TheCable

SunTrust Bank says 50 percent of its senior management team members are women.

Raliat Oyetunde, the bank’s head of SME and regional head in Lagos and Western Nigeria, was speaking at an event to mark the 2021 International Women’s Day (IWD) on Monday.

The theme for the 2021 IWD celebration, as announced by the United Nations, is ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’.

Speaking with TheCable, Oyetunde said SunTrust Bank chose to challenge the status quo by allowing women to occupy top leadership positions.

She identified some of the bank positions occupied by women to include managing director, acting treasurer, head of corporate branding, regional head of Lagos and Western Nigeria, chief risk officer, head of operations, regional head in Port Harcourt, among others.

“We pride ourselves as having at least 50 percent of our senior management team as female, so we have chosen to challenge the status quo. We have challenged the stereotype that women can’t reach the top. SunTrust Bank is telling every woman out there that we are equal to the task,” she said.

“One of our mantra for 2021 and beyond is to encourage women to be the better version of themselves. We chose to partner with “Ladies on the Wheel”, female Uber and Bolt drivers, to help them acquire their own fleet and brand them.

“If you are a woman in business, you can open an account with SunTrust Bank and get a collateral-free loan for one year. As long as you are looking for between N500,000 and N1,000,000, SunTrust Bank will partner with you. For every woman or girl child out there, I challenge you today to be bold and audacious. Rise up to the challenge, you can do it.”

Soyem Osakwe, a strategic communications consultant, urged women to identify the value they offer and build a brand for themselves beyond work.

“A lot of women struggle to talk about their accomplishment and successes. I am happy that more women are building their personal brands and they are being intentional about it,” she said.

“Organisations must find ways to train and retrain all staff members, including women, on the importance of being strong employee advocates for themselves. You can have influencers but at the end of the day, you need strong voices at every level within the organization. People trust individuals more than they trust brands.”

In her remarks, Ini Abimbola, a business leader and board advisor, said women need to rise above self-doubt, poor confidence, body language and lack of presence.

She urged organisations to invest resources in training employees, including women, adding that bias should also be eliminated at workplaces.