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Special Report

Special Report

How to Make Room for the Diverse Perspectives of Women in the News

by Women Times on

This is the second part on a three-part series covering key findings from “From Outrage to Opportunity: How to Include the Missing Perspectives of Women of All Colors in News Leadership and Coverage.” You can find the first article in the series here.

“There are women of color who have been at my news organization a very long time, that are just dismissed. There are women who’ve complained: ‘I brought this story forward because I know what’s happening in the community’ and my white supervisor says, ‘That’s not a story.’”

This is one of many quotes of frustration from the dozens of senior news leaders from the Global North and South interviewed for my report, “From Outrage to Opportunity: How to Include the Missing Perspectives of Women of All Colors in News Leadership and Coverage,” commissioned by the Gates foundation.

Editors’ lived experiences influence their decisions about what to run in the news. These decisions also influence who consumes the news. Men — in the Global North, white men — are over-represented among both editors and news consumers. Their perspective on what constitutes a story has been internalized as the default editorial standard by all journalists regardless of gender, to the detriment of journalism and audiences.

Barriers to inclusive journalism

Women show more interest than men in 11 of 16 news genres, including local news, climate change, crime/personal security, education, and social justice. However, the five genres where men’s interest exceeds women’s are the highest profile news genres, and are substantially edited by male editors. Three of these serve as a resource pool for the most senior editorial positions in news organizations: politics, business/economics, and international news.

Gender blindness, racial blindness, and status quo bias are three key institutional and individual barriers to more inclusive journalism. They lead to gaps in newsgathering and coverage summarized by a senior female news editor in the Global South: “Sometimes we say: ‘This is what is normal.’ So when you need to talk to people on economic issues, you go for well-known economists and they all just tend to be men. And you are not thinking consciously. We need to say: ‘Okay, we know so and so, but let’s find a woman’s voice.'”

The interviewed senior new editors reiterated additional barriers to more gender- and minority-inclusive storytelling: journalism’s short-term outlook and a tendency towards reductive storytelling, compounded by resistance to a forensic analysis of journalism’s own shortcomings.

Jane Barrett, Reuters’ media news strategy global editor, reflected on the multi-layered problem of the homogeneous thinking in news: “Journalism is a very busy, constantly stressful industry. When you’re stuck in operational tasks, you don’t give yourself time to consider: ‘What are some of the structural faults we currently have that might become devastating?’ Diversity has been a crack in the wall for such a long time, but so far we’ve mostly dealt with it by hiring people from different backgrounds,” she said. “That’s a great and important start, but diversity is much bigger than that. Diversity is also: ‘Who are we talking to? Who are we talking about? What stories are we going after?’ It’s a much bigger issue.”

Another senior editor from the Global North also linked the fast-paced news agenda to editors shying away from diverse perspectives. “Making room for people to have diverse points of view is a challenge. We in journalism can be very reductive, we don’t really like complex stories sometimes. We say: ‘This is the story. Here’s the solution, or not the solution and that’s it.’ Bringing diverse viewpoints inherently adds complexity to our conversations and coverage, which is a good thing, but not everyone has that perspective.”

The human interest element

I asked senior editors what stories they thought had been missed previously through a lack of diversity of perspectives. Their suggestions and AKAS’ data research uncovered that micro and human interest stories within the big political, economic or health stories — which appeal to women more — are often missed out. AKAS’ analysis of COVID-19 stories from the first wave of the pandemic in an earlier Missing Perspectives report revealed that a woeful nine percent contained a human interest element. The perspectives of people of color were also identified as being frequently omitted, as evidenced in political news in the U.K. and U.S.

The role of Hispanic voters in the 2016 U.S. election, the unexpected outcome of the Brexit referendum in the U.K., and the initial disproportionate impact of the pandemic on ethnic minority groups, were all cited as examples of stories lacking this element.

