Sunday, March 18, 2007

The corporate glass ceiling..

Out of 114 MD/CEOs and Executive Directors of Nigerian banks, there is only one female MD/CEO (Cecilia Ibru of Oceanic) and eight ED's (that's a sliver over 7%):

  • Guaranty Trust Bank – Catherine Echeozo
  • First Bank of Nigeria – Bola H Adesola
  • Intercontinental Bank - Abiola Otaniyi
  • UBA – Susanne Soboyejo-Iroche and Faith Tuedor-Mattews
  • Spring Bank – Tolu Fadahunsi and Bisi Afolabi
  • IBTC Chartered Bank – Olusola Adejoke David-Borha
Apart from a sobering statistic, the point is, is anything being done to change the situation?

12 comments:

Anonymous,  5:38 pm  

And the Ibru's own Oceanic???

St Antonym 6:22 pm  

A statistic considerably worse is this one from 2005:

A mere *seven* of the five-hundred CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are women.

http://www.usatoday.com/educate/college/careers/CEOs/12-22-05.htm

And this is in a culture with highly vaunted feminist commitment--at least compared to Nigeria.

In a certain peculiar ways, Nigerian women are freer and stronger than their Western counterparts.

But of course, it's not enough yet, anywhere.

Mutanda 8:02 pm  

how do we know women are even seeking these positions. without an idea of the amount of women seeking these jobs, these figures may represent over representation

Anonymous,  4:24 am  

Thanks, St. Antonym. So, Jeremy, you satisfied that this is not a "Nigerian" problem like you wished? It's all over. Sure, we can't point out getting women into schools and all, but maybe there are few women qualified for the job.

And I'm a woman, by the way. AND very close to one of the women of your list. Yes, we are neighbours and she deserves it. Many women don't yet.

Anonymous,  7:45 am  

St Antonym, it would be interesting to hear are how 'Nigerian women are freer and stronger than their Western counterparts'. People (men and women) are found of saying how free and strong African women are compare to the Western, but I fail to see it. I might have a certain level of personal freedom and strength as a Nigerian woman, this on the whole does not translate to a collective freedom and strength.

You not be able to help me along in this St A. cause as a naija woman living and working in naija, i just don't see it. Maybe 'cause i'm in it i can't see it.

Jaycee 8:45 am  

What Mutanda said is very important to think about. Are women really seeking these positions anyways?

Jeremy 9:45 am  

"Thanks, St. Antonym. So, Jeremy, you satisfied that this is not a "Nigerian" problem like you wished? It's all over. Sure, we can't point out getting women into schools and all, but maybe there are few women qualified for the job.

And I'm a woman, by the way. AND very close to one of the women of your list. Yes, we are neighbours and she deserves it. Many women don't yet."

Why would I want this to be a Nigerian problem? The feminist struggle for equity in the workplace has still only scratched the surface around the world, and yet many women think of the f word as a dirty one - a convenient difficulty for the good old boys.

In Nigeria, it is particulary difficult. Everyone knows about the widespread sexual abuse in the banking sector - who would want to deny it?

Meanwhile, your second para almost leads me to despair. You've clearly internalised a patriarchal value system - as so many women in the Nigerian elite have. With corporate Nigeria still yet able to prove itself (post the Cadbury scandal), who says that Nigerian men are uniquely qualified for leadership? Your attitude reeks of complicity with a capital C.

Jeremy 10:11 am  

Jaycee - you have way too much God on your blog. How can you believe Mutanda's bullshit comment? Only someone who has devoted no more than a few nanoseconds of their existence to thinking about these things, wrapped up in delusions, fuelled by ZX Spectrum brain capacity can say such things (Damn I'm feeling bitchy today!)

Mutanda 3:53 pm  

jeremy--

instead of making conclusory statements about my position being BS,why don't you show it. how do you know women are seeking these positions in equal numbers?

others have made very good points here by indicating that these numbers are on par or better than those in other countries and that the figures you represent are not the verdict you seek on nigeria's male-female relationships. instead of challenging these positions with facts, if any, you choose to engage in a collateral attack about jaycee having God on her blog and my position being BS

Anonymous,  6:02 pm  

Hmmm...Jeremy. Thanks for this. You see how sad it is that a lot of females in Nigeria have internalised the patriachal system. I take offence at the comment that many women dont deserve it yet.

I'm a woman and I deserve it and so do many other able Nigerian women.

Anonymous,  9:58 pm  

thanks for this O Jeremy. Whether it is worse in other places is besides the point. should we feel better 'cause it is worse in America? I don't think so.

And for all those women (and men) who raise the very stupid issue of women's capability they should get a life and look at the reality. The reality is that there are quite a lot of women in the banking sector. But the horrendous working condition makes it extremely difficult for them to climb up the corporate leader. Perhaps what these few women should do is to develop a mentorship structure to groom younger women. Then again, some of these women might actually enjoy been alone at the top and be seen as exceptional.

I beg jeremy ignore some of the commentators, please continue to bring us this kind of information.

St Antonym 9:35 pm  

It's true that whether or not its worse elsewhere is beside the point.

Does America have to solve every problem before Nigeria can broach it.

As for my comment that "in a certain peculiar ways, Nigerian women are freer and stronger than their Western counterparts" what I mean is simple.

Legally and technically speaking, the American woman is freer than her African counterpart. However, the Nigerian woman in particular, and the African woman in general, knows who she is. That is the greatest of freedoms, to know who one is. She knows how to walk down the street. She's dignified. She's not existentially fearful.

The American woman, in contrast, is a confused creature. Too sexy or not sexy enough, swayed this way and that by advertising, desperately struggling to make her 45 yr old body look like a 17 yr old's. She talks a good game about liberation, but it's a mask for a great deal of pain and dissatisfaction. The feminist project has had unintended consequences, in addition to its many blessings.

That's just my two kobo. I have nothing but the deepest respect for strong women of all nations.

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