“GENDER EQUALITY TODAY FOR A SUSTAINABLE TOMORROW”

11 Apr “GENDER EQUALITY TODAY FOR A SUSTAINABLE TOMORROW”

Every year on this day, women are honoured for what they represent: their talents, accomplishments, and important contributions to their communities and society. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Gender Equality Today for A Sustainable Tomorrow,’ which aligns with two major challenges at the heart of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals: gender inequality and climate change.

According to statistics, women account for 70% of the world’s 1.3 billion underprivileged individuals, while women and girls account for 80% of those displaced by climate change and related disasters.

The COVID-19 epidemic has hampered progress toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to gender equality and health. To protect women from adversity, a global effort must be made to collectively strengthen initiatives that address the underlying causes of women’s vulnerability to climate change, such as disproportionate poverty rates, a lack of social empowerment, and insufficient access to health, education, and social protection services. Furthermore, policies must be designed to increase women’s employment opportunities while also supporting equal involvement in decision-making. To back up these claims, a recent UN research found that women account for 36.3 percent of local governments, 25.6 percent of national legislatures, and only 28.2 percent of managerial posts worldwide.

There has never been a more critical time than now to empower our women and to harness the diverse skills and talents they possess. We are happy to have a good representation of women in our start-up ecosystem at Africa FinTech Foundry. The Foundry has also established the Female Digital Academy (FDA), a female-focused digital academy that educates and prepares the next generation of female technology specialists in STEM fields (https://africafintechfoundry.ng/digital-academy/). AFF also hosts the “Women In Tech” conference twice a year, as well as other ecosystem events aimed at amplifying women’s voices. Similarly, Access Bank’s “W” program is a virtual community aimed at inspiring and connecting women to possibilities both nationally and internationally while also providing a rewarding banking experience. To put it another way, the ‘W’ Initiative is the hub for all things Access Bank offers women and is open to all women irrespective of who they bank with (https://thewcommunity.com/).

Ending all forms of discrimination against women is not only a basic human right, but also a progressive action which has multiple positive effects across all areas of life.

Happy International Women’s Day 2022!

#AffForGenderEquality #BreakTheBias

Anticipate (drumroll please):

• Our Ecosystem Roundtable talk where we discuss everything tech (as usual) and it promises to be as interesting and insightful as ever.
• Registration for our next start-up cohort will soon begin so tell your friend to tell their friends with that dream or the idea to come through and register!