Coverage of crime stories, in particular, frequently reveals an extraordinary journalistic racial bias, as identified in the missing white woman syndrome, coined by American newsreader Gwen Ifill. An AKAS GDELT analysis of the U.K. news coverage of the homicide stories of (white) Sarah Everard and (Black) sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman unearthed dramatically different levels of overall coverage, including in the crucial first 10 days of their stories being broken. Everard’s name was mentioned 116 times more frequently than those of Henry and Smallman (11,121 vs 96).

Potential interventions

My research and interviews with editors from across the globe uncovered numerous interventions that can unlock more gender- and ethnically-inclusive news coverage. These include raising awareness of existing organizational biases to emphasize macro over micro stories, and the need to amplify female and racial perspectives in key political, economic, foreign affairs, and health stories — not least, by hiring editors from these groups.

Two other innovative interventions that showed promise were appointing newsroom inclusion champions and introducing 360-degree editing. One senior news editor reported how creating a 100-strong team of inclusion champions across their newsroom “just changed the tenor of our coverage, the conversations around coverage.” Another explained how 360-editing facilitates expanding perspectives from grassroots levels, ensuring stories are covered through the lens of different groups.

To accelerate change and attract bigger audiences, news providers must amplify women’s of all colors missing perspectives across all news elements. I can just about hear more editors saying: “What a great story angle. I hadn’t thought of that!” And sense audiences’ relief at recognizing themselves in stories they never thought to see reported in the news.

 

 

 

 

Credit: IJNet

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Special Report

How Video Game Marketers Can Better Communicate With Women Consumers

by Women Times on

Jonathan Shroyer is the Chief CX Innovation Officer at Arise Virtual Solutions and has 20 years of experience as a business leader.

About 48% of all gamers in the United States are women. Despite women playing games at around the same percentage as men, the gaming industry has largely neglected women for decades. One excuse for this has been the misconception that women do not spend the amount of money that men do to play games. However, the reality is that many women do not feel welcome in a lot of gaming spaces, and this is a design flaw. This is in part a result of women rarely being in game design conversations in the industry itself. In addition, when women feel unwelcome and are treated unfairly as they play a game, they and other potential players are deterred from that particular game.

So how can video game marketers better communicate with women consumers to make them feel welcome in the industry? As a communications professional who’s in gaming and runs several player-facing services, let me share some suggestions.

Place women in executive roles in the gaming industry.

Men make up the majority of gaming executives, which means it is often the case that design choices get approved without a woman seeing them, or women are not being created as star characters at all. In some cases, this can result in sexualized or even infantilized women characters, which can create an environment that is not respectful to women from the very beginning. If women are in the design room when characters are being created, it may result in more realistic women characters. There can also be spaces created for women players to voice their opinions and concerns about a game and its features.

By creating characters that are designed with women in mind, you are communicating with all players that you value women and see them as human beings, not objects.

Communicate that harassment is a priority issue and take action against it.

In my experience, harassment in a game is typically not taken seriously by gaming companies, and this is especially true for games that utilize verbal communication. This is also where women players tend to face the most harassment. From misogynistic comments to slurs and death threats, harassment needs to be taken seriously by gaming companies. While it is easier to monitor in chat rooms, verbal harassment is where women players face the greatest chance of being targeted. That means that companies need to monitor those spaces and ensure that all players are engaging with each other respectfully. Players should be able to report players that are harassing themselves or others, and gaming companies should review the conversations where the harassment took place.

Gaming companies need to be transparent and verbal in their messaging that they take harassment, particularly against women gamers, seriously.

Communicate with and design spaces and groups specifically for women players.

As a gaming company, or any company, for that matter, that works with the public, creating spaces for marginalized groups is essential to maintain equitable and safe environments for everyone. Communicating to your players, customers or the general public that you value everyone and make a concerted effort to create spaces that stimulate an inclusive community is crucial to succeeding as a gaming company in 2023.

