Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has called on leaders to give necessary support and encouragement to women as they strive to take on high level responsibilities in all spheres of human endeavours.
The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim made this call at the First Management’s Parley with female staff of the Corporation with the theme: “It is Possible”, held at the National Centre for Women Development, Abuja.
In his address, he said that many contemporary organisations and governments all over the globe are beginning to situate the importance of women in the achievement of set objectives. He contended that the era of perceiving women as home-makers was fast giving way globally to the appreciation of their contributions and top positions being occupied by them in critical sectors of the economy both locally and internationally.
While also acknowledging the critical roles of its female staff in the achievement of NDIC’s objective as a risk minimizer with broad mandate of deposit guarantee, bank supervision, distress resolution and bank liquidation, Ibrahim reiterated that the forum was organised to sensitize its female staff on the key attributes needed for career growth in the Corporation.
He stressed the role of women in the development of the society, involvement of women in community service, poverty alleviation and how to understand the importance of work-life balance by female staff. He opined that the concept of gender diversity in modern management is aimed at enhancing sound corporate governance, good corporate social responsibility to enhance global issues on sustainable banking and financial inclusion.
In keeping with NDIC’s core values of professionalism, transparency, team work as well as respect and fairness, the Corporation has always upheld gender equity, inclusion and equal opportunities in all areas of its operation, he said. In line with this commitment, the Corporation had achieved 70:30 ratio between male and female staff respectively in recent recruitment exercises conducted between 2010 and 2013.
He submitted that this was a deliberate policy to achieve the affirmative action threshold of 35 per cent. He expressed the delight that the Corporation had articulated robust code of conduct and culture handbooks to forestall unwholesome practices against its female staff and urged them to acquaint themselves with the document with a view to seeking redress through appropriate channel when any career-inhibiting practices are observed.
