By Elizabeth Chukwuma
For those who thinks that the Workplace stereotypes, where women potentials will never be recognized will remain for life may have do a rethink.
This is because, Tony Elumelu, the multi-billionaire business mogul, and Chairman of several blue chip companies including United Bank for Africa, UBA plc, appears to have championed the struggle for a change of the long standing workplace stereotypes that had continued to hinder women Professional growth and potential over the years.
Elumelu , who is also the Founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEF, may have known early enough of the women potentials that he ensure d that women Professionals occupy strategic positions in all his Companies including UBA, where they were said to have been making appreciable impacts.
Only recently, the UBA, Chairman, who is always holding one meeting or the other with Associations or Groups, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, at the Bank Headquarters, marina, Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve centre , was said to have held a closed door meeting with the Association of Women Professional Bankers, AWPB, described as very rewarding.
An elated was said to have used the opportunity provided by the meeting to highlight the exceptional qualities of women in business. He was said to have addressed the various obstacles which women encounter in their places of work such as impostor syndrome and unfair stereotypes that portray them as ‘’too emotional or sentimental ‘’ in professional meetings.
Drawing from his own experience as a businessman and employer of Labour, he multi-billionaire, had said that in women in all his companies including UBA plc, are tenacious, hardworking and deliver results like the menfolk’s. He noted that the women, work as hard as the men in all Departments of his companies in the Oil and Gas sector, Energy and Hospitality, don’t expect special treatment. He was emphatic that’’ they Command respect’’.
Elumelu, may have gladdened the heart of the members of the AWPB, when he stated: My admiration for women comes from personal experience noting that that his 97 year-old mother still goes to the market and cooks for them, his own Chldren, every Sunday.
He did not stop there. He further stated that his own wife, five daughters and two sisters have continued to inspire him on a daily basis, noting that even ‘’the women who work with him constantly surpass expectations’’.
The UBA plc, Chairman, who could not hide his feelings was said to have made the Leadership of the Association of Women Professional Bankers led by one Funke Feyisitan Oladimeji, when he noted that in his own Organisations and he had invested in stand as a testament to women Leadership potentials.
He had said that at the UBA Group for the longest time, the Board has been predominantly dominated by the female folks, adding that most of the bank’s Subsidiary, Chief Executive Officers are women.
He was said to have cited Heirs Holding Group, where women head more group companies than the male folks, stressing that it was not by design but by merit. He was said to have also cited examples of women ‘s leadership within the Organizations, noting that Transcorp Group, valued at over N4.5 trn and Transcorp Hotels plc, N1 trn , are both led by women who were said to be breaking barriers and defining Corporate leadership.
Giving an instance of one Mary Jane Patterson, the first Black woman graduate in the North American country of the United States, US, Elumelu, was said to have advised the women Professionals ‘’to build confidence , ignore stereotypes and focus on personal goals as these are the most prominent ways they could glass ceilings and open paths for the younger generation girls.
He was said to have repeatedly told the Association of Women Professional Bankers the story of Patterson, the first US, female graduate during the visit, stressing that she was not even ‘’allowed into classrooms but stood in \hallways to learn’’ . He recalled that decades later, the same American University recognized and awarded her an honorary Doctorate degree. The honorary doctorate degree awarded her may have paved the way for millions of other successful Black American women today , to earn their University degrees , up to Doctorate level, level he had said.
Oladimeji, the Chairperson of the Association of Professional Bankers, was said to have given kudos to Elumelu, for his commitment towards women exclusivity and professional advancement, stressing his advocacy went beyond historic.
She was said to have highlighted how this various business concerns had continued ‘’to provide concrete opportunities for women to excel in leadership roles. She was said to have further asserted that the UBA plc, Chairman, approach in advancing the cause of women serves as a powerful model for other Corporate Leaders in Nigeria and other member countries of the West and Central African Sub regions, which shows that ‘’ diverse, merit-based leadership is not just possible but essential for Organizational growth, success and societal progress’’.
The female attendees at the meeting with the UBA plc, Chairman, were said to have agreed that the session was highly high lightening and thought-provoking , as it was said to have helped to broaden their minds and further give them more clarity as to their purpose in life and how they could achieve more if put their minds on it.