In conclusion, gaming companies need to realign their priorities to better include a good percentage of their players—their women players. From overly sexualized characters to mediocre harassment policies that are regularly not upheld, gaming companies and the gaming industry as a whole need to be proactive in creating spaces where everyone feels comfortable, safe and welcome. By having women in executive roles, especially during the game design process, games are more likely to consider women in addition to men players. By taking harassment seriously and actively working to remove harmful behaviors and actions from gaming spaces, more people will feel welcomed and spend more time in games. When people feel accepted and welcomed, they may well be more likely to spend money and time playing games.

 

 

 

Credit: Forbes

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Special Report

Woman Dies Every Two Minutes During Pregnancy, Childbirth – Report

by Women Times on

Every two minutes, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, according to the latest estimates released in a report by United Nations agencies released recently.

The report, ‘Trends in maternal mortality’, revealed alarming setbacks for women’s health over recent years, as maternal deaths either increased or stagnated in nearly all regions of the world.

The report shows that severe bleeding, high blood pressure, pregnancy-related infections, complications from unsafe abortion, and underlying conditions that can be aggravated by pregnancy (such as HIV/AIDS and malaria) are the leading causes of maternal deaths.

“These are all largely preventable and treatable with access to high-quality and respectful healthcare.

“Community-centered primary health care can meet the needs of women, children and adolescents and enable equitable access to critical services such as assisted births and pre-and postnatal care, childhood vaccinations, nutrition and family planning.

“However, underfunding of primary health care systems, a lack of trained health care workers and weak supply chains for medical products are threatening progress,” the report notes.

It adds that roughly a third of women do not have even four of the recommended eight antenatal checks or receive essential postnatal care, while some 270 million women lack access to modern family planning methods.

Maternal deaths continue to be largely concentrated in the poorest parts of the world and in countries affected by conflict.

“In 2020, about 70 per cent of all maternal deaths were in sub-Saharan Africa. In nine countries facing severe humanitarian crises, maternal mortality rates were more than double the world average (551 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 223 globally),” it reveals.

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said “While pregnancy should be a time of immense hope and a positive experience for all women, it is tragically still a shockingly dangerous experience for millions around the world who lack access to high quality, respectful health care.

“These new statistics reveal the urgent need to ensure every woman and girl has access to critical health services before, during and after childbirth, and that they can fully exercise their reproductive rights.”

The report, which tracks maternal deaths nationally, regionally and globally from 2000 to 2020, shows there were an estimated 287,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2020.

This marks only a slight decrease from 309 000 in 2016 when the Sustainable Development Goals came into effect. While the report presents some significant progress in reducing maternal deaths between 2000 and 2015, gains largely stalled, or in some cases even reversed, after this point.

“For millions of families, the miracle of childbirth is marred by the tragedy of maternal deaths,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “No mother should have to fear for her life while bringing a baby into the world, especially when the knowledge and tools to treat common complications exist. Equity in healthcare gives every mother, no matter who they are or where they are, a fair chance at a safe delivery and a healthy future with their family.”

“This report provides yet another stark reminder of the urgent need to double down on our commitment to women and adolescent health,” said Juan Pablo Uribe, Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank, and Director of the Global Financing Facility. “With immediate action, more investments in primary health care and stronger, more resilient health systems, we can save lives, improve health and well-being, and advance the rights of and opportunities for women and adolescents.”

“It is unacceptable that so many women continue to die needlessly in pregnancy and childbirth. Over 280,000 fatalities in a single year is unconscionable,” said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. “We can and must do better by urgently investing in family planning and filling the global shortage of 900,000 midwives so that every woman can get the lifesaving care she needs. We have the tools, knowledge and resources to end preventable maternal deaths; what we need now is the political will.”

The COVID-19 pandemic may have further held back progress on maternal health. Noting the current data series ends in 2020, more data will be needed to show the true impacts of the pandemic on maternal deaths. However, COVID-19 infections can increase risks during pregnancy, so countries should take action to ensure pregnant women and those planning pregnancies have access to COVID-19 vaccines and effective antenatal care.

The report reveals that the world must significantly accelerate progress to meet global targets for reducing maternal deaths, or else risk the lives of over one million more women by 2030.

