Omobola Johnson commends Sterling Bank’s high-level gender inclusion

A former Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson has listed some factors that can help women to reach the top of their careers in any field of endeavour.

The former minister who spoke on the theme of ‘Winning through Inclusion’ at the third edition of the Sterling Leadership Series (SLS) in Lagos recently said women can get to the top through mentorship, role modelling, assertiveness, confidence building and networking, among others.

Johnson said men are not likely to concede leadership positions to women in a friendly manner because lots of discriminatory practices exist in the corporate world so women would have to fight, kick and, if necessary bite to get to the top.

According to her, available statistics show that the number of women in leadership positions in the political and corporate world was dwindling.

She noted that while she was in government, women had about 30 percent representation but the percentage has dropped to about 10 percent now while there are still fewer women at the board level in companies.

Johnson, who is a Co-founder of Women in Business (WIMBIZ), commended Sterling Bank for its high level of gender inclusion.

She said available statistics show that when women are involved in leadership positions there is improved performance because there is better representation in decision-making.

She also advocated for policies that would support maternal and childbirth responsibilities among women because, besides women having responsibilities outside the workplace, it is important to have a workplace that represents the larger society.

In his opening remarks, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman explained that the leadership series has the objective of inspiring the bank to do things that are memorable and in order to do so, it is necessary to sit with people who have done memorable things.

Suleiman said the maiden leadership series was headlined by Professor Wole Soyinka while the Managing Director of Unilever Nigeria Plc., Mr. Yaw Nsarkoh, was the guest speaker at the second edition.