha Consult Ltd), Eugenia Abu (Ace Broadcaster & Journalist/CEO Eugenia Abu Media), Omasan Ogisi, (GM Corporate Affairs MTN Nigeria), and Amina Oyagbola, (Founder & Chairperson WISCAR).
Key Learnings from the Sessions.
- Be intentional about learning and growing as knowledge is power and a vital key to success.
- Be a master of your craft and let your expertise be recognized by being deliberate about visibility.
- Be available to bring about solutions when there is a gap,
- Be a woman with sterling character and values; conduct yourself with the utmost respect. Be confident and comfortable in your own skin and dress for success!
- Ensure you make impact wherever you find yourself, give back to your society as much as you can and be part of the positive change.
- Invest in building and maintaining relationships, your network is your net worth.
- If your job does not scare you then it is not big enough, therefore step up to new challenges and be resilient.
- Be your best self, do the best work, and give the best results.
GRAND FINALE
The final event of the conference was held both physically and virtually on the 27th of November 2021. Venue of the physical convening was the Shell Hall, Muson Center Onikan Lagos, Nigeria. It was anchored by Tokunboh George-Taylor, Managing Director Hill+Knowlton Strategies and Unekwu Nwaezeapu, a Marketing Communications professional and WISCAR Alumni. Our event hosts set the scene for the day and made everyone welcome. The event was declared opened with special rendition of the Nigerian National Anthem by Opera Singer Ranti Ihimoyan.
We were indeed privileged to have distinguished personalities honor us with their presence to provide goodwill messages as follows;
GOODWILL MESSAGES
Professor Yemi Osinbajo GCON- Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
His Excellency was represented by the Honorable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen OFR. In his goodwill message, the Vice President commended WISCAR for their work on women empowerment, he acknowledged the He-for-She’s present at the conference and encouraged all Nigerian men to support the cause of gender empowerment. He further stated that one of the deliverables expected from the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs was to advocate for male allies for the cause of gender parity, equity and empowerment in all the states of the Federation. This ongoing advocacy has resulted in remarkable progress being made for women and girls at the Federal and State levels. His Excellency the Vice-President emphasized the importance of the fight against all forms of gender-based violence against women. He expatiated on adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as a having exposed the menace of gender-based violence In Nigeria and indeed globally. It was noted for instance that statistics from a recent study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) supported by the Norwegian Government shared that 28% of Nigerian Women between the ages of 25-29years have experienced some form of physical violence since the age of 15.
Speaking on the conference theme His Excellency expressed that “Playing Big” requires that women play strategic roles in national development. He further expressed that not only should every woman and girl be safe in their respective homes, community and place of work, they must all be given the opportunities and tools to enable them to become socially, financially and economically empowered. His Excellency commended women in the financial sector for breaking the glass ceiling and enjoined them to explore strategies to develop new interventions to include gender responsive budgeting, assess the gender responsiveness of key fiscal interventions including the fiscal stimulus packages with specific commitments aimed at improving the safety, and economical livelihood of women and girls.
Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria.
In his goodwill message, the Honourable Minister remarked on the great timing of conference considering the status of gender inequality especially post the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that women in our African societies are still not as empowered as they should be, and noted that the education and mentorship of women would provide a space where women can discuss and explore their aspirations as well as be encouraged to not only aspire but also get into leadership positions. He noted that this could be achieved by supporting women with skills acquisition, confidence and networks. He concluded his remarks by stating that preparing women through mentorship programmes was of significant importance in the acceleration of gender equality and gender empowerment and for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5.
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa– Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM).
In her goodwill message, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa congratulated WISCAR for her continuous dedication to women’s empowerment. She stated that a nation that does not utilize the skills of women will remain underdeveloped and Nigeria as a country needs to do better with issues of gender inclusion. Referencing the conference theme, she encouraged all women to follow their passion, aim big and dare to venture beyond their comfort zone, despite challenges that may arise. She also emphasized on the importance of mentorship in career success and its role in building the Nigeria of our dreams. She concluded her remarks charging the delegates that we are all agents of change and that by working together we can build the Nigeria of our dreams.
Comfort Lamptey- UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS.
In her goodwill message, Madam Comfort Lamptey commended WISCAR for its commitment and diligence in completing its 2021 mentorship program and expressed on behalf of UN Women its pride in collaborating with WISCAR over the past year. She articulated the undisputable impact of women’s leadership in stirring the cause of the COVID-19 recovery globally. She also noted the capacity of Nigerian Women to lead in the highest offices, evident in the fact that they are at the helm of international organizations such as the United Nations, the WTO and in several private institutions. She stated that given these capabilities the low representation of Nigerian women in political leadership was rather unfortunate. She stated that women made up only 3.8 % of those in elective offices across states and only 16% of appointed positions at the national level. She therefore called for more female voices in the political space advocating for the rights and opportunities of women. She also spoke on the role of mentorship in ensuring women continue to have a seat at the table where decisions on the national agenda are being made. She encouraged everyone to advocate for the passage of the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill and leverage male allies to accomplish that. She concluded her goodwill message with words of encouragement to all young women to continue to see themselves as nation builders and to use their skills, talent and determination to build a more resilient and inclusive Nigeria.