 

 

 

 

Credit:  The Punch

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Special Report

Mouka Teams Up with GNOSIS Help Initiative In Providing Succor for Victims of Domestic Violence and Abuse

by Women Times on

Mouka, Nigeria’s manufacturer of mattresses, pillows and other sleep products, has comforted domestic violence and abuse victims by providing free mattresses to GNOSIS Help Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO). In line with its mission of adding comfort to life, Mouka has helped improve the living condition of these displaced persons sheltered by the NGO.

The donation was made at the company’s head office in Lagos on Wednesday, 1 February 2023.

According to Mouka’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Dimeji Osingunwa, the company truly cares about the wellbeing of its consumers and will continue to support worthy programs such as the GNOSIS Help Initiative that seek to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians. He also called on other corporate organisations to lend a helping hand in making the lives of the victims easier in their journey of healing.

In his response, Barrister Olumide Kayode-Omosebi, Founder of GNOSIS Help Initiative (GHI), said, “when I reached out to Mouka, I did not expect they would respond with such a grand gesture. I am so thankful as this would go a long way in making the victims feel comfortable in the places of shelter we provide”. He said with the donation, Mouka has truly demonstrated it is interested in the comfort of all Nigerians, even victims of abuse.

According to him, domestic violence and abuse cases are increasing. In the past year alone, GNOSIS Help Initiative has handled hundreds of abuse cases involving women, children and even men.

“We also engage secondary and tertiary institutions in the country to enlighten the students on how to identify abuse and seek help to break this vicious cycle as most times, the abuser was once a victim or witnessed a loved one being abused, ” Kayode-Omosebi stated.

The Founder and his co-founder, who is also his wife, shared numerous heartbreaking stories of abuse by spouses and parents that have, in many cases, resulted in grave physical injuries and, many times, death.

Mouka’s National Customer Service Manager, Mr Femi Yussuf, also expressed his gratitude to GNOSIS Help Initiative for this opportunity to give back to society. According to him, Mouka has given away thousands of mattresses in the past two years to worthy causes, including the first babies born in the year, covid Isolation centres, internally displaced person’s camps, flood victims, and orphanage homes as part of its CSR programs.

Mouka is a member of Dolidol International Group, Africa’s leading brand of sleep products, with headquarters in Morrocco. The company has a wide range of products specially designed to meet the various needs of consumers based on their age, body build, lifestyle and budget to provide quality sleep to enable them to wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day.
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Special Report

Our Aprons Should Have No Gender: Engaging Men to Alleviate The Care Burden for Women in Rwanda

by Women Times on

A baseline survey conducted by UN Women Rwanda on unpaid care work status among women and men within 8 districts of Rwanda,  revealed that a rural woman spent seven hours per day doing unpaid care work, while the urban woman spent six hours and nine minutes as opposed to the man who only spent two hours per day.

This inequality is considered as one of the factors hindering the woman’s ability to thrive, considering the time she spends engaging in unpaid care work denies her enough time on income generating activities. With partnership and financial support from UN WOMEN, RWAMREC has worked towards challenging cultural gender norms that prevent men and boys to be involved in reproductive work which constitutes a big barrier to women economic empowerment.

To date, RWAMREC in partnership with three districts in Rwanda, Ngoma, Kirehe and Nyaruguru districts successfully conducted activities including a Project Introductory meeting at district level, and training workshop of 40 male and female community leaders on male involvement in unpaid care work. This activity is part of a project under UN Women’s transformative approaches to recognize, reduce and redistribute Unpaid Care Work project through male involvement in unpaid care and domestic work, funded by Global Affairs Canada.

Nyiramayira Donatile, a mother of 7 children, resides in Nyaruguru district, with her husband of 27 years. She notes, “I used to wake up and sweep, cut grass for cows, harvest sweet potatoes, gather firewood, then cook and sometimes the sun could set still with pending things to do.”

Nyiramayira narrates that her husband was a drunkard, and he squandered their finances after selling their goats and wood without consulting her and this offended her.

