A
PAPER TITLED "WOMEN AND THE WORLD OF WORK: IMPERATIVES FOR
CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT" PRESENTED BY
MRS. NKECHI ALI-BALOGUN PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT NECCI CONSULTING
AT THE YOUTH & GENDER NETWORK
WOMEN CONFERENCE/SKILLS ACQUISITION WORKSHOP ON FRIDAY, MAY 16TH
2008, @ BRITISH COUNCIL, NO. 20 THOMPSON AVENUE, IKOYI, LAGOS.
INTRODUCTION
•The ability and the opportunity to work is
an asset created by God to mankind (both male and
female) you may have the ability, the capacity but
you may not have the opportunity. As women and
particularly in some countries, the opportunity may
be further limited due to gender issues.
• Work provides individuals with income to
1) Work is psychologically fulfilling
2) Work, as creation or recreation, imbues us with the quality
of co-creating (with God) and elevates our share in divinity
• Today, through the creation of more, better
and flexible jobs and various kinds of empowerment,the
Labour market contributes to poverty alleviation and
of course engenders equality.
Traditional Role of Women
• Sex Roles
• Child Bearing and Child Rearing
• Food production and Preparation
• Caring for the home (some sociological researches have
even suggested that an average house wife covers
a distance of about 13 kilometres a day while working
in the home- moving from one part of the house to the other)
Traditional Role of Women
• Jobs in the paid work force were predominantly male before
the industrial era
• Culturally women are perceived as having lower social
status and as such were not given the opportunity
or even considered for education
The Modern Nigerian Woman
• More and more women, both married and unmarried have entered
the paid labor force,
• They now play the dual role of being breadwinners and
sharing family responsibilities
• She has moved away from being perceived as the domesticated
female left behind to bear the physiological
and psychological brunt of family development.
• She is no longer seen as one who may not have a say or
have an opinion of hers except those vetoed
by her husband.
• She has moved from traditional setting to having a role
and her impact felt in politics, law, media,
medicine, governance, system regulations and she is at the
forefront of entrepreneurial activities.
• The Nigerian woman of today is speaking out and she is
aggressively asserting herself.
• In the political arena, even though women are still in
the process of being integrated into politics,
compared to the 60s and the 70s, today, they are making
strides in Nigeria. The number may be minimal but it is worth
celebrating judging their pedigree. For example,
in the past national legislature, women number
22 in the lower house.(Sam Olukoya, 2008) Even though
this is lower than the number voted into congress in 1997 (27
women),this is still a very big achievement.
• The Nigerian woman has been occupying various positions
such as: ministerial positions, senate, house
of representative, state Houses of Assembly, as Deputy
governors, commissioners and various important political positions.
• Even though the Government has yet to put into force several
international treaties protecting women?s rights
and the affirmative policy stipulating 30% women
inclusion recommended in the Beijing Declaration, President Olusegun
Obasanjo in his tenure gave 15% of federal appointments to women.
He appointed more than seven women as ministers
and special advisers
Today there is access to
• Quality education
• Paid employment
• Funds and various forms of empowerment including
1. Capacity building (counselling, training)
2. Labour laws
Challenges/Prospects of the Today's Woman
• In spite of the seemingly rosy picture painted above the
population of women in key positions or making
impact is still minimal.
• What therefore are the constraints and how can women best
empower themselves.
Options
There are two options open to all women — Employment
• Self enterprise/Entrepreneurship
• The third option for those who do not want to move with
the time — the lazy ones
who want to remain house wives (o simere ite chere di ya, as the
Igbos will describe them) -
Success Factors
• The success factor for the former will include:education
(academic and professional)
• Constant-training and development
• Understanding what the job entails, demonstration of skills
and competence.
• taking the risks that go with the job
• The right attitude (working, following or leading with
the right attitude), not playing to gender bias
(this is one of the biggest drawbacks women have in organizations.
