NESG: Nigeria needs to close gender inequality gaps to recover $26bn in human capital wealth

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) says the country can recover $26 billion in human capital wealth if it closes existing gender inequality gaps.

Laoye Jaiyeola, NESG’s chief executive officer, said this on Wednesday at a press conference on the group’s maiden edition of the Policy Innovation Centre (PIC) gender and inclusion summit (GS-22) in Abuja.

The World Economic Forum, in 2021, ranked Nigeria 139 out of 149 countries on the global gender index rank, while the United Nations in 2022 said the country was not on track to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030.

According to Jaiyeola, Nigeria’s poor performance on the global gender index demands immediate cooperative efforts to reduce losses brought on by gender inequality and inclusion.

“Data show that on a per capita basis, gender inequality in earnings could lead to a wealth loss of $23,620 per person globally, with an estimated global loss of about $160.2 trillion in the human capital wealth of which $26 billion of this could be recovered if Nigeria is able to close her existing gender inequality gap,” he said.

He said the GS-22 slated to hold on November 16, 2022, will explore transformative ways to achieve gender and inclusion and accelerate the actualisation of the SDGs.

On her part, Osasuyi Dirisu, deputy director of PIC, NESG, said the summit was themed “connecting the dots for a gender inclusive society” to shed light on the inter-connections between issues, information and trends which may otherwise seem unrelated on the surface.

“Through this summit, we intend to break down the ‘siloed’ approach to viewing gender in society and help stakeholders understand that everyone irrespective of their gender, culture, ethnic group, social class or disability can contribute meaningfully to fostering a gender inclusive society,” she said.

Dirisu said a “purple book” containing gender transformative policies and programs strategies for advancing gender equality across sectors would be produced and disseminated, adding that the summit would have 18 tracks including agriculture and food security; gender, faith, and culture; and gender, conflict and security.

Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the summit is open to partnering with donors and gender-focused organisations, while free participation will be offered to interested persons.