Celebrating Women

Around the world, we dedicate today to celebrating women together.

A practice we must learn to make a daily affair because of the fantastic contributions women continue to bring every day to advance every aspect of human life.

As a child, my mum taught me to say thank you to her and my dad after every meal.

It was one of the most impactful lessons about the value of being grateful that anyone has ever taught me to date because I remember asking why (a question my daughter would also ask me three decades later as we pass on this important lesson about gratitude to the next generation).

She said (my summary of her responses over the years after patiently answering the same question repeatedly), "It acknowledges all the effort we've put into ensuring you have food on the table, a gift many people don't have, and when you're thankful you position yourself for more (of everything you're thankful for)."

In the almost four decades since arriving on this ever-moving vessel called Earth, I've learned loads from the women in my life. Today, I want to acknowledge their many contributions to my life (I doubt I'd capture all the many impactful ways women have contributed to making me a better person today, but I'd give it a shot).

My maternal grandmother taught me the value of hard work, distributing daily chores to my uncles, aunties, and every grandchild visiting for the holiday season. There were no exemptions to getting the daily work needed to keep the three-storey structure we called home in sparkling conditions.

The lessons she taught me about hard work have stayed with me all these years and continue shaping how I approach every responsibility I take - my outputs must be clean and sparkling.

Decades on, my wife, Olamide Ajah , comes on the scene (an outstanding woman, by the way; I can't capture the extent of how incredible she is in one article), and two noteworthy things I've learned from her:

• The value of being intentional in building trust in every relationship and keeping the process of building trust as a going concern.
• The value of integrity. A virtue that must remain regardless of the situation or circumstance in my life.

While both concepts are lessons I'd learned before we met, she reinforced these concepts more practically through our interactions over the last 18 years.

Nkiru Balonwu remains another woman who inspires me because she taught me the value of building confidence in your abilities and taking on responsibilities that consistently move you from your comfort zone to your growth zone in different seasons of life. She's one leader who goes beyond the talk to get behind you and support you actively.

In the short time since meeting and working with Alice Chen , she's also reinforced the value of clarity of purpose as we work towards creating and (or) delivering value. With Alice, it's critical to keep WHY at the core of everything you do because by answering WHY, you put yourself in a better position to answer HOW and WHAT (from Simon Sinek 's golden circle).

I recognise that I'm a better person in part due to the many contributions of these women, who take on the challenges of these changing times with so much courage and confidence in the possibilities that abound today and in the many tomorrows for themselves and the people they lead. They do this despite the different challenges they face personally and professionally.

So, they always have my utmost respect, and I would always champion their causes and do my part to see that all their efforts get recognised and appreciated.

I also have colleagues I must celebrate today who consistently show that being a woman does not make you less. They continue to take on the world and win every day, and I'm always excited that I had the privilege to meet them and learn from them.

The list is long (and I'm sure I'd miss out on listing some people - I still celebrate you even if you're not on this list), and today I celebrate Malini Chambers , Rebecca Seager, CFA , Alexandra Ponomarenko , Evelyn E. , Mercy Madunagu , Temitayo Isiaka , Mercy Akintunde , Eneibimo Isokrari , Adedayo Adewunmi-Missa , Abigail Fapo , Omotola B. Ladejobi , Ebun Feyisetan , Mimi Bartels , Zulumoke Oyibo , Oluwatosin Ojo , and many more women who continue to change the world with the fantastic work they put in every day despite inequity present in our world today.

I will continue to appreciate all their efforts every chance I get and commit to investing in efforts to bring greater equity and inclusion for these extraordinary people whose works make all our lives better every day.

#InspireInclusion #InvestinWomen #IWD2024