Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), will join the rest of the world on Friday, March 8, 2019, to commemorate the International Women’s Day (IWD) by hosting a half-day symposium and ‘Ring the Bell’ for gender equality at the Exchange in Lagos. Themed “Balance for Better”, the event is targeted at galvanizing efforts in line with The Exchange’s objective to accelerate progress towards bridging gender parity.
This event, organized in partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC), UN Women, United Nation Global Compact (UNGC), World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative (SSEI), will bring together male and female thought leaders from emerging industries to take a more holistic look at gender balance and its reality to businesses.
The symposium will be headlined by Ms. Eme Essien, Country Director, International Finance Corporation (IFC) who will discuss opportunities for women in key industries and share insights on how technology can bridge the gender gap. It will also feature panel discussion by experts across different fields like Serah Makka-Ugbabe, Country Director, ONE Campaign; Olukemi Awodein, Managing Director, Chapel Hill Denham; Olusola Amusan, Philanthropies Lead, Microsoft Nigeria; Lady Sandra Aguebor, Founder, Lady Mechanic Initiative; Dr. Ola Brown, Managing Director, Flying Doctors Nigeria and Debola Williams, Founder, Red Media Africa.
Commenting on the planned celebration, Mr. Olumide Orojimi, Head, Corporate Communications, NSE, stated, “As a sustainable stock exchange, gender balance is at the heart of NSE’s Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility strategy; we are building a hub where employees have access to the same opportunities and are able to grow their career irrespective of their gender”.
“We promote a work environment that is inclusive as we believe that achieving gender equality is paramount to developing the society. We have a female to male employee ratio of 1:2 and we are making sure-footed steps to increase the number of women in our employment, especially those in leadership positions”, Orojimi added.
The NSE International Women’s Day Symposium provides an opportunity for participants, men and women alike, to partake in sharing stimulating stories of women’s achievements as well as inspire other women to live up to their true potential. It is also an avenue to showcase the NSE and its partners’ commitment to supporting the aspirations of women and girls as an essential component for building a more sustainable world.
This year’s event is supported by Nasdaq, House of Tara, Shuga Plum, Modara Natural Beauty Products, Coco Ribbon and Olori Cosmetics.