Women leaders across sectors have stressed the need to bridge sector-based silos, build strategic relationships and advance women’s influence in decision-making.

They also emphasised women’s leadership from representation to real, systemic influence, while examining what it takes for women to not just occupy seats at the table, but to also shape the structures, policies and institutional cultures that define outcomes at the national level.

Senior and emerging women leaders from law, health, finance, agriculture, government and civil society gave the submission at the Women in Leadership Cross-Sector Convening held in Abuja.

The event, themed: ‘Connecting Impact: Cross-Sector Leadership for National Growth’, was organised by Women in Leadership Advancement Network (WILAN Global), in coalition with Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) and the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).

In a statement issued by the Communication Officer of WILAN, Confidence Chukwuemeka, the founder of WILAN Global, Abosede George-Ogan, said women across Nigeria are facing increasingly complex challenges that no single sector can solve alone, adding that excellent women leaders across sectors were working in silos.

George-Ogan said leadership is not simply about occupying positions, but creating pathways, expanding possibilities and building institutions that outlast those who lead.

She explained that the Women in Leadership Cross-Sector reflects WILAN Global’s broader mandate to build the infrastructure for women’s leadership advancement through individual empowerment and the collective action of women across sectors who share a common stake and want to contribute to Nigeria’s growth and development.

George-Ogan said by uniting established and emerging women leaders in one strategic space, the convening created conditions for the kind of relationship-building, knowledge exchange and collaborative thinking that accelerate both individual careers and sector-wide change.

In a keynote, the Second Deputy Governor for Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Elsie Addo Awadzi, highlighted the growing importance of collaborative leadership in addressing complex development challenges.

Drawing on her experience across governance, finance and public policy, Awadzi highlighted the need for leaders who can work across institutional and sectoral boundaries to drive sustainable progress.

“The era of siloed leadership is ending. The leaders who will define the next generation of African development will not be those who know the most about one sector. They will be those who can connect sectors, align incentives, build coalitions, and mobilise diverse actors around shared national priorities. The future belongs to integrators and collaborators,” she added.

The Public Sector Roundtable, tagged: ‘Strengthening Subnational Systems for Change’, brought together senior women in public leadership to examine the role of subnational governance in advancing inclusive development outcomes.

The discussion explored opportunities for strengthening institutional coordination, improving service delivery and expanding women’s influence within public decision-making structures.

The first panel session had women leaders from diverse sectors explore the theme: ‘From Seats at the Table to Shaping the Table: Women Leading Systems Change Across Sectors’.

They reflected on their experiences driving organisational and systems-level change, while addressing issues on institutional reform, coalition building, leadership credibility and sustaining influence within complex environments.
At the second panel session themed: ‘The Next Wave: Emerging Women Leaders, Driving Influence and Impact’, accomplished early and mid-career women leaders from sectors including health, finance, agriculture, and the environment, shared perspectives on leadership development, navigating professional transitions, building influence and positioning themselves for greater impact within their respective fields.