Cakasa Nigeria Company and its CSR outfit, Cakasa Ebenezer Foundation, have emphasised the importance of gender equality and women’s empowerment while joining the world in celebrating International Women’s Day 2023.
They made the assertion during a celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) on Wednesday in the Lagos suburb of Mushin.
The IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign topic was created by its initiators to spark a global discussion on why equal opportunities were insufficient, according to Mr. Barnabas Olise, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of CAKASA Nigeria Company Ltd.
Olise, who was represented by Mrs. Folake Akangbe, Manager, Personnel Service, claimed that since each person was unique, equitable treatment was necessary for true inclusion and belonging.
The chief executive officer stated that the United Nations had further developed the theme for the year, “DigitALL Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” in line with the overarching theme for 2023.
“In both our business operations and as an organisation, Cakasa Nigeria Company Ltd. continues to place a high priority on gender equality and empowerment.
“This is in line with accepted global best practices.
“At Cakasa, we are aiming to develop novel approaches to assist our women in realising their human capital and become leaders, and change makers for resilient and inclusive development.
“Women’s participation is crucial for organisational and societal advancement.
“As part of our corporate social responsibility initiatives, led by Cakasa Ebenezer Foundation (CEF), our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm, we have encouraged women’s economic empowerment in tandem with girls’ educational advancement as a strategy to accelerate women’s inclusivity,” Olise said.
He claimed that Cakasa was currently funding the higher education of 10 young girls in Lagos State’s Education District 1 Alimosho Local Government Area in order to advance gender equity.
He claims that women have more opportunities than men to work in fields related to science and technology. If they are unable to access the Internet or feel unsafe doing so, their interest in engineering and mathematics (STEM) is reduced.
“This is because they are unable to acquire the digital skills required to participate in digital spaces.
“Seventy five per cent of jobs by 2050 will be in STEM fields,” Olise said.
However, he noted that only 22% of positions in, say, artificial intelligence are currently held by women.
He asserted that the involvement of women in technology led to the development of more inventive ideas and advancements that promoted gender equality and catered to the needs of women.
“Contrarily, their exclusion has significant financial consequences.
“We, at Cakasa Nigeria Company Ltd., will continue to drive for women inclusiveness especially in our core practice areas of Science, Technology. Engineering and Mathematics.
“I wish you a Happy International Women’s Day,” Olise said.
Helen Egbe, executive director of the Cakasa Ebenezer Foundation, urged the Mushin Community’s women to be change agents.
“We need women who would come and change the world.
“The men have done it for so long. It’s time we need women to come up and let’s see what women can do,’’ Egbe said.
She provided quotes from well-known women from all over the world to support her argument.
“Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States of America says that if we do not lift up women and families, everyone was so short.
“Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the U.S., says that there’s no limit to what we as women can accomplish.
“Maya Angelou, a renown revolutionist says each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.
“Serena Williams said that every woman success should be an inspiration to another. We are strongest when we cheer each other on,” Egbe quoted the women as saying.
According to the executive director, the foundation’s mission is to transform society and provide hope to the underprivileged, so it decided to collaborate with five schools in the Mushin area to celebrate women.
She claims that the foundation has made education, empowerment, health, research, and development tools its top priorities. These are its five main focus areas.
According to Egbe, the foundation decided to focus on women, specifically the mothers of the children attending New City Primary School, Papa Ajao, Oduduwa, and New Estate Primary School, because they were the ones who spent the majority of their time with the children at home.
She claimed that it was impossible to undervalue their influence on the children’s lives.
She announced that the foundation would collaborate with another foundation to introduce the women to cutting-edge digital technology.
Egbe thanked the women for honouring their invitation despite their busy schedules.
She also expressed her gratitude for everyone who participated, including the district’s education secretary, teachers, and students.
Princess Olu Akinlude, the education secretary for the Mushin Local Government Education Authority, also spoke and praised the tenacity of Mushin women.
Akinlude said, “Many of the women in our community are so strong.
She asserted that women had an unmatched sense of “I can do it,” and that they had also raised their children in this way.
“We are going out every time wherever we are, to propagate the resilience of these women and to find a way of encouraging them in the area of specialities.
“That is what we have been doing even in our Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), empowering them in some training on the use of their hands,” Akinlude said.
In order to increase the capacity of the women in their chosen careers, she stated that the council was in discussions with a few development partners.
Agboola Olusola encouraged women to use technology to enhance their lives in her keynote speech.
Olusola claimed that by using technology, routine tasks could be improved upon and added value to.
She asserts that there are numerous opportunities for women to succeed in society.
She urged women to use their smartphones effectively to enhance what they did.
Women from the Mushin neighbourhood, employees from the Foundation and Cakasa company, teachers from a few chosen schools, and LGEA principal staff all attended the event.
