By Ebunoluwa Sessou

The Sierra Leonean High Commissioner to the Republic of Ghana and Ambassador to the Republic of Togo and the Republic of Burkina Faso, Mrs. Francess Virginia Anderson has called on West African women to consolidate the gains of women in leadership in the region. Saying the Board rooms are now experiencing women’s invasion”.

Anderson maintained that, although progress has been made, but there is a long way to go to achieve both equity and equality between the sexes.

Delivering the keynote address at the 2020 induction ceremony dinner of the African Women in Leadership Organisation in Lagos, Anderson lamented that a single top job given to a woman often tends to disguise the massive inequality and extreme marginalisation in our societies.

“In the recent past we have seen so-called glass ceilings broken across the globe. A growing number of women are now heads of state and government in Europe, Asia, and New Zealand. And America is about to have its first number 2 in a woman of diversity and its first Secretary of the Treasury a woman.

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“What is so striking is that most of these women are young, energetic and committed to the cause of women’s liberation, empowerment and inclusion. In addition, many more, the world over, are leading both public and private sector organisations with remarkable successes.

The Board rooms are now experiencing what I would describe as “women’s invasion”. Our top-quality representations across the world and in different spheres have outperformed their male counterparts in many areas and have exceeded the expectations of many”, she revealed.

She said while Africa has also witnessed the accession to the presidency by two eminent women leaders in the persons of Nobel Laureate Helen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and Joyce Banda of Malawi with other prominent women continuing to show strong leadership in global governance including Zainab Bangura of Sierra Leone, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Amina Mohammed both of Nigeria, Winnie Byanyima of Uganda, and Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma of South Africa; many of these great and historic achievements came at great sacrifices to these individuals and their loved ones.

“In the course of their professional lives they have faced and endured discrimination, disappointment and despair. Despite these, they had the drive to overcome these challenges and achieve success.“This cross fertilisation of ideas and experiences will help build synergy in all aspects of our quest for growth, inclusive and sustainable development”.

“To all women present here and across the globe, we have seen situations wherein women fail by design or default to fulfill their sacred obligation of supporting each other. This must be discouraged and frowned at, at every level and in every circumstance. We must be each other’s keeper. We must not only make a place for ourselves at the high table, but we must create extra space for others to join us”, she enjoined.

She urged regional and sub-regional institutions like the AU, SADC, ECOWAS, EAC, among others to take the lead in bringing women together to discuss emerging challenges affecting them so as to prescribe durable solutions.

Vanguard News Nigeria