By Rukayat Adeyemi

Mrs Folashade Femi-Lawal, Head, Card and Messaging business, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, has called on female accountants to focus on being relevant in the digital world.

Femi-Lawal said this on Tuesday in a presentation at a webinar organised by the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria (SWAN) in commemoration of the 2023 International Women’s Day in Lagos.

The United Nation’s theme for this year’s IWD is: ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.’

Femi-Lawal said female accountants and other women must embrace the role of technology and how to use it as an unstoppable force for positive change.

“Innovation and technology have greatly impacted various aspects of our lives, but their advancements have also led to a widening gender gap in access to resources and participation in the workforce environment,” she said.

According to her, despite efforts to promote gender equity and inclusion, women remain under-represented in the tech industry and leadership positions.

Femi-Lawal noted that it was important to utilise technology to promote gender equality, due to its increasing role and the need for a fair and just world.

She explained that throughout history, gender inequality had been a persistent problem, but over time, the society must collectively and consciously take steps toward achieving gender parity.

“The theme of the 2023 IWD aims to initiate a global conversation on why equal opportunities are no longer sufficient and can steadily result in exclusion instead of inclusion.

“It is not enough to provide equal opportunity, opportunity should be adapted to various circumstances and that is equity,” she said.

According to her, the goal of equity is to change systematic and structural barriers that get in the way of people’s ability to thrive.

Femi-Lawal charged SWAN members and their counterparts in other fields to be determined, visionary, hardworking, have mentors and invest wisely to make significant strides in their career.

In her welcome address, SWAN’s chairperson, Mrs Nwamara Nnaji, stated that the association was keen on contributing positively to women affairs both nationally and internationally.

She explained that women were special because they were highly sensitive, sympathetic and caring.

Nnaji lauded Femi-Lawal for her vast, professional and insightful presentation, noting that the female accountants had gained a lot from the webinar.

She urged members to make this year’s IWD a memorable one for someone by mentoring a girl child, reaching out to a less-privileged girl or child.

She said the female accountants could also show love to ladies in need of either physical, financial or psychological attention.

 “A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey that she will become strong.

“A smile, word of advice, hug, gentle pat of encouragement at the back.  All these will go a long way to lift up the spirit of the girl child or woman next to you, so let’s make it happen,” Nnaji said.