Situating Women Within the Pathway of Economic Recovery

Chiamaka Ozulumba writes on the need to situate women within the pathway of economic recovery, a move continuously championed by the Minister for Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen

“We need to do something differently to make it work, to help empower more women, put food on the table, support children get education and build a better future for our country”, the above statement was  made by the Minister for Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen at the 21st National Council on Women Affairs, Uyo.
Her stance has always been that women economic empowerment will provide solution to the myriads of problems bedeviling Nigeria.
According to her, when women are empowered, the nation will be better; the children will be happy and “we will not have the security problems we are battling with now. Most of these problems are because of the breakdown of family values.
“If you educate a woman, you are educating the family, an educated woman will ensure that her children are fully educated and her family is well cared for, everything that concerns the family will go well. 
“We will not have issues of banditry. We have been working hand in hand with the ministry of education to ensure that our children are educated”.
Calling for more support and collaborations for the number of women who need help, she said the ministry has tried to build a better future for some vulnerable women in the country.
“We need to do something differently to make it work, to help empower more women, put food on the table, support children get education and build a better future for our country. We need to rise up to the occasion,” she added.
Already, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, which she superintends is currently providing targeted economic empowerment support to women who were hardest hit by COVID-driven economic reversals. 
To this end, a set of customised business development and skills transfer sessions have been held in Bauchi, Enugu, Plateau and Ekiti states with more expected to hold subsequently. 
During these sessions, accredited manufacturers of personalised protective equipment, particularly personal sanitary products have been sharing information around emerging commercial opportunities within the personal hygiene service value chain, the rudiments of registering and running micro and small businesses, opportunities for accessing credit support, as well the importance of networking and how to leverage on existing business membership networks.  
Apart from the professional trainers, resource persons were drawn from the Rescue Initiative for Sustainable Development, the Nigerian Network of Women Exporters of Services, and the academia. Others include Top Goddy Nigeria limited, Joseph Afe and Partners, and QUB Resources.

Meanwhile, panelists at the session agreed that to close the gap on economic and financial inclusion, concerted efforts must be taken to strengthen coordination, establish accountability, and ensure deliberate policies targeted at increased women’s economic development.

The events are part of the ministry’s recalibrated women’s economic empowerment approach in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which deepened pre-existing gender inequalities, across different economic sectors in Nigeria. 
Women and girls had higher levels of responsibility for caregiving than normal and there were also significant distortions in the livelihood options within the informal economy, where women predominate.
 Also, women with disabilities found it more challenging to access many of the economic incentives, which some other women benefited from.
While there is a lot of work left to be done, it is hoped that these events will help incentivise increased economic participation and engagement by women in Nigeria given the growing consensus that women empowerment, if well promoted responds to women’s engagement in productive activities that engenders development and poverty reduction.

Quote“We need to do something differently to make it work, to help empower more women, put food on the table, support children get education and build a better future for our country. We need to rise up to the occasion”