NSE COMMEMORATES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

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THE FULL TEXT OF OPENING REMARKS AT THE 2019 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY SYMPOSIUM ON FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 AT THE STOCK EXCHANGE HOUSE, MARINA – LAGOS

By Oscar N. Onyema, OON L – R shows Kemi Dasilva- Ibru, Founder, Women at Risk International Foundation; Erelu Angela Adebayo, former First Lady of Ekiti State and National Council Member, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Tinuade Awe, Executive Director, Regulation, NSE; Eme Essien, Country Director, International Finance Corporation (IFC); Lansana Wonneh, Deputy Country Representative, United Nation Women during the Closing Gong Ceremony in commemoration of the International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration at The NSE today in Lagos.

Council Members of The Exchange, distinguished and eminent women, gentlemen, friends and colleagues, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the 2019 edition of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) International Women’s Day symposium, themed “Balance for Better”. Let me say a big thank you to our keynote speaker, panel discussants and all of you present here, for making out time to celebrate with us today despite your busy schedule.

 

At The Exchange, International Women’s Day is an important day in our calendar. It is a day we pause to recognize women and girls’ achievements, take stock of the progress made in achieving Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and discuss how we can accelerate gender parity.

 

Globally, women continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and political achievements, and we recognise that achieving gender equality and women’s rights is a moral obligation and a development imperative.

 

A growing body of evidence, including academic, policy, and private sector research, shows that empowering women, realising rights, and reducing gender gaps, is associated with higher economic growth, higher productivity and return on investments, and better organizational effectiveness. Unleashing the full potential of women and girls by empowering them to be equal members of society has a multiplier effect on families, businesses, communities, and nations.

 

As a member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSEI), The Exchange takes issues of gender equality and balance very seriously and it is playing its part to accelerate the achievement of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 5 which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030.

In 2016, I signed the NSE’s commitment to the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs), reinforcing our support for gender equality globally. The WEPs are a set of seven (7) principles that offer guidance to businesses on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community and advance SDG 5 and other gender-specific targets across the SDGs.

 

NSE’s gender-focused initiatives are all in line with the WEPs. For Principle 1 which concerns establishing high-level corporate leadership for gender equality, we have improved the representation of women on our Council by 27%.

Women representation on Executive Management committee is at 20%. Women constitute 17.3% for senior management positions. The Exchange has a ratio of 1:2 for female to male employees.

 

On Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination,

NSE has implemented policies that promote fair opportunities for women, equal pay irrespective of gender and equal career opportunities.

Additionally, NSE provides 4 months of maternity leave, which is 1 month above industry average. The Exchange has also introduced a 1 week paternity leave for male employees so that they can take time off work to support mother and child.

Moreover, NSE has a crèche where employees can bring their kids from birth till they are 18 months old.

 

Although the Global Gender Gap Report 2018 by the World Economic Forum showssome evidence of progress amongst the 149 countries that were indexed, the progress to close the gender gap is slow, as it will take 108 years to close the gender gap and 202 years to achieve parity in the workforce. To me, these timelines are not encouraging, especially when you recognize that it will take incredible scientific advancements in age longevity for any of us in this room and quite possibly our children to be around when the gender gap becomes a thing of history, based on current trajectories.

 

Today marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity by taking groundbreaking actions that truly drive the greatest change for women. The global theme for this year’s International Women’s Day therefore provides an opportunity to declare how we will balance our workplace and community for better. We need more urgency, more action to deliver faster results.

The way to do that is not to want someone else to act. We need to redouble our efforts and commit as individuals as well as a community to living gender equity. One way we can do this is by forcing ourselves to undertake an audit every time we do something.  Not an audit on things we have done, but an audit about the thing we are going to do accelerate women’s empowerment.

 

To build a sustainable future, people of all genders must be included in solutions and decision-making for improved, economic, social, and environmental well-being. It is critical that we continue to engage everyone actively in the fight against gender-based discrimination and violence. We have an opportunity to secure a better future and raise a new generation of women who will be key drivers of global development across industries as we set our sight on the fourth industrial revolution.

 

The NSE can play a crucial role to impress on our ecosystem, the business and investment community in Nigeria, the urgency of achieving gender parity. We can utilize every opportunity such as presented by this event to do some introspection and document useful suggestions on how to harness the innate capabilities of women by allowing them to flourish like their male counterparts.

 

In the course of this event, we will listen to a panel discussion of individuals from various spheres of social and economic activity, who have succeeded in their chosen professions. They will share their unique journeys with us while engaging in a focused deliberation that will further increase knowledge and awareness on innovative ways in which we can advance gender equality and the empowerment of women.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I will not leave you to productive deliberation, without emphasising that all of us in this room have the power to unleash gender equality, by ensuring that humanity contributes to the consolidation of prosperity, sustainability and peace for all. Thank you for your kind attention and happy International Women’s Day.

Oscar N. Onyema, OON Chief Executive Officer

 

 


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