TECNO celebrates women

By Chinyere Okoroafor

Tecno mobile has celebrated International Women’s Day by recording a video that captured people who thrive in gender roles assigned to the opposite sex both in the office and at home.

The video was to challenge people to think outside the box and change the narratives imposed by culture and social constructs.

The videos showed men playing roles supposedly reserved for women, and vice versa. Such roles included a father changing his baby’s diaper expertly, a female dispatch rider who handled her bike like a pro, a career lady who adeptly changed her flat tyre, a man whose haggling skills in the market will dethrone a typical African mother, a lady who systematically and neatly washed her car and a man whose cooking skills will get your tongue wagging.

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To further drive this point home, Techno took to the public to ask people to mention some roles they fill that are sometimes seen as strange or untraditional in the society.

Some of the interesting replies were ‘I cook while she watches TV, so what?; I am a lady, I foot my bills always, so what?; I cook for my girlfriend, so what?; I can price more than my wife that they call me alaroro, so what?’; I report to a woman in the office, so what?; I cook while she watches telemundo, so what?; My wife is on Instagram and I’m doing her laundry, so what?; My wife bought the car I drive, so what?; He cannot change his car tyre, but I can, and I do it, so what?, We go on a date and she pays the bill, so what?

Also, the smartphone brand sat with people from different walks of life to discuss the effect of gender roles.

A PR and Communications Manager, Vincent was asked if it was okay for a woman to pay when on a date.

He said: ‘Hmmm…Yes, actually. So honestly ehn, it’s used to be hard sha. As much as I know there’s no harm whatsoever, I’d always feel awkward every time it had to happen. Sometimes a funny and long argument comes before I agree, if ever. Now, I see it like she’s getting me a gift, so I find it a cool and romantic gesture. Also gives me a feeling that “I’m not alone in this thing after all”!

For Digital Marketing Executive Charles, who was asked if he would consider making dinner when he got home before his wife or have to wait until she returns from work said, “Of course, yes. I don’t always wait for her to come home before I make dinner. She works farther away from me than me and has to go through traffic almost every night. The issue isn’t really who does what in my home. The issue is to get things done so that life will be as easy as possible for both of us. So, yes. There are some specified roles between my wife and me, but sometimes that doesn’t matter. The goal is always to ensure that things are easy for each other regardless of who does what.

Responding to why gender equality is important in the work place, Communications Executive, Efe said, “At this point in the world, gender equality in the work place is very important. It can’t be overemphasized. I feel like genders shouldn’t been seen. If you employed me to fill a specific role, then whether or not I meet those KPIs of that role should be what is concentrated on and not my gender. So yes, gender equality is important in the workplace as it gives a level playing ground for growth to everyone.

Also, Chinma who is a Digital Marketing Manager believes that she doesn’t adhere to male centric standard in her field, “Do I feel I operate in a male dominated space? Well, following the analysis online, Digital Marketing Industry is a male dominate industry, but do I have to adhere to male centric standard? Not all. The industry is less about the people you work with and more about the people you are trying to reach and understanding consumer behavior. And because digital has a lot of different parts, it requires a lot of attention, a lot of innovation and efficiency.

“When it comes to such detailed skills required in this industry, you find them more in women: Creative, bold and active thinking. Women have more capacity in the field of problem solving, they create alternatives and find creative ways of solving everyday problems and this increases productivity both and home and at work. So when you have a skill that works, and yields better result, why adhere to a particular standard “male centric standard’’. I only standard in quote ‘’result oriented standard, she said.