TheCable

The Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) says it will explore a partnership with the ministry of women affairs to promote gender equality on the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD). 

Nigerian Exchange said this in a statement made available to TheCable on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, in commemoration of IWD, the NGX rang the bell for gender equality in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, United Nations (UN) Women, United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and World Federation of Exchanges (WFE).

The event themed “Break the Bias: Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” was headlined by Dame Tallen, minister of women affairs and Mariam Katagum, minister of state for industry, trade and investment. 

The group said it brought stakeholders together to explore the key issues that could facilitate progress towards gender equality through policy and finance. 

In his opening remarks, Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, highlighted the role of the global finance sector in achieving gender equality.

“The global finance industry has a critical role to play in achieving gender equality,” Onyema said. 

“As the world clamours for increased reallocation of finance to address the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change and other pressing issues, there is a pressing need for stakeholders to reconsider the role of finance in addressing gender issues.” 

According to him, if promoting gender issues was conceived as a business opportunity or a transaction, favourable policies would need to be implemented to enable investors to recoup their investments. 

“At NGX group of companies, we remain committed to playing our part by implementing various initiatives aimed at promoting gender diversity and empowering women,” he said. 

Speaking on the potential of collaboration to promote gender equality, Temi Poopola, chief executive officer, said: “We recognise our strategic position as the engine of growth of Africa’s largest economy and we leverage this unique position to promote the adoption of sustainable business practices and reporting as well as foster the growth of long-term sustainable finance.” 

“NGX group of companies is committed to championing efforts to advance gender equality across our ecosystem through the introduction of gender-responsive and inclusive financial instruments, advocacy for increased participation of women on boards and in senior management and support for capacity building initiatives to enable companies to achieve their gender-related aspirations.”

In her remarks, Dame Tallen, minister of women affairs, expressed the willingness of the ministry to collaborate with NGX to promote gender equality.

“Partnerships is at the heart of our intervention philosophy at the Ministry of Women Affairs. We welcome innovative initiatives that can create a future where women are economically empowered as business leaders and entrepreneurs and take on leadership positions in all spheres of endeavour,” she said.

“We are open to collaborating with Nigerian Exchange Limited, development partners here present and all relevant stakeholders, local and international, who can help create this future through innovative solutions, including gender bonds.”

While speaking on a fireside chat session on inclusive economic policies to break the gender bias in women’s employment and entrepreneurship, Tinuade Awe, CEO, NGX Regulation, lauded the economic and societal benefits of women’s financial inclusion.

“Women’s financial inclusion can create greater economic stability and prosperity for women, their families, and their communities, by building assets, and enabling the ability to respond to family needs,” she said.

Mariam Katagum, minister of state for industry, trade and investment, highlighted the need for collaboration across board.

“The contribution of women to the Nigerian economy has been established. However, we have only 8 years to ensure we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, hence there is need for urgency for Nigerian to move ahead in terms of gender equality,” Katagum said.

She highlighted the potential of policy in improving the livelihood of women through gender-friendly trade policies.

In addition, she said domesticating the 2017 Buenos Aires Declaration on women and trade, which encourages member states to make trade and development policies more gender-friendly, would go a long way in ensuring that women are better included in the financial system and the economy as a whole.