ON the 8th of March each year, the strength and resilience of the pillars of our society – our women, is brought to the forefront of our minds. On this day, we engage in various activities to celebrate women as they have laboured and toiled relentlessly to maintain the peace and order we have the privilege to enjoy. Today however, we celebrate the woman beyond her strength, we applaud her grace as she chooses selflessness daily.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report highlights how women are rare in senior positions: with only 13.9% of firms having female top managers. However, Edo State has progressed beyond these national figures and continues to push for more inclusivity. In recognition of women’s value as leaders, at the senior cadre of the civil and public service, women make up more than 50% of the permanent secretaries, a development that provides them with ample opportunity to serve.
In response to the urgent need for a policy that sustains the provisions of economic rights of women in projects of the state, this administration drafted and developed a legislative bill titled ‘A Bill for Economic Empowerment Affirmative Action for Urban Poor and Rural Women in Edo State. As a State of firsts, this is the first women’s economic empowerment rights law in Nigeria.
Dear Woman, today, as we continue to embrace equity in our workplace, we are proud to boast of an administration that champions women and girls as trailblazers and innovators and we are resolved to do more.
Happy International Women’s Day.
