All for one, One for all
Banks have been urged to promote women empowerment and equality in the financial landscape.
The Secretary General, United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, said in a statement made available to our correspondent that investing in women could yield a significant gender dividend.
He urged both public and private sectors at the Women Empowerment Principle Leadership Group meeting in New York to reap the benefit by investing in women and bringing them into leadership position.
Access Bank Plc represented by its Head, Group Human Resources, Mrs. Bolaji Agbede, highlighted several initiatives it was implementing to boost women empowerment and gender equality within the organisation and the Nigerian society at large.
Agbede listed the creation of Access Women Network as one of the organisational initiatives created to support and encourage women in the bank’s employment.
She said, “Outside Access Bank’s strong intermediation role in providing funding and training for women entrepreneurs through our partnership with the International Finance Corporation.
“We are equally aware of the challenges of career women and growing women, and consequently created the Access Women Network platform for women within our organisation to help them attain their personal goals and aspirations through mentoring and support.”
She added that as “the only Nigerian bank that has signed on to the Women Empowerment Principles unveiled in 2009, Access Bank had continued to demonstrate leadership in the area of women empowerment.
“We have adopted the principles in the development of our Sustainability Report and developed gender focused community initiatives and would continue to support the WEPs Leadership Group as a signatory to the Principles by encouraging other organisations in Nigeria to sign on to the principles,” she added.
Moon described the several initiatives that had been taken by participating organisations as a giant stride and great accomplishment in the journey towards women empowerment; particularly the implementation of the WEPs initiatives by corporate bodies.
He commended the CEOs whose organisations had signed on to the WEP and announced the institution of the WEP leadership awards to encourage effective application of the principles.
“The 540 companies present here demonstrate that implementing the WEPs and advancing gender equality is possible through corporate leadership and innovative programmes that create change not only within their own organisations, but throughout the value chain,” he said.
Credit: Ademola Alawiye Source: http://www.nigerianbestforum.com/generaltopics/banks-urged-to-promote-women-empowerment/