Women expect the organization to understand that they are women
and therefore cannot and should not work too hard, long hours,
etc).
• Be willing to take on serious challenges and avoid stereotypes
• Avoid stereotypes (cont) e.g. don't like to express themselves
fully believing that they are not supposed to
be so authoritative or assertive or even be heard;
some come with the attitude of Oh, the woman is the weaker sex
men want to exploit, therefore they must deal
with the men to assert themselves;
Other success factors in employment are
• creativity, demonstration of entrepreneurial acumen and
can do attitude.
• Assume leadership when there is a vacuum. Don?t wait to
be elected or appointed. As the Bible says,
The kingdom of God suffered violence...)
• successful career calls for a lot of sacrifices.
• Apart from the obvious factors listed above which are
necessary for any type of engagement, building
a career requires other considerations e.g.
• Once chosen or circumstantially 'imposed', only interest
can sustain it. But it is better and important
for career to be driven by choice, choice that stems from
talents, aptitude, interest cultivated over time,
or interest instigated by a deep rooted altruistic
cause. In other words
• What can you do well?
• What do people around you observe that you can do well?
• What little things have you done and succeeded in, that
you can build upon?
• What is required to make it big?
• (Is it knowledge? where do you source it from)?
• (Money? where do you source it from?
• Contact? where do you get it?
• Understanding the skills and competence domain is critical.
• Economic and monetary consideration might
not be primary, at least during the building
stage. The right mind-set to accommodate this
must be developed.
• Understanding and living with the sacrifices that go with
it. For example, a career female boxer or wrestler
might sacrifice a bit of feminity (smooth, soft and
supple body); a career in banking or other related jobs might
make one lose serious hold on family,
social contacts, etc. a career in ministry requires a
lot of seclusion.
WOMEN WHO INSPIRE US
• Women like Prof Dora Akuyuli, sanitizing
the pharmaceutical companies, saving lives and
building a good reputation for the nation
• Mrs. Ndidi Onyuike, changing the face of the Nigerian
Stock Market.
• Oby Ezekwesili, the dynamic versatile and lady of "due
process"
• Dorathy Obasi, the first woman legislator in Ebonyi State.
• Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the woman who single handedly set
in motion the processes that brought Nigeria
out of debt and today is a Vice President in the World
Bank.
• Grace Alele Williams, the first female Vice Chancellor,
the list is endless.
ATTRIBUTES OF WOMEN WHO INSPIRE US
• They are highly educated and are able to blend career
and family life.
• problem solvers and providing more supportive work environments.
• Confident and Aggressive (Not afraid of being labeled
bitchy).
• Decisive or Unemotional.
• They never allow "naysayers" stand in their
way. In other words they are not discouraged.
• They are risk-takers.
• They are open to possibilities, keep a sense of humor,
and always take the high road.
• They have the right mix of determination, perseverance,
tenacity and loyalty.
• they are entrepreneurial. (able to organize and manage
a business, undertaking and assuming the risk
for the sake of profit.)
STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS
The Business Plan
• In order to start and manage a business it takes motivation,
research, preparation, and talent. Before beginning
take the time evaluate and explore your business
and personal goals. Once you do that, you can use the information
to create a thorough and thoughtful business plan that will help
you achieve these goals.
• Developing a business plan is a great way to force you
to think about things that you may not otherwise
consider. The plan will become an important tool as
you set out to raise capital, and it will provide a guide to gauge
your success.
Get a Plan
• Write a business plan?even a simple one to figure out
who is your market, what your costs are, what
you can sell monthly and annually, and what kind of
money you can make. Do not start without understanding that you
are priced, have the volume, and expenses realistic
to make money. Answer the question first?before
you commit everything you have to an idea. Not all ideas
can make enough money to support you and the cost of running a
business.
Business Plan Checklist
• who is your market?
• what are your costs?
• Projected sales, monthly and annually.
• Projected profit.
• Projected output.
• Cashflow (in and out).