Nyiramayira affirms that RWAMREC’s lessons are just on time saying, “They alleviated my stress, whenever it clocked 3 am in the morning my mind was wondering what my children shall eat along with my list of basic necessities.”

“I’m rejoicing due to the harmony we have now, unlike before when we never reasoned together, today we sit and deliberate together,” she adds.

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Special Report

Women, Quality of Life And Sustainable Development

by Women Times on

By Fatima Ali Busuguma

Women are the pioneers of any nation. The Nigerian culture attaches great importance to women, who comprise half of the world’s population. According to a report by the UN Secretary General, women account for 50 percent of human resources, making them the second-largest human resource after men in terms of potential.

Women are the key to sustainable development and quality of life in the family. The variety of roles the women assume in the family are those of wife, leader, administrator, manager of family income, and last but not least, the most important, mother.

As a wife, a woman is a man’s helpmate, partner, and comrade. She sacrifices her personal pleasure and ambitions, sets the standard of morality, relieves stress and strain, on the husband, and maintains peace and order in the household. Thereby, she creates a necessary environment for her male partner to think more about the economic enlistment of the family. She is the source of inspiration for men’s high endeavours and worthwhile achievements in life.

She is by his side in all crises and shares all of his successes and accomplishments. Likewise, she is the person to whom he turns for love, sympathy, understanding, comfort, and recognition.

She is the symbol of purity, faithfulness, submission, and devotion to her husband. A well-ordered, disciplined household is essential to normal family life. The woman in the family assumes this function. She is the chief executive of an enterprise. She assigns duties among family members according to their interests and abilities, and provides resources in-term of equipment and materials to accomplish the job.

Furthermore, she is responsible for meal preparation and serving, clothing selection and care, laundering, and house furnishing and maintenance. As an administrator, she organises various social functions in the family for social development. She also acts as a director of recreation. She plans various recreational activities to meet the needs of young and old members of the family.

The woman acts as the humble manager of the family income. It is her responsibility to secure the maximum return from every penny spent. She always prefers to prepare a surplus budget instead of a deficit budget. When it comes to spending money, she is very calculated about her losses and gains. She distributes judiciously the income among different categories, such as necessities, comforts, and luxuries.

The woman in the family also contributes to the family income through her own earning within or outside the home. She has positive contribution to the family income by the work. She herself performs in the home and uses waste products for productive purposes.

The whole burden of childbearing and a greater part of the child rearing task are carried out by the woman in the family. She is primarily responsible for the child’s habit of self-control, orderliness, industriousness, theft, or honesty. Her contacts with the child during the most formative period of his development sets up his behaviour pattern. She is thus responsible for the maintenance of utmost discipline in the family.

She is the child’s first teacher. Furthermore, she passes on her social heritage to the child. It is from the mother that the child learns the laws of the race, the manner of men, moral code and ideals. The mother, because of her intimate and sustained contact with the child, she is able to discover and nurture the child’s special traits aptitudes and attitudes which subsequently play a key role in the shaping of his personality.

As a mother, she is the family health officer. She is very much concerned about the physical wellbeing of every member of the family, the helpless infant, the sickly child, the adolescent youth, the senescent parent. She organises the home and its activities in such a way so that each member of the family has proper food, adequate sleep and sufficient recreation. Not only that, but she made the home a place of quite comfortable and appropriate setting for the children through her talent. Besides, she cultivates taste in interior design and arrangement, so that the home becomes an inviting, restful and cheerful place.

The mother is the central personality of the home and the family circle. All the members turn to her for sympathy, understanding, and recognition. A woman devotes her time, labour and thought for the welfare of the members of her family. The woman performs the role of wife, partner, organiser, administrator, director, re-creator, disburser, economist, mother, disciplinarian, teacher, health officer, artist and queen in the family at the same time. Apart from it, a woman plays a key role in the socio-economic development of the society.

