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Experts discuss challenges facing career women

By Melody Fidelis
14 December 2017   |   4:23 am
As professional women continue to face the agonies of choice that confront them in their career and family, the founder of LightHouse Network, and communication professional...

Nkiru Olumide-Ojo

As professional women continue to face the agonies of choice that confront them in their career and family, the founder of LightHouse Network, and communication professional, Nkiru Olumide-Ojo, has attempted to address their challenges in her new book titled, Pressure Cooker: Lessons from a Woman at Work.

The book discusses the challenges of women and how they can be successful in their careers, and still maintain a balanced home.

Speaking at the book launch recently held in Lagos, Olumide-Ojo, urged career women to learn how to manage their career without feeling guilty.

She said: “Then, the guilt was a lot because I travel a lot, and when I walk into my son’s school, and the teacher will say: ‘Mrs. Olumide-Ojo, so happy to see you,’ I will start feeling guilty that what she is trying to say is; where have been? But I was able to cope and manage my career well.”

She argue that the burden as a woman is beyond the fact that they are women as it is a natural inclination for women to multitask, but also extremely important that women build their lives in the way that it allows them to own the things that matter to them.

She said the reality of the world is that women have to protect themselves, “if someone offers you an opportunity, but you are not sure you can do it, say yes-then learn how to do it later”.

She stressed the need for the girl-child to be brought up well, but advised that they guide against over confident as it may affect advancement in career, “So it is good to be confident but also very important to guide against arrogance.” she added.

She however encouraged women to change their approach toward domestic staff, and be kind to them including mother in-laws, who have a greater role to play at home while they are busy working.

Similarly, the Lead Consultant, Ladybird Limited, Bunmi Oke, said both men and women are responsible in managing the home, and women alone shouldn’t be guilty for choosing to be a career woman.

In her word, “For the fact that we talked about the guilty and non-guilty mums, I wonder if dads feel guilty, as I will like to know? Because at the end of the day, it is both the mum and dad that manage the home, so why is it the mum that feels guilty about going to work?

“That is part of the pressure cooker; you have to understand the language of men, and the language of women. What I have been able to see so far that it’s a truth to tell, it’s a reality that if you can read and can relate the fact that women do go under pressure cooker,” she concluded.

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