• Running Costs
Products and Services
• You need to determine what type of business you're starting.
What are you interested in doing?
What service or product are you going to sell?
Have a clear definition of your products and
services.
Understand the strengths and weaknesses. Who is the competition?
Why is this product or service better? Know your costs for producing
items or rendering a service.
Market
• Who are your target customers? Think of niche markets
and a specific target customer.
• How will you publicize and promote your business? This
is one of the most underestimated aspects of
a business. Advertising does not always bring clients.
You must think of both traditional as well as non-traditional
methods for attracting customers.
CONCLUSION
• Consider taking a class or classes so you can understand
all the aspects of running a business. There
are many free classes offered by a variety of institutions,
nonprofit organizations, and government programs. This could save
you time and losses later.
Thank You
ABOUT NKECHI ALI-BALOGUN
• A multifunctional player with immense management skills
(acquired over twenty-four years of working experience) in providing
solutions to managerial problems and other functions of management
in Public Relations and Human Resource Management. She is presently
the Principal Consultant, NECCI Consulting a Public Relations
and Training Consultants. A graduate of the University of Lagos
she also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the University
of Nigeria, Nsukka and an MBA in Management from the same University.
In addition, she has attended Public Relations Management courses
in Frank Jefkins School of Public Relations, London and the prestigious
Lagos Business School. She serves as the current Chairman of the
Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Lagos State Chapter.
About NECCI Consulting
• NECCI Consulting- Public Relations and Training Consultants
are highly proactive innovative and versatile qualified trainers
and managers committed to consistently design and deliver the
best available public relations and management training programmes
for maximum value and the realization of corporate goals in the
public and private sectors of the economy. We are poised to becoming
one of the leading and most referenced training consultants in
the country.
WE BELIEVE
• That the greatest resources are human assets that keep
the wheel of progress turning.
• That in the emerging global market, the continuous development
of human resources in knowledge, skills and attitude will become
the most important factor in corporate success.
• That a properly and articulated goal-oriented and need-based
independent training and management partnership with NECCI will
add maximum value to your corporate and organizational objectives
and empower your workforce to be more effective and highly productive.
Our Commitment
• We must help individuals and organizations to become the
best in each market.
• We must demonstrate our fundamental commitment to our
clients and our mission.
• We must consistently deliver innovative programmes to
give our clients an edge and the
advantage of flexibility as well as expand our leadership.
OUR TEAM
• Our team of specialist facilitators and trainers are experienced
and innovative using
integrated and internationally recognized methodology and strategies.
• They include renowned and respected Research Experts,
Programme Developers, Change Managers, Corporate Consultants,
Media Managers & Consultants, and Public Relations Practitioners.
• This resource pool is supported by our network of training
partners and associates
within and outside the country.
Our Strategy
• We focus on designing quality and contemporary
programmes that interfaces local content
with global affinities.
• We employ innovative training processes in an interactive
ambience with practical case
studies where necessary.
• Well researched and tailor-made courses to suit the aspirations
of many of today?s
corporate leaders and held at serene locations acceptable to our
clients.
JOB EXPERIENCE
• We have a track record of very successful consultancy
services for and on behalf of
major companies in various sectors of the economy from:
• OIL and GAS
• Chevron, Addax, Shell, NNPC, NAPIMS
• Banking
• Union Bank, First Inland Bank, Bank PHB, Afribank, ECOBANK,
First Bank, First City Monument Bank
•TELECOMMUNICATIONS
• MTN,CELTEL, Briscoe Telecomn
•GOVERNMENT
• Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy,
SMEDAN, National Institute for Sports, National
Association for Small and Medium Scale
•INSURANCE
• Leadway Assurance
• PHARMACEUTICALS
• Fidson and May & Baker
• MANUFACTURING
• Dunlop
• OTHERS
• The Quadrant Company, STB McANNS, Allied Computers, Edisson
Ross etc.
| 