They should act as social leaders, speaking out against women’s violence, domestic and workplace exploitation, dowry prohibition superstition, and other social atrocities. They should be members of religious institutions, delivering spiritual messages to adolescent boys and girls in order to eradicate juvenile delinquency from society. Furthermore, it is women who have sustained societal growth and shaped the future of nations.

In the emerging complex social scenario, women have a vital role to play in different sectors. They can no longer be considered mere harbingers of peace, but are emerging as a source of power and a symbol of progress.

 

 

 

Busuguma, a corps member with PRNigeria, wrote from Wuye

 

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Special Report

To Tackle Violence Against Women, We Need to Alleviate Poverty

by Women Times on

To end violence against women, the international community needs to identify its contributing factors. And poverty, while often overlooked, is an important one. Low-income women and girls have limited options when it comes to escaping domestic or intimate partner violence. They often cannot afford the legal or social resources that would enable them to leave a violent relationship. From seeking counsel to relocating to a shelter away from their partner, these measures often require both a significant amount of time and also financial means. And when women with limited means choose to spend time on these self-protective measures after encountering abuse, they could miss work and lose their source of income, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and vulnerability to violence.

Women and girls living in poverty are also more vulnerable to sexual exploitation such as human trafficking. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February, Ukrainian prosecutors have found traffickers preying on unemployed or lower-income Ukrainian women, especially those struggling to find work to support their children. Women in need of a source of income to raise their families are vulnerable to false economic incentives offered by traffickers. We have a moral duty to both hold perpetrators accountable and to support women economically.

Governments and civil society organizations can work together to provide customized job search assistance to refugees, especially female refugees. Research has consistently shown that gender may hinder a female refugee’s integration into their host society. And refugees often end up in a foreign country where they have practically no background knowledge or recognized credentials, not to mention access to social networks that can them to access employment opportunities.

Customized job search assistance can help tackle these challenges. Civil society organizations, working alongside local authorities, can help validate foreign qualifications that a refugee may hold, provide interview coaching, and contextualize existing opportunities in the labor market. According to a recent research report released by the University of Oxford, intensive job search coaching in Sweden improved refugee employment rates by 43 percent.

Another way to protect working women from the cycle of poverty and violence is to introduce paid domestic violence leave into the labor market. Working women are often faced with the dilemma of whether to risk their jobs and incomes to escape when faced with domestic violence. Paid family and domestic violence leave programs, through which people are given a few days a year to take paid time off if they experience domestic violence, can be a great help to low-income women. They can take the time to have medical treatment, or to seek out local women’s organizations and legal advice.

Low-income women and girls often have limited options when it comes to escaping domestic or intimate partner violence
Low-income women and girls often have limited options when it comes to escaping domestic or intimate partner violence Image: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights

Civil society organizations can help by establishing a pilot program of paid domestic violence leave with local businesses, which will help raise social awareness and government interest. Australia’s paid domestic violence leave, which was adopted nationally earlier this year, began as a small-scale pilot program a decade ago. A paid leave program, implemented on a local scale and funded by civil society groups, can show the wider society how it can significantly improve women’s safety.

Gender equality and environmental protection

The link between gender equality and environmental protection, including climate action, is becoming increasingly visible as climate change intensifies. The principal investigator of the UN Climate Change Unit reported in 2020 that women have been living “in the shadow of climate change” for too long. Women make up a majority of poor communities that are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihoods. And when these resources are lost to sea level rise, extreme weather events and pollution, women are disproportionately affected.

To lift women out of poverty, civil society organizations need to push for not only adequate treatment but also the further involvement of women in the process of developing environmental and climate policies. Non-profit organizations help policymakers identify communities affected by environmental injustice as well as female representatives from those communities. International non-governmental organizations can also help by convening a special event that gives women from low-income and at-risk backgrounds an opportunity to address the world and call for greater political commitment.

 

 

 

 

Credit: Weforum.org

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Special Report

Girl Child Education In Nigeria, Five Important Facts You Should Know

by Women Times on

At various points, creatives in the entertainment industry spotlighted impending issues in Nigerian society, especially the need for women’s empowerment. From Simi’s woman anthem, ‘Woman’, to ‘Koroba’ by Tiwa Savage, these women are at the forefront of highlighting the need for girl child empowerment.

