First Bank has consistently demonstrated its commitment to gender equality and women empowerment as reflected in their appointments
By Eugene Onyeji
First Bank has undoubtedly been unparalleled in gender inclusion through its gender equity policies and creation of the First Women Network (FWN), an initiative that seeks to address the gender gap and increase the participation of women at senior and executive levels.
Women play a critical role in the economic, social and cultural development of any community. Across the globe, societies, establishments, groups, and people are making an unwavering #BreakTheBias as they championed International Women’s Day and took remarkable actions geared towards being gender inclusive and celebrating the diverse achievements of women over the years.
To commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day, First Bank, on Tuesday, took the time to join the international community to celebrate and appreciate the input of its female workforce across the country at a spectacular event held at the Muson Center, Onikan, Lagos.
Themed “Break the Bias: Imagine a Gender Equal World,” this year’s International Women’s Day celebration was aimed at promoting gender equity across various sectors and spheres by celebrating women who have emerged pioneers in their respective fields.
The event kicked off with painting and sipping creative art to signpost the beginning of the conversations around promoting a world free of gender bias and discrimination.
One of the art directors who spoke to TheNiche on the significance of the artwork, said, “Art is just like a means of expressing naturalism, so when we talk about World Wide Women’s day, it is a way of expressing how important women are in the society and not just being a sex toy or being against the male gender and all that; if we say we are one and come together, we can become a single strength and/or a single force. So it is more like showcasing women from the creative perspective to enable them to enjoy the process.”
Participants in the sip and paint artwork include the Managing Director, Adesola Adeduntan, his Deputy, Gbenga Shobo, and other members of the executive, and the bank’s staff.
Before leaving for another important assignment, the Managing Director, Adesola Adeduntan, said, “Let me be honest with you, we have colleagues who are multi-talented, the quality of painting, I mean the colour mix and everything, it basically shows who we are. I just want to congratulate our female colleagues on this very auspicious occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD), it is something that is worthy of celebration.
“For any institution, for any organization, for any nation to thrive, the women and the men folks must work together to further the agenda of the institution and that is what we have been doing in the last six years that I have been at the helms of affairs in the bank, which is to create an enabling environment that will allow our female colleagues to be able to be the best they can ever be, and looking around today, I feel very proud that the agenda is not just an agenda, it is an agenda where we can turn around and boldly say that we are achieving the objective that we set out to achieve from the word go. So today, we are making significant progress from where we are in 2016, I have seen a significant number of our women occupying very strategic positions across the institution.
“The feedback we get since we created First Women Network has been very excellent”, Adeduntan noted.
The Group Executive, Transaction Banking at First Bank Nigeria, Olaitan Martins, who also doubles as the Chairperson of First Women Network, told TheNiche that “First Women Network is the network for women of the bank and the mandate is to create an enabling environment for the women in the workplace. What we want to foster is a network where women are involved, where women are promoted, where women are developed, where women are put to the leadership position, where women are empowered, where women are bold enough to take charge. That is what we are trying to do with the First Women Network.
“The bank has been magnanimous enough to give us all the required support to move forward, today is International Women’s Day, and it is a great opportunity to celebrate our women and all other stakeholders in the society.”
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First Bank has consistently demonstrated its commitment to gender equality and is taking steps to ensure that women-owned and women-led small and medium-scale enterprises are empowered. The bank understands that empowering women through improved access to finance and social support is crucial in achieving the desired growth for the economy.
The high point of the event was the announcement that at least $30 million of a $100 million facility it received recently from the United Kingdom-based CDC Group is being reserved for women entrepreneurs and also a single-digit loan for women.
Adeduntan, the Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria, ably represented by Gbenga Shobo, the bank’s Deputy Managing Director, presenting a keynote address said, “Every First Banker looks forward to the month of March every year as we have dedicated March to celebrating our women as a mark of respect for them.
“As the sign of our commitment to achieving [the] Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, this commitment is consistent with the 2022 International Women’s Day celebration themed, ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.’
“Notably, this theme echoes the contribution of girls and women around the world who are leading the management value chains across various sectors,” he said.
Adeduntan, further said, “This particularly resonates with our bank, First Bank, as a founding member of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principle (NSBP) and the Coalition Against COVID (CA-Covid), both led by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“As a forward-thinking and leading financial institution, First Bank of Nigeria identifies access to finance as a fundamental window to accelerate avenues to fostering diversity and inclusion to celebrate women’s professional and societal achievements as ultimately breaking biases.”
On the empowerment of the female gender, he said, “We recently consummated a partnership with the CDC Group, the UK-Government Development Financial Institution, to support women-owned and led enterprises as well as SMEs in Nigeria.
“It will interest you to know that out of the $100 million facilities received from the CDC Group, a minimum of $30 million will be allocated to the financing of women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises to promote gender inclusion by providing support to female entrepreneurs.
“Additionally, we have recently launched a financing scheme with a single digit interest rate for women owned-led businesses in the food and beverage processing and packaging, confectionery, catering and restaurants, transport and logistics, beauty-cosmetic production, and agriculture or agro-allied sectors with those in the food value-chain.”
During the plenary session which had panelists like Deputy Managing Director, Gbenga Shobo, Managing Director, FBNQuest, Kayode Akinkugbe, Group Head, Internal control and Enhancement, Molade Olawore and Executive Director at First Bank of Nigeria, Bashirat Odunewu, and moderated by Rachael Adesina, Chief Information Officer, First Bank, the panelists unanimously agreed that bias exists in society and workplaces.
Bias is a pointer to the many issues women have to deal or are dealing with in establishing gender parity, equal opportunity and fair treatment in view of their contributions to nation-building without which no nation can stand. Breaking the Bias is a conscious effort by everyone to remove, stop and erase all manner of inclination or prejudice for or against an individual or a group of people, especially in a way considered to be unfair and discriminatory.
The panelists, however, agreed that women need to come out of their shells and take a stand on changing the narrative and standing to get what truly belongs to them at every point in time and through their careers. They also advocated for a policy that can drive the process. They called on men to play supportive roles to the women in and out of the workplace so that “we can have a world where women are given the freedom to thrive, grow and fulfil their highest potentials as well as contribute positively to global development.”
There were other activities that were crucial in making sure the universal theme of the day #BreakTheBias was not lost in sight. These included spoken word, delivered by Chukuemelie Oguniba to the delight of guests, goodwill video messages from First Bank executives, music, art, and dance performances by top Nigerian entertainers.
The Chairperson of the organizing committee, Folasade Femi-Lawal, Head of Card & Messaging Business in First Bank, said in her remark, “What we all witnessed today is the outcome of several hours of planning, dedication and sacrifices of committee members, executive support, and sponsorship by Managing Director, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the chairperson of First Women Network and all other stakeholders support without which we couldn’t have gone this far”.
In all, the event was a huge success as guests were treated to a sumptuous breakfast, and it ended with the declaration of pledges by the management of the bank that the conversation will continue until biases are eradicated in the society and workplaces.
