By Adewale Sanyaolu
Ikeja Electric Plc (IE) last week joined the rest of the world to mark the 2023 International Women’s Day celebrations, tagged Embrace Equity with the theme; “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.”
In her welcome remarks at the hybrid event that was attended by mostly female employees and other invited guests of the company, the Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Electric, Mrs. Folake Soetan, noted that it is imperative to embrace equity in the workplace by ensuring that employees are paid equitably for the work they do and also enjoy all necessary benefits equitably, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion age and any other divisive characteristics.
She urged all employees to be accountable for all activities in workplace in terms of achievement, challenges and how to move the company forward. She stated further that the principles of equity in the workplace includes clear communication, collaboration, social intelligence, problem solving, managing conflicts, security and safety of all.
Soetan said equity can be promoted in the workplace through mutual understanding, strong interpersonal relationships and by being honest with one another at all times as these will go a long way to boost the morale of individuals for better performance, especially those who feel that they are being treated unjustly in the workplace.
Chariot Essiet, Director of Corporate/Regulatory Affairs, AOS Orwell Ltd, said there is significant gender gap pay in the technology industry in Nigeria. She added that the technology industry is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic industry in the world that offers Nigerian women a wealth of opportunities to build fulfilling and rewarding careers. She said there is need to raise awareness on the myriad of benefits available in the sector for women who are technology inclined.
The guest speaker, Folasade Agbejule, advised that women need to embrace digital literacy for competitive advantage, with deliberate commitment to adoption and usage of fast paced and solution driven digital tools as the whole world is leaving behind the era of doing things manually.
Other speakers at the event included; Uche Uzoebo, Chief Distribution and Stakeholder Engagement Officer SANEF and Muyiwa Faulkner both of whom shared great insights on how women can invest their time to do more and favorably compete in a male dominated space.
The Board Chairman of Ikeja Electric, Kola Adesina, who graced the occasion virtually in his remarks, acknowledged the exemplary leadership and invaluable contributions of the women in IE and the collaborative efforts with their male counterparts which he said has helped the company to attain enviable heights and recognitions in the power value chain.
He charged the women in the room and beyond to be proactive and not relent in exploring innovative solutions and opportunities, citing an anonymous quote which says; “The stone age did not end because the world ran out of stones, but innovation happened. There will be more achievement if leadership is placed more on women’s shoulders.”