Nigerian Women in Business Discuss Pathways to Breaking Barriers and Biases

In the spirit of International Women’s Day (IWD), BizWatch Nigeria, the country’s foremost business news publishing platform, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, hosted a webinar tagged – “Women in Business: Breaking Barriers, Blazing Pathways.”

The webinar had Bisi Adeyemi, President, Nigeria British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC); Adeidunnu Uba, Founding Partner at Prolyseis; and Uchenna Onwuamaegbu-Ugwu, Managing Director of Edufun Technik STEM, as speakers and was well attended by business enthusiasts and women across all walks of life.

In the course of the webinar hosted by media relations guru, Amina Omoike; Adeyemi, the Keynote Speaker, stated that for gender barriers to be broken, there needs to be a paradigm shift that will be embraced by everyone.

“We need to first individually change our thinking, which would have a direct influence on our approaches to things. If we indeed desire a change, we need to consider doing things differently, such that the change we so much desire will be inevitable,” she said.

While noting that women are critical to nation-building and wealth development, the NBCC chief charged them to be very resilient and determined to break certain barriers.

“You need to build resilience with good character and you need good character, competence, courage/confidence, connection, contribution, coping and control, to break the existing barriers that impede women from thriving in their chosen fields.

“To be financially tough, one has to be financially independent, spend wisely, have a budget, invest and save.

“One key point to breaking the barrier is to also have a vision/goal. Your goal will direct you, help you stay focused and help you actualize your goals. Define your purpose and be ambitious as well,” Adeyemi added, as she maintained women need to make the right choices, avoid procrastination and be well-organised.

Corroborating the NBCC President’s statements, Uba lamented how women often feel limited owing to lack of confidence and imposter syndrome effects.

While encouraging everyone, including women to be intentional as it relates to building self-confidence, Uba stated: “To break the imposter syndrome we as women need to hold businesses accountable. Another way to step out of imposter syndrome is to ask tough questions.

“Business tips: be clear about what you want to achieve, give your business time to grow, be patient, grow your network, and be intentional about what you are doing.”

On her part, Onwuamaegbu-Ugwu urged women to be courageous and do what they need to do with their heads up high paying no attention to detractors and naysayers.

The event saw the unveiling of the 22 most inspiring Nigerian Women in Business by BizWatch Nigeria.