Mo Abudu urges women to contribute to economic growth

Ahead of the March 8, 2017 annual International Women’s Day, Mo Abudu, the Chairman of EbonyLife TV, on Tuesday, urged women in business and in government to contribute to the nation’s economic development.

She made the call at a public lecture organised by an NGO, Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Be Bold for Change’’.

The International Women’s Day is a UN approved observance day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

According to Abudu, women have special gifts that allow them to deliver and can be successful in whatever they are doing.

She said “ladies, employ ladies; women have the opportunity to make this happen so that the imbalances can be balanced.

“If you are a woman and you are interviewing a man and a woman and they both are equally competent, please take a woman, so you can promote her.

“Do not just take any kind of woman but take the competent ones so that we can start changing that gender imbalance.”

She advised women to search themselves to find the right ideas as to what would make them stand out and be bold in the face of challenges.

She also advised women that have been in business that had failed not to see it as a problem but learn from it and get back on their feet.

Mrs Chizor Malize, the Managing Partner of Brandzone Consulting, also said that the greatest thing that women could do for another was encouragement.

She said “I also believe in Mo Abudu’s paradigm, which is because women must be able to change the narrative and so when people say men can do all things, we should also say women can do all things too.

“By giving a woman opportunity, putting her in the right position for her to proof herself, it means you have given her the platform to discover and maximise her potential to rise above all challenges.

“If successful women should motivate and encourage others to be able to climb the ladder, believe me, our story will change and the equation will be balanced.”

Mrs Aisha Ahmed, the Chairperson and a trustee member of WIMBIZ, urged women to look inwards in the face of challenges.

She said “women need to look inwards now more than ever to be able to determine with drives and interest them; there are so many opportunities in the world today that we can all leverage on instead of copying other people.

“Recession generally makes people to step, back this is the time to be audacious, bold and go with your guts,’’ she stressed.

Originally called International Working Women’s Day, the International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8 every year.

It is a day when women are recognised for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.

The International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the 20^th century in North America and across Europe.

Since those early years, the day has assumed new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike.

The growing international women’s movement, which has been strengthened by four global UN women’s conferences, helped to make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women’s rights and participation in political and economic arenas.