Ikeja Electric Wants More Space For Women Participation In Power Sector

Ikeja Electric has advocated enhanced access to women participation in the power sector, and also challenged them to struggle in competition to achieve equality in driving change.

The chief executive officer of the Electricity Distribution Company (DisCo) Folake Soetan, in her opening remarks during the International Women’s Day encouraged them to do things differently going forward, by owning their spaces with boldness and confidence.

“In our world today, it is important to make swift and decisive efforts to break systemic barriers and biases faced by women in professional and personal spheres,” she declared.

Every year, the International Women’s Day is celebrated globally with a series of activities to raise awareness and foster action on gender equality.

At Ikeja Electric, the celebration was marked with a hybrid session with A-list speakers including, Ibukun Awosika, Betty Irabor, Maye Ayida, Jummai Logun, Toyin Kekere – Ekun, and Olufunke Jones most of whom attended in person, sharing quality time and personal experiences to inspire the electricity amazons.

The founder of Chair Centre Group and TheLifeSeriesNg Ibukun Awosika,spoke extensively on women in leadership.

She emphasised the need to speed up actions that strengthen other women, and open doors of greatness for them to walk through. In her words, ‘Never shut a door, but determine which ones are critical and those that should remain shut. Be consistent. Treat people right and respect the value that they bring to your life.

‘Well before I became the first female chairperson of First Bank of Nigeria, I understood who I was, how far I wanted to go and how I wanted to finish; I was also intentional about those who were going on the journey with me,’ he concluded.

On her own part, the publisher and founder of Genevieve Magazine, Betty Irabor admonished the management of the foremost DisCo to prioritize employee well-being which is the basis for any sustainable organisation.

Speaking based on her personal journey and with reference to the recent invasion by the Air Force officials and brutalisation of staff,

‘Purpose is often birthed out of pain. At this time and beyond, it is important to reach out to staff randomly, boost their mental health so they can go on to achieve the company’s goals. As an individual, be an inside-out person, bring validation out from within, feed your mind on positivity and be compassionate to yourself.’