The Girl child in Nigeria accounts for over 23 million of the population of children given birth yearly. Yet, little or nothing is done to protect the interest of this large population of children.

There is the battle for equality, education, and poverty at the top of the list. Here are five essential facts about girl child education in Nigeria.

1. 10 Million Girl Children Are Out Of School

In every public school in Nigeria, education is supposed to be free and compulsory. However, there are still over 18 million out-of-school children, with girls accounting for 10 million. More needs to be done, from religious leaders not taking female education seriously to key government parastatals overlooking the importance of empowering the girl child.

2. 22 Million Girls Were Married Off At Childhood

In 2018, UNICEF estimated that about 22 million girls and women in Nigeria were married off in childhood. According to these statistics, about 40% of all child brides come from West and Central Africa. By 2050 nearly seven million more child brides will be added. These women who are married off are unlikely to go back to school.

3. Less Than 30% Of Primary School Girls Transit To JSS

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) disclosed that less than 30% of the total number of primary six female pupils in Nigeria transit to junior secondary schools nationwide yearly, a statistic that Nigerians should be worried about.

4. Girl Education Drives Positive Development Outcomes

According to a report by the World Bank, girl child education, especially at the secondary level, drives positive development outcomes, which include reduction in child and maternal mortality rates, improvements in educational outcomes of offspring, reducing poverty and promotion of equitable growth.

 

5. 11,500 Schools Have Been Closed Due To Insecurity

Over 11,500 schools have been closed since December 2020 due to insecurity in Nigeria, with the girl childbearing the brute. According to UNICEF, this closure has affected over 1.3 million children in the 2020/21 academic year.

Despite these statistics, the government in 2021 allocated N742.5 billion to the entire education system out of the N13.08 trillion budgeted for 2021.

This is why it’s important to speak up about education in Nigeria, especially the girl child education, and Chiemeka Osuagwu is doing this with the short film ‘Samaria’, which premiered on October 11, 2021.

Watch the short film HERE.

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Special Report

Obama Foundation’s ‘Get Her There’ Focuses On Girls’ ‘Future Me’

by Women Times on

A new ad campaign aims at improving education for girls around the world by talking to their future selves. “When I’m 25,” it begins, then highlights their hopes — ­from simply graduating to going on to med school. Some just want people to ask about their dreams rather than who they want to marry.

The Obama Foundation says the new “Get Her There” campaign is from its Girls Opportunity Alliance, highlighting the need to educate and empower adolescent girls worldwide.

It announced the campaign celebrating International Day of the Girl and says its goal is boosting hundreds of community-based organizations worldwide.

“The barriers our girls face today are steep and are leaving millions of girls out of school. Our goal is to help clear away all that’s standing in the way of girls achieving their dreams,” said Michelle Obama, former First Lady, in the announcement. “While that’s too big of a challenge for any one of us to tackle alone, it’s something I know can be accomplished if we all work together. We all have a role to play in ensuring girls get the opportunities they deserve.”

Public Inc., a Toronto-based ad agency, created the film, as well as the campaign and platform, says Phillip Haid, the agency’s founder and CEO.

Marsai Martin, an actress on “Black-ish,” directed the spot, her first time behind the camera.

Comcast is a partner in the effort, and the ads are set to appear nationally on TV through October.

Haid says there will also be a big push on social media. The effort culminates with a live event in New York hosted by Mrs. Obama, philanthropist Melinda Gates and activist Amal Clooney.

Since its launch in 2018, the Girls Opportunity Alliance has connected more than 4,000 leaders and community-based organizations, funding 54 projects in 20 countries, including India, Malawi, Cambodia and Peru.

In the next five years, it intends to fund more than 100 organizations. And it has just added 12 new community-based organizations from countries like Kenya, India, and Colombia.

