Source: This Day
Global and national efforts to integrate gender equality and women's empowerment into poverty reduction, democratic governance, and sustainable development, can achieve the desired impact if private organisations join in the crusade, write Abimbola Akosile and Eromosele Abiodun.

For long, women have always been relegated to the background in almost every facet of human endeavour. However, the situation appears to be changing nowadays.

This is because most of the world governments now focus on gender equality and women empowerment not only as human rights, but also because they are pathways to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sustainable development.

International Efforts

For example, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) coordinates global and national efforts to integrate gender equality and women's empowerment into poverty reduction, democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, and environment and sustainable development.

The UNDP is not alone in this regard. Former Secretary of State of the United States of America, Senator Hillary Clinton, is among global leaders championing the rights of women.

When she was the US first lady, she delivered a resounding speech at a UN Conference on women in Beijing, China in 1995.

The highly impactful speech by the influential American, which made some of the participants wept, read in part: "If there is one message that echoes from this conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights for one and for all. Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely - and the right to be heard. Women must enjoy the rights to participate fully in social and political lives of their countries if we want freedom and democracy to thrive and endure".

Perhaps, much more than previous effort at getting the world to genuinely consider the rights of women, the Beijing conference was more efficient as immediate changes became noticeable in the role and activities of women in the society.

Specifically, statistics from the Global Fund for Women, which had shown that two third of world's uneducated children are girls, and, naturally, two third of the world's poorest are female, is changing in its percentage composition even though the figures are still far from desired expectation.

It has become clearer that if the world is genuinely interested in promoting posterity, good government, education and social good, the focus on the welfare of women must be increased. This reality has galvanised different segments of the society to devise means and strategies for accelerating steps that could almost guarantee improvement in human existence.

With maternal education, it is believed that childhood malnutrition would be reduced. Also, an increase in number of women in political leadership could suggest reduction in the level of corruption and incompetence that have hampered the society from functioning optimally.

Empowerment Drive

Sight of the beauty of gender empowerment has increased the quest for women empowerment across the different sides of the hemisphere and resulted in relationships that would eternally benefit humanity.

This was re-echoed recently at the Women Empowerment Principles Leadership Group meeting held in commemoration of this year's International Women's Day in New York to deliberate on how inclusive business strategies and practices could drive change in realising the objectives of Women Empowerment Principles.

The meeting was the second edition of the Women Empowerment Principles Leadership Group meeting, a part of the UN's effort on women empowerment, it held with the 5th edition of the Equality Means Business event tagged 'Inclusion: Strategy for Change'.

Access Bank Intervention

The gathering attracted global political and business leaders and corporate organisations with demonstrated commitment to the principle of Women Empowerment and Diversity. Access Bank is a leading example in this category and its representatives' account of its activities drew the commendation of the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who was present at the meeting.

Access Bank might not be new to the UN for its active support for issues of global importance following its donation of $1million towards the 'Global Fund Gifts From Africa Project' and its Group Managing Director, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, leading a private sector delegation to the UN Millennium Development Goal Summit, but the bank's commitment to the issue of gender empowerment is commendable.

This is beyond the bank's provision of women-owned businesses in sub-Saharan Africa and its partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under its Gender Empowerment Market programme, which Access Bank has leveraged to provide over N2 billion as funding to this segment of the market.

But it showcases its institutional character and quest to participate, institute and implement programmes that would not only better the lives of women but ensure that they enjoy a rewarding and fruitful career in its employment.

According to the Bank's Head Group Human Resources, Bolaji Agbede, who addressed the conference, "Access Bank is committed to gender equality and women empowerment. The bank has developed programmes and initiatives that would encourage the ascension of female employees to the upper ladder of management cadre in the organisation".

She added that Access Bank is fully aware of the multiple roles and responsibilities bestowed on women by the society as well as the present limited opportunities available to them to accomplish these societal expectations as wives, mothers, daughters, career women and individuals.

"But at Access Bank we support employees in collapsing the societal barriers and helping in actualising their full potentials. We are fair, open, transparent and an equal opportunity employer", she added.

Corroborating Agbede's statements, the Bank's Head of Corporate Communications, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, referred to one of the Bank's instituted Women Empowerment Initiatives tagged 'Access Women Network' as a platform for female breeding corporate leaders and social engineers with huge potentials for transforming the human society.

Enthusiastically, Omobolanle said that "Access Women Network platform is an expression of Access Bank's commitment to gender empowerment and social integration".

Ki-moon Input

Emphasising the importance of the global agenda on Women Empowerment, the UN scribe, Ban Ki-moon, in his address described the several initiatives that have been taken by participating organisations as giant strides and accomplishments in the journey towards Women Empowerment; particularly the implementation of the WEPs initiatives by corporate bodies.

He commended the CEOs whose organisations have signed on to the Women Empowerment Principles and announced the institution of the WEPs Leadership Awards to encourage effective application of the principles.

According to him "the 540 companies present here today demonstrate that implementing the WEPs and advancing gender equality is possible through corporate leadership and innovative programmes that create change not only within their own organisations, but throughout the value chain."

In acknowledging the progress made so far regarding the Women Empowerment Principles, he explained that investing in women can yield a significant gender dividend and urged both the public and private sectors to reap this benefit by investing in women and bringing them into leadership positions; noting that the most common form of violence experienced by women globally is physical violence inflicted by an intimate partner.

Additionally, he reiterated the fact that the United Nations is committed to ending issues of violence against women and remains fervent in pursuit of the agenda on Women Empowerment.

As at today, Access Bank appears the only Nigerian bank that has bought into the global agenda of Women Empowerment by signing on to the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) launched in 2009.

The Bank has also continued to demonstrate leadership in the area of Women Empowerment and reflected the principles in the development of its sustainability report, developed gender focused community initiatives and promises to continue to support the WEPs Leadership Group as a signatory to the Principles by encouraging other organisations in Nigeria to sign on to the principles.

This disposition and orientation highlights Access Bank's passion for promoting issues of global importance and benefit; the bank's presentation at the UN Women's Day Commemorative event did not only re-echo Hillary Clinton's call for women empowerment at the Beijing conference in 1995 but also demonstrated that the African Sustainability Champion continues to expand its scope of goodwill and responsibility.

• Nigeria