THE FOUNDER’S SPEECH
The Founder/Chairperson of WISCAR, Amina Oyagbola formally welcomed participants to the event and expressed her joy for an opportunity for a physical gathering and her gratitude to everyone virtually and physically present. In line with the conference theme: “PLAYING BIG; TIME TO TAKE OUR PLACE” she highlighted the importance of women’s leadership in the face of COVID-19 and the rise of more women to leadership positions in all sectors and particularly celebrated the banking sector in Nigeria. She stated that the percentage of women on boards in Nigeria as at August 2020 stood at 20%, well above the world average of 17%, the African average of 14% and West African average of 11%. Further speaking on female leadership in the Nigerian Banking sector she spoke of the paradigm shift in the sector where we witnessed between the years 2020 and 2021 an increase in the number of women at the top of institutional leadership with currently eight women serving as Chief Executive Officers /Managing Directors (MDs) of leading banks. This she explained was a direct outcome of gender progressive policies in play and what can happen when effectively utilised.
In her remarks, she noted that on the flip-side of what was happening in the banking sector was the discouraging situation of women’s participation and representation in politics and governance as the 2019 elections witnessed the return of only a few women to political positions in Nigeria. She noted that currently only 7 out of 109 Senators and 22 of the 360 House of Representatives members are women. She called for a change in the upcoming 2023 elections and encouraged delegates present to participate by getting their PVC’s and voting for or supporting female candidates.
Further speaking on the 2021 Conference theme, she expressed that it was vital to showcase and celebrate women exemplars and role models who not only inspire by their actions but who also pay it forward by lifting other women up through mentorship and sponsorship. She also shared that this years’ conference was aimed at showcasing leading women driving transformational change by Playing Big in their various fields, from social innovation to entrepreneurship, to the corporate world and politics.
She went on to recognize the 12th stream of mentees graduating from the 12-month WIN I & II programme and spoke on the work that WISCAR had undertaken in the course of the year in the areas of advocacy, program development as well as strategic collaborations and partnerships with organizations like UN Women, FCMB and Alluvial Agriculture. Expanding on the strategic collaboration with UN Women Nigeria she shared that WISCAR was appointed Private Sector Liaison to UN Women Nigeria to strengthen private sector support and participation towards the acceleration of several UN Women, Gender Equality, and Gender Empowerment (GEWE) initiatives.
She thanked all the resource persons and Mentors who had contributed to the successful execution of the various programmes in the course of the year and the WISCAR Secretariat for superb delivery. She celebrated all the esteemed Advisory Board Members and the leadership of the Chairs of WISCAR’s sub-committees. She expressed gratitude to all the speakers and panelists who had very graciously accepted WISCAR’s invitation to inspire and empower others by participating in the event. She specially acknowledged the keynote speaker, Bola Adesola gracing the occasion with her esteemed presence. She expressed her sincere appreciation to all the 2021 Donors and Sponsors for their generous financial and in-kind support in an exceedingly difficult year, and all donors who have supported WISCAR in the past.
KEY-NOTE PANEL SESSION
The event had one plenary session with the theme “Women Playing Big”. The distinguished Panelists were; Kafilat Araoye – MD/CEO Lotus Bank, Fola Laoye – Co-Founder and CEO Iwosan Investments Limited, Owen Omogiafo – President & Group CEO, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria PlC, Lara Lana – Managing Director, Maersk Nigeria. Kayode Okikiolu, Anchor & Reporter at Channels Television, moderated the discussion.
Key Learnings from the plenary session
- It is essential to utilize mentorship to build a support structure to take you to the next level. Mentorship is not a one- way street, you can be mentored in a structured programme, or seek mentoring by watching what steps women you admire take.
- No woman is an island, your network and communities play an important role in your growth, they also provide you with accountability for your plans and aspirations.
- Always be your authentic self, be deliberate and have some stealth.
- Preparedness for opportunities is a key success factor we must all build.
- Stand out from the crowd by doing your best work at all times.
- Go beyond what you are being told to do as people build confidence in you when their familiar with your capabilities.
- Step out of your comfort zone to challenge yourself and strive for the best.
- Your character is fundamental to your growth, respect others and treat people kindly.
