Gender Equality: Groups to support women for 2023 election

In fostering the participation of women in politics in Nigerian, two non-governmental organisations, Diatom Impact and ElectHer, have revealed plans to support 1000 women for the 2023 general elections.

According to the groups, the participation of women in politics in Nigeria is 6.7 per cent, an estimate below the global average of 22.5 per cent of political participation of women.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Ibijoke Faborede, a co-founder of ElectHer, said the group was on a mission to strengthen gender equality and promote the participation of women in politics.

Abosede George-Organ, who is also a co-founder of ElectHer, said the group received a grant of $50,000 in perpetuity from Diatom Impact, a member of Platform Capital Group and the funds will be channelled towards supporting women in 2023 election.

“In many African societies, women’s participation in development efforts, decision-making and politics is low. The national average of women’s political participation in Nigeria has remained 6.7 per cent in elective and appointive positions, which is far below the global average of 22.5 per cent, Africa regional average of 23.4 per cent and West African sub-regional average of 15 per cent.

“Studies show that increasing women’s participation in politics leads to greater investments in education, and companies with female board representation boast higher returns on investment.

“The funds donated by Diatom Impact, an arm of Platform Capital, will go towards the setting up and launching the ElectHER Academy which will provide access to quality online and offline training for at least 1,000 women interested in politics,” she said.

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Mrs George-Organ added that investing in girls and women, especially in politics will offer enormous benefits for the society and build a productive, and healthy community.

She said the participation of women in politics will cause greater investments in education, health, good policymaking and other aspects.

ElectHER focuses on advancing the political participation of women which will bridge inequality gaps in Nigerian politics and the under-representation of women in elective offices.

Speaking on the contribution of the group, the Founder of Platform Capital, Akintoye Akindele, said the grant would help create room for more women in politics.

“The great work that ElectHER is doing is aligned with our gender equality goals at Platform Capital.

“Promoting women into leadership and supporting their participation in politics, government, and business across all levels of society is key if we want to ensure the Africa of our dreams, ” Mr Akindele said.

“Women are the cornerstone of the society and data has proven that empowering women has a greater net effect on the community. We must embrace this and continue to uplift women for the development of our continent,” he said.

Platform Capital Group is an arm of Diatom Impacta and focuses on five key areas; health, education, entrepreneurship, gender equality and quality of life.