Work place equality a case for gender diversity

Sandra Akpan who works in a multinational company was refused promotion. Despite her ability to carry out the job more diligently than any of the men on the team, for the fact that she was a woman, she wasn’t given the promotion. Their excuse, ‘in Africa, men lead the home, giving her the promotion would […]

Sandra Akpan who works in a multinational company was refused promotion. Despite her ability to carry out the job more diligently than any of the men on the team, for the fact that she was a woman, she wasn’t given the promotion. Their excuse, ‘in Africa, men lead the home, giving her the promotion would belittle the men and kill their ego’
In Nigeria, despite the large proportion of female graduates and the significant numbers who join various companies at entry level, very few reach the top. Across board, women do not feature prominently on the decision making positions in Nigeria.
With only 25 of 360 law makers at the Federal House of Representatives and only 4% of local councilors being women, the ratios are no higher in the corporate sector of the country. The burning question is how companies have made efforts towards bridging the gap of gender diversity in their organizations.
The question, of course, is how individual companies make a conscious effort to raise gender diversity in senior management. To this end, Lafarge Africa Plc has in line with its Sustainability Ambitions 2020, responded to these challenges in a way that looks optimistic for the future.
The tenets of these ambitions include the belief that diversity in employees, teams and management is an essential factor in achieving a high level of performance and innovation. This specific focus on employee diversity and skills development, regardless of gender, nationality, color or religion, ensures that as a group it uses every asset at its disposal to achieve set targets.
Lafarge Group has as part of its ethos preached the gospel of gender inclusion and Lafarge Africa has consistently made a business case for increasing the number of women in senior management positions. A widely held opinion is that companies benefit from access to the different but complementary leadership skills and insights women bring to management, as well as a wider talent pool.
Indeed, a research shows stronger financial performance at companies with a greater proportion of women on executive committee’s position supported by the McKinsey’s Early Women Matter research largely focused on Europe and the United States. There have been proven links between the presence of women in senior management positions and the strength of companies’ financial performance.
Increasing the number of women in senior management positions up to 35% by 2020 is a corporate target, which as at 2013 had reached 18.6% of top management, through the acceleration of the identification of women capable of engaging in career development and occupying leadership positions.
Female employees are encouraged to be involved in development, implementation and compliance with leading standards in developing a creative mindset, so their diversity may become a force for innovation and performance.
Leadership and gender workshops were held across in the various business units and locations and thought provoking workshops that introduce diversity concepts and examines gender differences, and their effects on business relationships, communications and decision making are organized to guarantee participants generate specific local actions to improve diversity. On-going diversity training helps drive employee engagement and creates a work environment that visibly values and leverages diversity.
Some other initiatives introduced by some companies to support diversity and inclusion include the activation of Women’s Networking Groups, flexible work hours in the corporate head office, supporting nursing mothers with crèche allowance, provision of paternity leave, and exclusion of maternity leave from annual leave entitlement( though this is one area most organizations still find to adhere to).
The barriers to success are many, not least among them the prevailing cultural beliefs and biases. The best approach to overcoming these biases that may hinder the success of hiring, retaining, and promoting more talented women and seizing the associated business opportunity.
To this end, out of the twelve members of Lafarge Africa Plc’s top management team, four are women. One of them being the recently appointed managing director of WAPCO Operations, Adepeju Adebajo. Others include, Fidelia Osime Country Organization and Human Resources Director, Edith Onwuchekwa Country Legal Counsel and Viola Graham Douglas Country Communication Director.
 The combined wealth of experience and exposure wielded by these women is without a doubt an undisputable asset to the company and a justification of the corporate policy of diversity and inclusion. This representation does not stop at the directorial level of the company but permeates across board and in key middle management roles, where women feature prominently and contribute actively to the overall success rating of the company.
Across the world, women have continued to attain high rankings in key leadership traits like ambition and decisiveness. The natural trait of placing a high value and importance on intelligence and honesty positions them as assets with essential leadership traits. The truth of the matter is that a totally transformed workforce may be a while away for many corporations, but Lafarge Africa Plc has proven with these women that with conscious effort, success is attainable.