Source: This Day Live
The Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) has restated its commitment to enhance the capacity of African women to make more meaningful contributions to the growth of businesses and other segments of the society.

To identify and surmount the limitations, which women face in their attempts to be integral parts of the socio-economic environment where they operate, EDC convened its second Women in Africa conference, which had various experts in attendance.

The conference, which is the first West African edition, took place at the Lagos Business School (LBS) Ajah Campus, and was sponsored by Ecobank, Unilever, TW Magazine and GE Africa.

Speaking at the event, Dean of Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Dr. Enase Okonedo, said women face a lot of challenges in the world today, which include balancing work and family, which has been the greatest challenge so far; not being able to recognise the fact that they are not men, and going to the extreme sometimes trying to compete.

Okonedo, who insisted that there should be a balance, cited the Republic of Congo as an example where married women are not allowed to sign contracts and register their businesses, and in some other countries, where women are not allowed to work at all, making job opportunities limited. To her, interaction is paramount, and women need to break into the circle. She also explained that in some organisations, if a woman goes on maternity leave, she might not be able to come back or it would be stipulated that women cannot go on maternity leave for the first eighteen months.

Okonedo further pointed out the issue of lack of education for the Girl child, coaches and mentors to people coming up, adding that it is an obligation for the women who should think of what to do about this as well.

"Opportunities should be given to qualified women, they should not be side-lined; more female employment should be supported. If an opportunity presents itself on account of the fact that you are a woman, take advantage of it," she said.

A guest speaker, Executive Director, Centre of Executive and Entrepreneurial Development, USIU, Kenya, Dr. Ella King, threw a question to the audience: "Why are people riding on our backs, what really holds a woman back?", and the response was "family responsibility, discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice."

According to King, at some work places, women do not have the courage to do some things and stand up for themselves sometimes, adding that in the society today, the female gender need to re-adjust their positions.

She noted that women take time out for family while men take time out to change their careers, and the implications attached to this are: lost income, depreciation of skills, difficulty in re-establishing a career, impeded career growth. "Women suffer slow promotions in male-dominated careers but men advance quickly in female-dominated careers," King stated.

Studies have shown that women who adopt styles of leadership have directive and assertive behaviour, tend to be disliked and their ability to have influence is undermined greatly, and that when they are too direct, sometimes they are not able to get promotions.

A survey was conducted and it was polled that 64,000 people in 13 major countries concluded that the world would be a better place if more men thought like women. Most respondents think that having more female leaders in government would prompt a rise in trust and fairness, as well as decline in scandal and wars.

• Nigeria