Founding sponsors include Comcast NBCUniversal, Lululemon and Saks Fifth Avenue. The LEGO Group and FedEx are supporting sponsors.

 

 

 

Credit: Media Post

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Special Report

AWIEF Unveils Speakers for 2022 Conference and Awards

by Women Times on

The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) (www.AWIEForum.org) has announced a stellar speaker line-up for its prestigious and benchmarking annual conference and awards taking place on 26 and 27 September on-site in Cairo, Egypt, and virtual.

AWIEF, which is celebrating the 8th anniversary of its award-winning conference, expo and awards, is heading to North Africa for the first time and has partnered with Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation (MOIC) and Egyptian Businessmen’s Association (EBA) for the hosting of this year’s event in Egypt.

More than 60 African and global thought leaders and industry experts across business, international development and government are set to share insights and thought leadership on the conference agenda.

The conference theme this year is, Advancing Africa through gender integration. The two-day event aims to promote and accelerate MSMEs and SMEs growth for Africa’s inclusive economic growth and brings together the African entrepreneurship ecosystem for discussions on entrepreneurship, leadership, technology and innovation, sustainability, intra-African trade, finance and investment, energy and infrastructure, and agriculture and food security.

The powerful and high-level global speaker faculty for AWIEF2022 includes: H. E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Egypt; Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General & CEO for SE4ALL and Co-Chair of UN-Energy; Elena Atanasova Panova, UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt; Sherif El Gabaly, Member of Parliament (MP) and Chairman of the African Affairs Committee in the Egyptian Parliament; Hon. Bogolo Kenewendo, Former Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Botswana; Ayoade Alakija, WHO Special Envoy for the ACT-Accelerator and Co-Chair of the African Union’s African Vaccine Delivery Alliance; Jackie Jones, Director and Chief of Staff, Gender Equality Division, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Dina Saleh, Regional Director, Near East, North Africa, Europe & Central Asia, IFAD; Uzoma Dozie, Founder and CEO, Sparkle Digital Bank, Nigeria; Ali Eissa, Chairman, Egyptian Businessmen’s Association (EBA); Patricia Obozuwa, Vice President, Government Affairs, Communications & Sustainability for Africa, The Coca Cola Company; Izabela Milewska, Digital Skills Global Leader, Amazon Web Services (AWS); Dalia Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer, Nahdet Misr Publishing House and Founder of EdVentures; Amany Asfour, President, Africa Business Council; Chinyere Almona, Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); and Marieme Esther Dassanou, Manager, Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

AWIEF2022 Sponsors are Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Amazon Web Services, Africa-Europe Foundation, Nedbank, Visa, Sparkle and AGRA.

AWIEF2022 Partners are Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation, the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association (local co-organizers), EdVentures (Edtech Community Partner), APO Group (AWIEF’s Principal Partner and Official Newswire); Africa.com (Media Partner), and Ethiopian Airlines.

The 2022 AWIEF Awards and Gala Dinner will take place on Tuesday, 27 September 2022, with Amazon Web Services as Headline Sponsor while Category Sponsors are Visa (Tech Entrepreneur Award) and Nedbank (Young Entrepreneur Award).

According to Minister Rania Al-Mashat, “The hosting of AWIEF2022 in Egypt reflects Egypt’s keenness and support for empowering women and enhancing their economic participation and important roles on innovation and entrepreneurship to achieve sustainable development. Such a step also reflects the state’s pivotal roles and national efforts on women empowerment to strengthen women’s contribution to the labour markets.”

Irene Ochem, Founder and CEO of AWIEF, says “The theme for this year’s AWIEF event is inspired by the fact that no conversation about empowerment or entrepreneurship can, or should, exclude either women or men. Gender diversity and inclusion is vital for Africa’s economic growth. A lot of progress has been made, but there is still a lot of work to be done, especially in relation to access to finance for women entrepreneurs, access to markets, skills training, and networks. Egypt is at the forefront of the African entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem, and we are going to learn and connect with those driving this growing economy and other African economies.”

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