Gill, you were posted to Nigeria as the Deputy British High Commissioner less than four months ago; what is your perspective on women in leadership in Nigeria?
My first observation is there aren’t enough women in public life! For example, the 2023 federal election saw a marked decline in the number of women in the National Assembly. Women occupy only three per cent of seats in the Senate and four per cent in the House of Representatives. Nigeria lags far behind other countries in sub-Saharan Africa in this respect. I am not saying the UK is perfect –we still have still a long way to go ourselves. The number of women MPs in the House of Commons is at an all-time high but still only 225 out of 650 MPs are women. In the House of Lords, there are 225 women and over 550 men, so women are even less well-represented in this upper (non-elected) body. In our long history of democracy, we have had only three women PMs and only two women Foreign Ministers.
What are some of the contributions made by the UK Government to the development and empowerment of women and girls in Nigeria?
We are marking the first anniversary of our International Women and Girls’ Strategy. We are investing in Nigeria and in many other countries in the three ‘Es’: Educating girls, Empowering women and girls championing their health and rights and ending gender-based violence. We also will soon be kicking off our #SheLeads campaign on women’s political empowerment. The aim is to celebrate women’s achievement in the political space; raise awareness about the rollback in progress in women’s rights in Nigeria and take action to drive gender parity. We have also supported a Digital Access Programme to empower thousands of women and girls with in-demand basic to intermediary employable digital skills.
How do you support women in the work that you do and through the leadership position you hold?
I am interested in the women I work with – their talents, skills, aspirations, their family lives and life experiences and I will always do what I can to offer feedback, and coaching and suggest professional development opportunities. I recognise that women carry huge responsibilities at home as well as at work, with the burdens of caring for children and extended family falling disproportionately on their shoulders. We have a Women’s Network in the British High Commission, and we are currently discussing what more we can do to support women returning to work after maternity leave.
What advice would you give women seeking leadership positions?
In the UK it is at 35 per cent and 29 per cent in the Commons and the Lords, respectively. I would say know what you stand for – and what you won’t stand for. Develop your own “brand” and think about what you uniquely bring to the table. Form a network of trusted advisers and friends who will give you feedback and support you. Make active choices and remember they were your choices, but expect them to have unintended consequences sometimes. Compromises are fine if you are balancing work and family, but you might regret something that you see as a sacrifice. You can be a lattice in your career – move sideways for a bit, it’s not all about the ladder. Pick jobs that interest and develop you – and try to have some fun!
Is it important to have more than one woman as a senior leader in your sphere of influence and more widely in the Nigerian context?
I enjoy working in diverse teams, with a good gender balance and a mix of skills and perspectives. I feel very fortunate to be working with Cynthia. We come from different professional backgrounds but are learning a lot from each other, and it’s been great to arrive at the same time – we have been able to share experiences. A real benefit of working with other women leaders is mutual support and collaboration.
Women should be part of decision making – Director, Foreign & Commonwealth office
What does International Women’s Day mean to you and why does it matter?
I find it gives me a moment to pause and think of the many different lives that women are living around the world. Those who are struggling in conflict, women who are holding together farms and families, who are the backbone of society through chosen professions like health and education where they make up most of the workforce, women who are community, country, and global leaders in their fields. I find all of them inspirational. International Women’s Day matters because, despite everything that women do, they are often unrecognised, and unrewarded and do it against the odds. The day reminds us all to take action; it is a day that men and boys can stop, appreciate, and applaud women, and a day when I renew my solidarity with women and girls wherever I meet them.
You have worked in different parts of the world, including Tanzania, Nepal, and Afghanistan, what have been the lessons learnt from these countries and what are your set goals for women’s participation and engagement in Nigeria?
I’ve learnt that plans are only as good as the action you take and that there is never one silver bullet that will cure everything – you need to work on multiple areas at the same time to make real progress. All the UK’s programmes in Nigeria put women and girls at the heart of their approach. For example, the UK in Nigeria’s new four-year Nigeria Governance and Climate Programme will help women’s participation in elections, coalition building, legal reform, and how to navigate their way through the political party systems. We also have a global target of getting 40 million more girls in school, and 20m more girls reading by age 10 or at the end of primary school in low- and middle-income countries by 2026. We are standing up for every girl’s right to 12 years of quality education. I also strongly believe that women needed to be part of the decision-making process – actively shaping things rather than “being done to.” If you can educate girls, and then those girls use their education to shape policies, thoughtfully build families, and become economically independent – then that pays back into society many times over.
The current economic system disproportionately affects women. What are your plans to advocate for a shift to a green economy and to hear women’s voices?
There is a lot going on economically now in Nigeria and indeed the world. If I start with the here and now, Nigeria is taking some tough macroeconomic decisions with the aim of balancing the books and strengthening the economy. One thing we can do is work out how we can help mitigate the impacts, particularly food security while things settle. On the shift to a green economy, advocacy is simple, and action is complicated. Nigeria has ambitions to grow and diversify its economy whilst continuing its development journey. For me, the trick will be to find opportunities in green growth because ultimately that’s where the future lies. Nigeria is also suffering from the effects of climate change with resources becoming more scarce making clean growth even more important. Our programmes working on infrastructure, power, and energy transition (UKNIAF) and agriculture and livelihoods (PROPCOM+) are designed with women at the heart of the results we want to deliver. We are also training thousands of women through our Digital Access Programme to learn employable digital skills giving them a chance to increase their incomes.
Which past or current women figure in the world and of Nigerian descent do you admire?
Nigeria is completely blessed with strong, intelligent, creative, and driven women. My journey with Nigerian literature has been shaped of course by Chimamanda Adichie. Closer to my line of work, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation and Obiageli Ezekwesili, the co-founder of Transparency International and #BringBackOurGirls. But honestly, I meet Nigerian women every day who I admire – Arunma Oteh, who I met just before I came to Nigeria and who I was instantly in awe of; one of my close friends who is nailing her job as a top leader in an international conglomerate. Every woman who has raised a family held a job, and put food on the table, women living and farming in villages and remote areas across Nigeria. I’m about to read a book about Ahebi Ugbabe so I don’t know if I admire her yet or not, but one thing I do know is that powerful, fabulous Nigerian women are everywhere.
Cynthia, is it important to have more than one woman in senior leadership in your sphere of influence and more widely in the Nigerian context?
The short answer is yes! I feel strongly as fortunate working with Gill. Having one woman is not enough. As one woman you often end up contributing your professional perspective, clearing a pathway for others to come, and somehow representing all women. Not only does that spread you thinly, but one woman cannot possibly represent all women. Gill and I are strong in our support for each other, but we also bring different perspectives to the table – she often makes me think about things in a different way. Having a diverse leadership team of mixed genders, personalities, and backgrounds is what makes a leadership team strong – lots of different women are part of that.
