The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has called for more participation of women at the highest decision- making level in Nigerian banks.
He made the call while speaking at an event organised by the CBN to celebrate the International Women’s Day.
Emefiele described as unacceptable the current development where only three out of the 27 chief executive officers of banks in Nigeria are women.
He said the apex bank was mindful of the importance of women in the society, which is why it is championing the cause of women in the society.
The CBN governor said: “In realization of male domination of senior positions of the financial industry, the Bankers’ Committee adopted the quota system to increase women representation on Boards to 30 per cent and that of senior management level to 40 percent by the 2014.
“As a result today, three out of the 27 Bank CEOs are female with three women appointed as Chair of the Boards of three banks for the first time. Despite this progress, it is obvious we have not met our goals. Therefore, we have to work much harder to improve these numbers and attain our objectives.”
Emefiele called for increase in the level of women participation in key positions in the private sector especially in banks.