- Utilize all bad experiences as a platform to make change, improve and learn from those experiences.
- Build a reputation of competence, capability, principles and values
- Private and public organizations should provide practical policies and supporting infrastructure for the growth and the acceleration of women’s careers.
- Organizations should not be afraid of affirmative action and providing more women a seat at the table.
- Be intentional about acquiring knowledge and self-development.
- As your confidence grows so does your capacity, be confident of your skills and the value you bring.
- Organizations should prioritize the mental health of their staff by putting in place policies that care for it.
- Be a Visionary and be deliberate towards achieving your goals.
In closing the panelists were asked their definition of a Woman Playing Big and their answers were;
- Lara Lana: A woman will play big if she is authentic, and dares to be the first-rate version of herself. Know who you are and be like water as water can be cold, it can be hot, it can be steamy and it can be a rain shower in other words know when to be dynamic but stay authentic.
- Kafilat Araoye: A woman will play big if she if is a visionary, if she is deliberate in her actions towards achieving her goals. She will play big if she is audacious, determined and demands to have a seat at the table.
- Fola Laoye: A woman will play big if she performs, and ensures that in any task little or big, given or chosen she does it well and she gets results.
- Owen Omogiafo: No woman is an Island; a woman will play big where she ensures she is intentional about creating the right network and support structure specifically to assist her in taking her career to the next level.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
The highlight of the Conference was the Keynote speech and Fireside chat with Financial Industry leader, Gender Empowerment and parity advocate, Financial Inclusion Advocate, and the Chairperson of Ecobank, Bola Adesola.
In her keynote speech, she commended WISCAR for the remarkable work they have done for the past 12 years geared at developing women to build a better nation. She stated that the theme of the conference Playing Big; Time to Take our Place is indeed what WISCAR has been doing within the community of women-oriented NGOs, as it very early on in its inception established its purpose and set about executing this purpose through focused programming around structured mentorship of women in careers and supporting them in advancing to leadership. Still speaking on the theme, she expressed her definition of Playing Big as;
- Taking your place of leadership in your chosen career or field of endeavour.
- It is about setting your sights on the apex of the success ladder in your journey through life.
- It is about determining earlier on what success should look like for you, not for anyone else
- It is about understanding the harsh operating environment yet being determined to navigate and traverse the terrain despite the hurdles and challenges along the way.
- It is about identifying the role and importance of your community in the attainment of your dreams.
- It is about embracing risks.
- It is about celebrating milestone achievements.
- It is about stepping into your purpose.
- And most importantly it is about PLAYING Big and STAYING Big!
She also shared a few key attributes that have been instrumental to her successful career journey, which has now termed “The Success P’s”. They are; Purpose, Planning, Preparation, People, Positioning, Perseverance, Performance & Productivity. She further spoke on electoral franchise and encouraged all women to register, and vote at elections as there are 100 million women in Nigeria meaning that women can move the dial towards good governance and firm leadership if we decide to. She called for more gender-oriented organizations to help African women build back better by providing more appropriate funding support and capacity for female-owned businesses, closing the gender gap by increasing diversity in hiring, promoting work-life balance and equal training opportunities for women. She encouraged women to support each other and pass the baton to other women and ended her call to action with an interesting quote “As women, we must first Think BIG to Play BIG, and then Stay BIG. We will create that place and no better time than now to Take It.”
Her Call to Action;
- We need more women to show interest in the public sector by running for political leadership positions.
- Women must register to vote and vote. We have the numbers to make change happen in the public sector.
- Leaders must establish protocols to create gender balance.
- We need more funding for female-owned businesses.
- We need more gender-oriented organizations like WISCAR to help women build back better from the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The private sector should work on closing the gender gap by increasing diversity in hiring, promoting work-life balance, and equal training opportunities for women.
- Women should support other women!
Following her keynote speech, she sat in an intimate fireside conversation with the Founder and Chairperson of WISCAR Amina Oyagbola where she shared more intimately with the audience her life and career journey.
PRESENTATION OF THE DISTINGUISHED WISCAR AWARD
Following an insightful and inspirational session, the 2021 Distinguished WISCAR Award was presented to Mrs. Bola Adesola in recognition of her outstanding career as an innovative and visionary leader, her advocacy and work for women empowerment, sustainable development and growth of Nigeria and Africa. The conferment of the award was preceded by a specially curated citation of Mrs. Adesola’s distinguished career and achievements.
In her response Mrs. Adesola expressed her honour at being conferred with the award and joining the great company of the previous distinguished recipients. She thanked the Board and Management of WISCAR for the esteemed conferment.
