President of the School of Management and Security, Dr Victoria Ekhomu, has advised women to get the right qualifications to equip themselves more for leadership positions.

She lamented that there are only a few women who have attained leadership positions in the country.

Speaking with The Guardian, Ekhomu advised women to endeavor to get the right education, foundations, preparations, discipline, experience and training so that they can excel in any leadership position they find themselves in.

“It is only recently that women began to occupy the leadership positions. So, there is a learning curve, which is there. They are still very few and are learning.

“Women do not have the support system, like the boys club, in which men have to support them. So many women do not have female mentors since they are few in leadership positions. Women in leadership positions will also have to be in the boardrooms with only men, who might meet in the evenings to band together, while women will mostly be standing on their own.”

Ekhomu, who is the President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Organisation of Nigeria (AISSON), further said that more women are venturing into the security profession and performing various security functions.

She urged more females to be encouraged to enter the security profession.

According to her, there are different fields in the security profession that they can practice.

On what gender can do differently to cultural factors inhibiting women, Ekhomu, who is also the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Transworld Security said: “Nigeria is a country with diverse ethnic groups, having cultural practices affecting both men and women differently. Most women are culturally restricted to engage in certain businesses. Women are not expected to be in male-dominated industries like security.

“Most people might not feel comfortable having women as their guards, though women are quite observant and perceptive and are good at profiling. I recall having to make presentations for security and work with my male managers, to be sensitive to some people’s biases.

“What is being done differently is that more women are performing guard jobs. More women are getting into the security profession and performing various security functions.

To be successful in anything a woman does, Ekhomu said that they should possess key traits like intelligence, integrity, honesty, confidence, empathy, emotional intelligence, hard work, studious, caring, kind, loving, leadership qualities and be knowledgeable.”