‘Be Fearless, Campaign’ set for 20 universities book tour

Focused on promoting gender equality, increasing female representation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers and providing support and direction for professional women, Jane Egerton-Idehen, a tech executive, author, and speaker has launched ‘Be Fearless, Campaign’ a national campaign focused on highlighting the hurdles that prevent women from fulfilling their potential, and providing a guide to younger women on the complexities of navigating career and life opportunities in their fields.

The campaign features a book tour to about 20 tertiary institutions in Nigeria, book reading sessions at some leading book stores, scholarships to female students in STEM courses and a formal launch of her new book — Be Fearless: Give yourself permission to be You.

The book chronicles the author’s remarkable experiences challenging gender roles and stereotypes, via her rise from the slums of Ajegunle in Lagos, to brokering million-dollar deals for global telecoms giants.

Written with the young woman who dreams of being more in mind, Egerton-Idehen opens up about her less-privileged background, education, career journey, marriage and motherhood stories, exploring the cultural expectations, biases, and impossibilities that turn dreams of career success into wishful thinking and demystifies them. The book is available online on March 17 on Amazon.

Speaking at the online release of her new book, Be Fearless: Give yourself permission to be You, Egerton-Idehen, who is also the Country Manager Nigeria/Regional Sales Manager, West Africa for Avanti Communications emphasised the under-representation of women in corporate Nigeria and challenges young women to pursue their dreams.

“There is a significant gender imbalance in corporate Nigeria, especially in the technology industry where the ratio of women to men is as high as 1:5. We must now deliberately work towards a more balanced sector where everyone is enabled. The theme of International Women’s Day Each for Equal reminds us that there is still more to be done towards improving gender equality and fostering a healthier, wealthier and more harmonious world. We hope to encourage more young girls and stimulate gender-equality discussions, via this campaign, my new book, endowments to girls and the experiences of many African women who are contributing to this campaign,” she said.

Egerton-Idehen also encourages the lovers of women; parents, siblings and husbands and colleagues to empathise and help them achieve their potential at home and in the workplace.