Gender advocates, policymakers, academics and private-sector leaders have issued a resounding call for deep structural reforms to advance women’s participation in leadership,
They made the call at the Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) Annual Leadership and Mentoring Conference, with the theme: “Claiming our future: Women in leadership and policy transformation.”
The high-level gathering, regarded as a flagship convening for women’s leadership and gender equity in Nigeria, highlighted the stark disparities that continue to hinder women’s progress despite their significant contributions to the economy and society.
Founder of Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), Dr. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru, lamented the “non-enabling, patriarchal environment” in which Nigerian women are expected to succeed, despite accounting for half of the economic value created in several sectors.
She said: “Women constitute only 33 per cent of the sector workforce, less than 10 per cent of elected political positions, and occupy only 16 per cent of senior leadership roles in Nigeria today. Yet we persevere.
“We demonstrate resilience, strength and excellence, even under fire. When you empower a woman, you empower a nation.”
WISCAR Founder, Amina Oyagbola, described Nigeria as standing at “a demographic, economic and political inflexion point” and stressed that gender equity must be treated as a core national priority, not a peripheral agenda.
She emphasised that closing gender gaps is not merely a justice issue but “a driver of national development,” pointing to global research showing that improving women’s economic participation could add up to $28 trillion to global GDP, and $316 billion to African economies by 2030.
Oyagbola noted that despite incremental progress, Nigeria still lags behind its African peers.
“Women occupy less than 10 per cent of elected offices, only 4.2 per cent of National Assembly seats, and Nigeria has never had a female governor, vice president or president. Other African countries, such as Namibia, Tanzania, Liberia, and Malawi, have shown what is possible,” she said.
UNILAG Vice Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola, reflecting on her journey to becoming a vice-chancellor, described a leadership landscape still marked by heavy male dominance.
“In over 300 vice-chancellor positions, fewer than 30 are women,” she said. “Across all fields, women, who form 50 per cent of the population, occupy less than a quarter of positions of power.
She argued that many of the most powerful barriers are internal. “Women are raised to avoid mistakes, to be perfect. This produces fear – fear of failure, fear of not being enough. We must unlearn these limitations to claim our future,” she said.
In a panel moderated by Maupe Ogun-Yusuf of Channels Television, leaders from the public and private sectors stressed the need to move “from policy to practice.”
Abosede George-Ogan, Executive Director of the Women in Leadership Advancement Network, emphasised the power of visibility and early socialisation.
“The roles we think men and women should play were taught to us. Changing narratives is critical to shifting those mindsets.”
CEO, Nigeria Governors’ Spouse Forum Secretariat, Hauwa Haliru-Hassan, argued that simply increasing women’s numbers is insufficient without overhauling workplace design.
“Women are entering systems that were never built for them. The architecture must change. Flexibility, remote work, and family-friendly structures must be enforced,not optional,” she said.
CEO of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, underscored the importance of stakeholder engagement, measurement and partnerships.
“What you don’t measure doesn’t get done. Implementation requires baseline data, KPIs, partnerships and continuous learning,” he said.
Head of Programme Implementation, MTN Nigeria Foundation, Edward Fagbohun, shared how deliberate efforts to recruit women into STEM finally produced a 50–50 gender balance in MTN’s scholarship program after 18 years.
According to the Deputy Head of Operations, Stanbic Bank Plc, Funke Amobi, “Awareness is no longer the problem, Execution is.”