MENTEE TESTIMONIAL
The next segment of this rich programme was a live testimony from Dolapo Agbede, WISCAR Mentee from the WIN III programme. Dolapo a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant and inclusion advocate, living with a Visual impairment spoke of her transformational experience being a part of the WISCAR mentoring programme. She described WISCAR as a safe space where women can prepare for the next step of their careers. She testified that she and other mentees in her cohort experienced authentic mentorship with women who are committed, experienced and successful to ensure that they too achieve their set goals, take their place and play big.
BOOK LAUNCH – THE SHEROES OF BEIJING
At the conference, the much-awaited commemorative book, ‘The Sheroes of Beijing; Telling the Nigeria Stories 25 years after the World Conference on Women’ was launched. On the stage to unveil the book were Dame Pauline Tallen OFR the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Comfort Lamptey the UN Women Country Representative of Nigeria and ECOWAS, and Members of the Advisory Board of WISCAR. Madam Comfort Lamptey commended the work of the WISCAR Founder Amina Oyagbola and the Executive Director Fabia Ogunmekan for their commitment to leadership and mentorship of women and their contributions to the curation and publication of the book.
She detailed that 2020 marked 25 years since the 1999 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. The book shares the stories in an interview-style format of twenty (20) phenomenal women who participated in this conference, and also served as mentors in the pioneering Beijing +25 Intergenerational Mentoring Programme executed by UN Women Nigeria and WISCAR. She thanked all the distinguished women that contributed to the stories in the book and WISCAR for their hard work. She also thanked the European Union through the EU – UN Spotlight Initiative for their support.
CONCLUSION AND APPRECIATION
The Conference concluded with the graduation of WISCAR’s 12th stream of Mentees for the year 2021, from the WIN 1 & 2 Programme. 35 mentees received Certificates of Completion.
Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, WISCAR Advisory Board Member and Chair of the 2021 Conference Planning Committee, and Fabia Ogunmekan WISCAR’s Executive Director gave the vote of thanks with special appreciation to Distinguished Keynote Speaker Bola Adesola, the keynote panelists, and all our speakers. They thanked all WISCAR’s sponsors, donors, and participants for making the 2021 WISCAR Annual Leadership and Mentoring Conference a memorable and glittering success.
Our 2021 sponsor line up was made up of the following organizations;
First Bank, Bank of Industry, Access Bank, MTN Nigeria, Sterling Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Maersk, IHS, Ernst & Young, FSDH, FCMB, Lotus Bank, MainOne, FBN Quest, UBA, Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Ecobank, Nigerian LNG Ltd, United Nations Women Nigeria, AKMS Consulting Ltd, DKK Media, Hill+Knowlton, Eko Atlantic, Oyagbola Chambers, Wild Fusion, Emergency Response Africa, Wema Bank Alat, Media Sponsors, Africa Business Radio, Channels TV, Business Day & DBN Media.
ADVOCACY & POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE
These recommendations will guide and form the bedrock of WISCAR’s Advocacy work in 2022. We ask that you join us in supporting and lending your voice and resources to this agenda as we continue to work together to execute our mission of developing women to build a better nation.
- Pass the Gender Equal Opportunities Bill
WISCAR advocates for the passage of the Gender Equal Opportunity Bill as this will bring us closer to achieving true and holistic gender equality and equity in Nigeria.
- Increased Private Sector Participation in Gender Equality and Empowerment Initiatives.
As private sector liaison to UN Women Nigeria, WISCAR calls for private sector organizations to support women’s empowerment by signing up to the United Nations Women’s Empowerment principles and other Gender Equality and Gender Empowerment (GEWE) driven initiatives around eradicating Gender based Violence in the work place and in our communities and ensuring more Gender responsive budgeting and procurement.
- Support Adequate political representation of women
WISCAR advocates for fair representation of women in politics in Nigeria. It in this regard that we call for support for the passage of the Bill for the Amendment of the Constitution to secure 111 Additional Seats for Women in the legislative houses. In Nigeria only 21 out of 469 seats are currently occupied by women at the National Assembly and 45 out of 990 seats in the States Houses of Assembly. It is our hope that the passage of the Bill for additional seats and other gender bills including the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill will aid inclusion in political representation and National Development.
- Inclusion of people with disability
WISCAR believes that there is no true inclusion without adequate care and concern for people with disabilities. WISCAR thus calls for all individuals, public organizations and private organizations to ensure that they mainstream people living with disabilities by providing opportunities within workplaces and the enabling environment to thrive without discrimination.
- Promote Total Wellbeing of Employees
WISCAR advocates that it is the responsibility of employers both in the private and in public sector to prioritize the physical, emotional and mental wellbeing of their employers and create an enabling environment for their positive growth.
Signed
Amina Oyagbola Fabia Ogunmekan
Founder/Chairperson Executive Director
