Instagram live: MARKETING EDGE advocates gender equality on IWD
By Felicia Nwosu
As International Women’s Day takes centre stage across the globe, leading advertising and brand-centric publication, MARKETING EDGE joined the rest of the world to celebrate women and to demonstrate its support and advocacy towards gender equality with an Instagram Live streaming.
The conversation which had Dr. Omotola Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi, a highly respectable and astute marketing professional as a guest, was anchored by Oghale Mafuru, the versatile and amiable presenter of MARKETING EDGE on TV, who through her professional skill, added color to the 45 minutes live conversation.
Focusing on the theme” Gender Equality, for a sustainable tomorrow”, Dr. Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi, noted that, there has been an improvement compared to what it used to be about 10 years ago. She said women’s voices are now being heard today. She called on women to stand up to the challenge of supporting and standing up for one another and urged them to learn how to celebrate one another’s a success while discarding the habit of pulling others down because of their success stories.
“We have done fantastically well. We are miles away from where we used to be ten years ago. There is still room for improvement, but we can see that our voices are being heard today. Women are contributing a whole lot more value and it is recognised, that is the most important thing. So, I will say ‘yes’ that more women are being recognised in various top positions across the sectors of the economy today.
The marketing expert commended Nigeria for being a frontier in the advocacy for gender equality when compared with other countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and others. Assessing gender equality in Nigeria’s ecosystem, she reaffirmed that the environment is not so repulsive, and there are some encouraging steps in the right direction to ensure that women stand out on their various beats.
Giving her assessment on the rejection and resistance to women empowerment for political participation y the National Assembly, Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi said:
“I think it is a matter of time, 49% of Nigeria’s population is women, that is over 90 million people, it might not survive today, but look at it in another couple of years. we are going to ring up that bill. Then, you will see a lot more positivism and acceptance, The population is growing every day. You will see that increasingly with our population, we are going to get more acceptance and more awareness. The more people support the agenda, the more we are going to get, so there will be a representation. With a lot more conviction and sensitisation, we will realise that and be able to cross the barrier and close that gap.
Giving her opinion on how to get rid of all forms of gender bias hindering women from climbing to the apex of their career path, the Head of Marketing went back memory lane to recount the incident of the Aba Women Riot, and how it has become an inspiration to many women to aim higher to forge ahead in various fields of endeavor. She, therefore, urged women to strive to earn their position and recognition based on competence, hard work, value, dignity, and not because of their sex or gender.
Sharing her thoughts on unequal pay in places of work, she said negotiation power has a role to play, and nobody will give an employer what she did not ask for. The marketing strategist, therefore, advised women to determine the kind of payroll they deserve.
“It depends on employment process, the appraisal process is not constant, it changes with time. Nobody will give you what you didn’t ask for, don’t be afraid to ask. Your potential should sell you, don’t sell your potential. Don’t be afraid to shine, if they think that your light shines so bright, then let them wear shades”, she said.
The adjunct lecturer in the Marketing Department at the University of Lagos said for women to align with the theme for a greater and better society free from all forms of bias, there is a need for women to learn to leverage technology and innovation to be at par with their male counterparts. She also called for more awareness creation, sensitisation, and enrollment of more girl- children into schools. She implored the society to give proper value to women and also encourage more women to be involved more in non-traditional vocations as a way of getting more women into active political participation.
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