Wakanow Empowers Women for Change
“Women are leaders everywhere you look—from the CEO who runs a Fortune 500 company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household. Our country was built by strong women, and we will continue to break down walls and defy stereotypes.” — Nancy Pelosi
When Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker in the US House of Reps, made the above statement in an interview with Glamour Magazine in 2007, the world was yet to fully recognize the place of women in the society. Gender inequality still thrived. Even though she had just made history with her election into the US Congress, most women still had to contend with the age-long glass ceiling that has hampered many from reaching their full potentials.
But today, all that has started to change, courtesy of an improved awareness on the role of women in building prosperous and more inclusive societies. Like governments and development agencies, many organizations have started to lend their voices to the fight against gender discrimination.
On Wednesday, Wakanow took a bold step to demonstrate her commitment to help forge a better and more embracing world for women. By 10:00a.m, a group of young, gorgeous and aspiring Wakanow women had filed into the cozy Conference Hall at its corporate headquarters for a training session organized as part of activities marking the International Women’s Day.
Welcoming the visibly excited participants to the program, Executive Director of Wakanow, Mrs. Toyin Odutayo, described the training as a major step to reinforce Wakanow’s commitment to building an all-inclusive workplace for everyone, including the women.
She said: “Today, the world celebrates the amazing women who have remained the miracles of our nations – from the career executive in the boardroom to the everyday woman who peddles her wares in the market. Today, we recognize their uncommon courage, their sacrifices that have helped raise families through generations, and most importantly, we recognize the urgency to bridge gender gaps across the globe and create a level-playing field for men and women, everywhere.”
Mrs. Odutayo advised women to embrace technology and maximize the incredible opportunities it offers.
“We (women) are the future. We are way more powerful and resourceful than we have ever imagined. We need to start leveraging on digital technology to grow our careers and improve the quality of our lives,” she said.
The participants had a swell time learning about new technologies and how to maximize them for personal and professional growth.
Josephine Duyile, a staff at the Call Centre, said: “It made me see that there is more going on around me other that my work.
“Women around the world need to go digital because it offers the ease and convenience of getting things done. We need to grow our knowledge of technology beyond the basic things we do with social media. The tech space is not meant for men alone; we have a lot to offer in that space. We need to equip ourselves with information that would help us deal with our day to day activities better – from shopping to learning, and son on,” she added.
For Gladys Odiase, Head of Quality Assurance, the training exposed her to the innate capacity of women to stir the leadership boat in a world dominated by men.
“The program was a pointer to the fact that anyone, irrespective of gender, can rise to the pinnacle of success by sheer dint of hard work. I was able to understand how the innate multi-tasking abilities possessed by women remain a key managerial skill that has shot many career women into the top echelon of great organizations, especially in the digital age.
The training, which was powered by Google Nigeria, is a premium digital skills acquisition scheme that facilitates knowledge transfer for female employees of Wakanow.
See more photos after the cut…