By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed has commended the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) for being in the vanguard of creating sensitization advocacy for women’s right and advancement.
Speaking at the 4th DBN International Women’s Day Celebration in Abuja on Wednesday, the minister noted that this is instructive because part of the Bank’s mandate is to ensure financial inclusion especially for women through access to credit and development of small businesses for our women.
She pointed out that As the theme of this year’s celebration suggests “DigitAll: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality #EmbraceEquity”, “digital divide has far reaching consequences for women’s economic, social and political empowerment”.
Mrs Ahmed said, “Without access to technology, women cannot make the desired progress in our country. In this respect, we must seek for innovative solution that can facilitate how to leverage technology to close the gender gap and empower women to have access to health care information, financial services, education and governance commitment of this government to issues of women development and empowerment has remained legendary and commendable”.
Stressing the commitment of the Federal government to gender development, the Minister recalled that the President recently inaugurated the High Level Advisory Council on Women and National Women Economic Empowerment Policy Dialogue, whose major objective is to bridge the gender gap in our politic.
According to her, “these council and policy initiatives are meant to broaden the social, political and economic landscape for women development and is expected to work with other critical stakeholders towards achieving sustainable development goal of gender equality between now and 2030”.
“This and other policies and programmes of government, are indeed a testament of the unwavering commitment of government to dramatically change the narratives of women backwardness and bring them to reckoning in every facet of governance and leadership in the country”.
She also commended President Muhammadu Buhari “because more than any other administration, Mr. President has placed high premium on promoting women’s inclusiveness in national development as demonstrated in the appointment of women into key portfolios in this administration”.
The Minister added, “It is worthy to mention that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Minister of Women Affairs, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Minister of State for Environment, Minister of State for Transport, Minister of State for FCT, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and other strategic government agencies and parastatals, are all positions where women are holding sway and performing excellently in terms of providing quality services for the citizens and making progress for the country”.
In his opening remarks, the Managing Director of DBN, Dr Tony Okpanachi noted that the International Women’s Day as a global event recognizes and celebrates women who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education.
He pointed out that technology “is no doubt reshaping life as we know it today and we are witnessing ground-breaking advances that have transformed our world with women playing a pivotal role in accelerating this progress”.
Listing prominent women who have excelled in the field of technology, and impacted on quality of life, Okpanachi said
“notwithstanding, these tremendous advances by women in technology, there is still a significant employment discrepancy in the tech profession, with women accounting for between 28% and 42% of the workforce”
The Managing Director who quoted a World Bank report disclosed women make up less than a third of the world’s workforce in technology-related fields.
“Women hold 28% of all jobs in computer and mathematical occupations, and 15.9% of jobs in engineering and architecture occupations. In Nigeria, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, women make up 22% of the total number of Engineering and Technology university graduates each year.
“Technology has the potential to improve the lives of women and girls all over the world in a variety of ways, including increased access to education, health care, and financial services, as well as new avenues into business and entrepreneurship, but to realize the full potential of the technology, we must also confront its perils, that is a separate conversation entirely which does not take away from the benefits of IT to humanity, he added.
According to him, “at DBN, we believe that innovation is key to driving gender equality. We recognize and celebrate the unique contributions that women bring to the technology space, and we are committed to creating a workplace where women can thrive and succeed. We have made great strides in advancing gender equality within our establishment.
“We have implemented programs to support the development and advancement of women in leadership, and we have also established partnerships with organizations that work to empower women and girls across the country. This gives expression to our mandate of alleviating the financing constraints faced by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria through the provision of financing and partial credit guarantees to eligible financial intermediaries on a market-conforming and fully financially sustainable basis.
“Our deliberate efforts towards gender-focused capacity building and financing speak positively to our commitment to the cause of engendering gender equality across every sphere of human endeavours”.
Minster of Women Affairs and Social Development, Dame Paline Talen was the Special Guest, while Mrs Clare Omatseye delivered the keynote address at the event which featured a stage play by Women’s Theatre Production Crew.
