By Babajide Komolafe

Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has offered executive positions to female staff as part of its efforts to ensure gender diversity among its workforce.

Managing Director/Chief Executive, NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim gave this hint at the 2nd parley with female staff held in Lagos last week saying, “We envisage that more capable female staff will rise to executive positions in the nearest future in the Corporation as many of them are being properly groomed for higher responsibilities.”

Speaking on the Corporation’s effort to facilitate gender diversity among its workforce, Ibrahim said, “Over the years, we have seen a wide gap between male and female presence in the workplace.  In NDIC, as at August 2013, approximately 27 per cent of the total workforce is female. The gap becomes even wider in the Executive cadre.   As at the same time, only 8.2 per cent  of the Executive members of staff are female.  This figure was much lower before recent recruitments in the Corporation which commenced in August 2010.  The recruitment exercise was concluded with a ratio of 70:30 between males and females respectively.  This is the highest number of female intake in the history of the Corporation and the pace will be deliberately enhanced whenever the need arises to conduct recruitment in the future.”

He said that the Corporation’s management is aware of the challenges that make it difficult for women to achieve their career aspirations and have takes steps to resolve these challenges through its Code of Conduct and Culture Handbooks.

We are aware that globally, women face numerous challenges in the workplace which tend to make it difficult for them to achieve their career aspirations.  These challenges range from sexual harassment to other gender-based discriminatory practices.  Happily, we have not recorded any significant occurrence of these kinds of unhealthy practices in NDIC. Management has taken cognizance of these issues and has articulated robust Code of Conduct and Culture Handbooks to mitigate these unwholesome practices.  On her part, Executive Director, Corporate Services, Honourary Omolola Abiola- Edewor challenge the female staff to take advantage of the opportunities in the Corporation to advance their career.