Your Personal Wealth with OnOnuju Irukwu I AM WOMAN!

“I f you educate a woman, you educate a family, if you educate a girl, you educate the future.” Queen Rania of Jordan

Twenty one years after the famous Beijing declaration, what significant changes have occurred for women globally? The Beijing Platform for Action offers important focus in rallying people around gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Let me share some statistics on the advancement of women:

• Women now make up to 50% of the total workforce world wide.

• Women make up 1/3 of the world entrepreneurs totaling about 150million worldwide.

• In the United States alone, there are over 9.1million businesses owned by women.

• Following the 2008 financial crash 2/3rd of households surveyed showed women were now the breadwinners or major contributors to households.

• Female participation in parliaments around the world have almost doubled from 11.3% in 1995 to 22% in 2015.

• This is even more significant when we recognize that there are now 10 women Heads of State and 14 Heads of Government and three Women Chairman of Nigeria’s top banks.

• In Africa, Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians worldwide as women there have won 63.8 per cent of seats in the lower house.

• There are over 2000 women only /women focused financial institutions bringing savings and loan services closer to rural communities.

• In Nigeria, NNEW( NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women) launched the first women focused microfinance bank in 2015.

• Maternal deaths have reduced by almost 50% since 1990.

There is still a long way to go. While I am not a feminist, I strongly believe in the empowerment of women through education and financial inclusion. Financial literacy and independence opens new doors and opportunities to women and broadens the ability to make informed decisions. There are new opportunities to reconnect, regenerate commitment, charge up political will and mobilize the public. Everyone has a role to play—for our common good. The evidence is increasingly in that empowering women empowers humanity. Economies grow faster, for example, and families are healthier and better-educated.

In a recent Shriver Report, it is estimated that Women make up to 50% of the global workforce and are either the breadwinner in their families or contribute significantly to household expenses. Yet women, though better qualified and more experienced, still earn less than their male colleagues and remain modest in their ability to negotiate a fair remuneration for themselves.

Furthermore, EFInA in its 2014 financial inclusion survey showed that even though the number of financially excluded persons in Nigeria decreased to 36.9m, of this number, 57.9% or 21m are women. In other words, there are more women than men with no access to a bank account or financial service in any form.

So is there really cause to celebrate women? Is there a strong case for gender equality? Should starting a business, the right to receive an education or health not be available for every human being be they male or female? Why should I be disadvantaged because I am a woman? If I am good at a job or interview, should I not be given the job? Should competence and merit not count a whole lot more than my gender? In the area of economic or financial independence, women sadly are still a long way from home. Statistics show that women need more access to be financially literate, to improve their knowledge of financial terms and events and also gain access to much needed capital for their businesses.

The IFC on its gender website states that by “working to eliminate gender barriers in the private sector, IFC enables companies and economies to improve their performance. When men and women alike are allowed to pursue employment, entrepreneurship, and leadership, societies can realize their growth potential “. “Collectively, women represent an underemployed resource that can increase companies’ profitability and contribute significantly to shared prosperity. However, women have less access to equal employment opportunities and capital to grow their businesses, experience high levels of sexual violence, are often barred from owning or inheriting land or other property, and have less income to invest for the future.”

Beyond the Beijing declaration and all other such charters, we must recognize the importance of financial inclusion for women, economic empowerment including financial literacy, education, access to quality healthcare, housing and voting rights. Our future really does depend on having educated girls who become strong women.

More importantly, I believe women now need to strengthen their knowledge base and begin to take action. With all the worldwide awareness and support for women, we have to seize the opportunities that are available and build on them from there. We can no more sit and wait to be handed a plate of freedom.

“The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world.” - Charles Malik, Lebanese Foreign Minister and President of the UN General Assembly 1958”

Have a great week everyone. Ononuju Irukwu is the Managing Director, Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited, a leading Investment Management Company in Lagos, Nigeria. She is also the Chief promoter of the Women’s Investment Fund, an investment vehicle for Women initiated by Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited. She has over two decades of experience in Personal Banking and Wealth Management and is passionate about increasing financial literacy levels for women and youths. She can be reached via email ononujui@yahoo.com and twitter @ononujui