Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general (DG) of World Trade Organisation (WTO), has made a case for the inclusion and participation of more women in leadership positions.
She made the call after a meeting with Meghan, duchess of Sussex, and other women at the Nigerian Women in Leadership event, on Saturday, in Abuja.
Okonjo-Iweala said it is important to increase the number of women in leadership positions both at state and federal government levels.
“How do we improve the position of women in the country? We have a very low percentage of women in the national assembly. We have never had a woman governor, let alone something higher,” NAN quoted her as saying.
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“That has to change. But, no one is going to hand it to the women. Women have to fight for it. But the men also have to support because you cannot have 50 percent of your population not participating.
“So, these were some of the issues we discussed today and we have to proffer solutions on how the women could deal with challenges of leadership.
“Most of the women in the room here are already leaders. They are not even struggling to get to the top as they are already there.”
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On Nigeria’s trade deficit, Okonjo-Iweala said the country needs to diversify its economy. She said the country must do more to attract local investments, not just from outside, but by the wealthy people in the country and that governments must also create the enabling environment.
“If we are going into surplus, we also have to think of how to make use of the African continental free trade area because we have a large market here,” she said.
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