Cadbury Nigeria Plc has joined a coalition of 15 Nigerian companies that cut across manufacturing, banking and finance, construction, hospitality, logistics, and telecommunications, to promote gender equality in the workplace.
This, they want to do, under the Nigeria2Equal programme.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) are championing the Nigeria2Equal initiative that is designed to increase women’s participation in leadership, employment and entrepreneurship in the private sector, through favourable staff policies and practices, over a two-and-half year period.
At the virtual public launch of the programme recently, stakeholders stressed the importance of empowering women particularly in listed companies, noting that this would boost investor confidence, increase productivity and enhance business performance.
Speaking on the development, managing director, Cadbury Nigeria, Mrs Oyeyimika Adeboye said: “Gender equality is embedded in our corporate DNA. We are one of the few listed companies in Nigeria that has equal gender representation on our board of directors. We are committed to creating a workplace where women can thrive.”
Earlier, in his opening remarks, senior country manager, IFC Nigeria, Kalim Shah said: “Through the Nigeria2Equal initiative, we are working with CEOs of private sector companies listed on the Exchange who are committed to implementing gender-smart solutions, to improve their performance in gender across leadership, employment and entrepreneurship.”
The chief executive officer of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Mr. Temi Popoola, noted, “Nigeria2Equal is the first multi-stakeholder country project focused on reducing gender gaps in Nigeria’s private sector companies. NGX has become the first exchange in Africa to galvanise private sector participation in closing gender gaps across employment and entrepreneurship.”
Representatives of 14 other companies also pledged their commitment to ensuring the empowerment of women in their respective organisations.
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