Group Tasks of States to Domesticate Women’s Economic Empowerment Policies – The Sun Nigeria

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The Partnership for Women in Economic Development (PAWED) has urged other state governments to emulate Lagos State in domesticating the Women’s National Economic Empowerment (WEE) policy in their states.
Speaking on Friday at an NGO socialization meeting on the National EEE Policy for Lagos State, PAWED, with the support of the Development Research and Project Center (dRPC), said it was determined to encourage other states to adopt policies for the benefit of women.
A consultant working with dRPC, Mrs. Kehinde Omojola, stressed the need for stakeholder engagement and inclusion of rural women in the formulation of government policies.
Omojola said the workshop was for strategic stakeholders selected from across the state. She stressed the importance of policies to empower women.
She said research has shown that companies with at least 30 percent women in management positions are 15 percent more profitable. She noted that supporting ZEE creates a number of opportunities for women.
Omojola added that estimates show that if women are given adequate support, there will be a $5 trillion global economy recovery.
She said women-owned businesses have proven to be more productive, generating output of the same value as men, with less labor and limited time.
“According to the Global Banking Alliance for Women 2017, the non-performing loan rate for women-owned and operated SMEs is just 2.7%, which is 33% lower than the loan rate for men.
“This will help the government plan activities for women accordingly. One of the problems we encountered is that the government is making a lot of interventions, but it seems to be more about prosperity than about economic empowerment.
“The fact is that no matter what happens, there is a need to collect evidence properly because that is the only way it can count for us when it comes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The policy provides guidance and tells us who is responsible for what should be done, and even in some cases, how to do it.
“The right policy sets us up for success because now we will be aware of what we are doing. As we speak, this is happening in Kano, we have several states and about 20 commissioners have come together to express their desire to domesticate this policy in their states.”
For her part, agribusiness specialist Aderoju Odunsi said the policy revitalizes all the small efforts made over the years and brings them together into one document that is cross-cutting and involves everyone to achieve the SDGs.
She said: “Lagos has contributed a lot to the discussion and has provided a lot of input from the various women’s associations that are now engaged in the work on this document that we are reviewing today.
“You can see the intent and seriousness of the decision-makers because once the policy was set, they sent it for review anyway.
“We are now looking at the gaps and MDA has been assigned to work on each of the policy streams. For example, women, even those with disabilities, were included and the issue of employment for women and pregnant women was addressed.
“We are trying, but we are wondering how we can significantly improve the lives of women in Lagos State.”
Mile 12 market leader, Precious Modupe Ojo, said the policy would open doors for rural women to showcase their talents.
She said: “Since Lagos State has already domesticated this policy, I think it will be very helpful as Lagos is the pacesetter.
“I am sure that women will have a sense of belonging and will participate in government policies and programs, which will increase our political importance in the country.
“The challenge over the years is that government policies are not monitored, but this time we will continue with it as it has already been domesticated in the state.
“So, there is nothing stopping us again and we are going to go to every corner of the state to ensure this policy is implemented.
“I think the Renewed Hope Program opens doors for rural women to come out and present themselves.
“We are the driving force of the country’s economy because if a manufacturer produces any commodity, he will still come to us in the market to sell and promote the product. So we are an important sector, but they don’t push us. I’m sure we’ll reach many places with this program.”