Women Opting Out Of Leadership Roles Because Of Family Commitments—Finance Minister

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said that many women are currently finding it difficult to take up leadership roles in Nigeria because of important home commitments.

She said this on Wednesday in Abuja at the All Progressives Congress National Women Conference with the theme, “One voice: Women uniting for progress.”

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In her paper titled, “Fiscal policies and interventions for women’s economic empowerment: A key driver for sustainable and inclusive development in Nigeria,” the finance minister said that based on global research, many women remain economically disempowered despite their contributions to the economy.

Specifically, the finance minister stated that women between the ages of 25 and 34 are vulnerable to poverty, and are more likely to be affected by poor service delivery and instability.

Quoting statistics from the World Economic Forum’s 2021 Global Gender Gap Report, Ahmed explained that it will now take approximately 135.6 years to close the global gender gap as compared to the 108 years it would have taken in 2018.

The economic participation and opportunity gender gap, according to her, will need 267.6 years to close, while the gender gap in political empowerment will need about 145.5 years to close.

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Ahmed noted that while significant progress has been made in addressing gender equity issues both globally and domestically, and across different subject matter areas, there is still more work to be done.

She said, “Here in Nigeria, the factors inhibiting women’s economic empowerment mirror what is happening on the global scene. Women face challenges when it comes to accessing resources, including financial services, property, and other assets.

“Additionally, women are less likely to receive critical education, skills and training opportunities. These challenges are compounded by issues of work-life balance, with many women opting out of leadership tracks due to important home commitments and inadequate support at work.

“These challenges are amplified by several underlying factors, including an inadequate policies and regulatory frameworks aimed at identifying and protecting the rights of women, and ensuring equal representation and access across various sectors; and socio-economic norms and cultural factors.”

Ahmed explained further that Nigeria, like most countries, is experiencing a new economic and social reality as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

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She added that time has come to heed the call to action for the development and implementation of government policies and initiatives aimed at promoting women’s participation and economic empowerment.

She stated, “Stakeholders across the private sector and civil society must work together with government to ensure that we move towards our goal of improving women’s participation and empowerment, and in turn achieving inclusive and sustainable development.

“If we are to have a stronger and more inclusive economy, it is crucial that we take a long term and strategic approach to ensuring that women are economically empowered.

“We must continue working towards the development and implementation of policies, regulatory frameworks, and programmes that are inclusive and gender-sensitive; and we must remove the socio-economic and cultural barriers that prevent women from participating fully in society and from reaping the economic benefits of their participation.”

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