Author: Yewande Fasan

Former Big Brother Naija housemate, Anto Lecky, has opened up about her experiences dealing with stereotypes and biases in the workplace following her appearance on the reality show.

Speaking at a recent gathering, Anto revealed that people often assumed she lacked intelligence or capability simply because of her background as a reality TV star.

She stressed the importance of focusing on one’s skills, talents, and education to prove oneself, rather than being defined by negative perceptions.

According to her, continuous learning, unlearning, and relearning are key to personal growth, as well as the belief that someone out there values your skills and talents.

Anto urged individuals to always be prepared and confident in their abilities, noting that opportunities can emerge when least expected.

Anto said, “You do not want to work for a company that does not allow you to prove yourself. So I’ll use myself as an example. Many of you might know me.

“I was on a reality show. However, many years ago, everyone had this idea that people who go on Big Brother, especially women who go on Big Brother, are going there to sell themselves, and I don’t mean sell themselves professionally, literally sell themselves.

“So oftentimes when I go into rooms, people who might not, you know, might not know me. So I’m like, Oh, don’t you know how she’s Anto from Big Brother? And I really see that look in the person’s eye. I just want to do things for the back.

“You know, it’s something that I have accepted that people will say, I don’t cry about it. I don’t feel bad about it. We will always face these challenges as women who think that we’re less strong.

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“They’re not as smart, and we belong in the other room. These companies will exist. What you have to focus on is, like we’ve said, your skills, your talents, your education, what you can do.

“Someone out there is looking for the skills that you have. Don’t worry about the people who are not looking for you. There’s someone who is looking for you. So continue to, like we said, learn, unlearn, and relearn. There will be a day when someone will see your CV, and they’ll be rushing to you. That exists.

“It is what it is. And when it comes to these opportunities, Oh, they say 10-year, three-year, many of these things, the experience applies to those jobs. One year, however much your experiences apply, you never know, sometimes it just happens by magic that someone says, Oh, I like this person.

“This person’s work is up to it. But of course, keep practicing. There are other ways to get opportunities. Like they said, there’s communities, there’s groups, there’s places where you can find people that are fine with the entry-level experience.”