Women Inspiring Women: An Interview with Odianosen Joy Peter

Odianosen Joy Peter is a Social Impact Lawyer and Tech Project Manager from Nigeria. She created Center for Child Abuse and Parental Education in 2018, a non-profit movement for children, focused on educating, Identifying and helping children who are prone to abuse, or who have been abused, to heal and overcome the effects of the abuse. During the pandemic in 2020, she founded also She Connect Africa , a digital community for African women and girls to help them learn soft skills and stay relevant in their careers. She currently leads a team of 20 people who work 100% remotely.??

1. What is your personal story? How have you gotten to where you are today??

Growing up I've always found myself gravitating towards helping others. And this passion alongside the injustice I saw other people experiencing, spurred my decision to study law. I also dislike the harsh treatment that many women and children in Africa receive, so I started my two non-profit organizations.?

For a while, I worked as a team lead for Creation Care Initiative in the Train a Child unit. As part of my role, I was responsible for getting out-of-school children into school, and connecting them with sponsors to cater for their academic needs.?

Currently, I am taking certifications in Project Management because I love project planning, leading and working with teams to create valuable solutions, and achieving the stakeholders’ and organizations’ goals.?

My career journey has been challenging. While studying for my Bachelor of Laws, I was handling my non-profit operations, volunteering for other non-profit organizations and doing side jobs at the same time - like student housing agent, sales associate in a supermarket, office receptionist - to keep up with my personal and financial needs. But I'm grateful for all the experiences I’ve had, as I have built my skills and become a lawyer, social entrepreneur, project manager and community manager on the way.?

2. Tell me about She Connect Africa

She Connect Africa is an all-female digital community which is focused on supporting African women. We create a safe space, holistic programs and specific mentoring systems, for African women to be able to climb the C-suite positions or turn their ideas into successful innovative ventures.?

I understood that African women were looking for resources, guides, mentors and advice to help them thrive in their career and Individual lives. I also discovered that in terms of socio-economic inclusion, African women have been greatly sidelined, be it in the workplace, political and technology sectors, and the reasons for this are not far-fetched from the poor African beliefs about women, more so, women not having the right resources, information and opportunities. This led to me starting She Connect Africa to connect women across Africa and Africans in the diaspora and provide them with resources, skills and the opportunities they need to build their careers and improve their lives.?

We believe in African women's representation and taking on Leadership roles in the corporate spheres; we believe in women’s inclusion and we believe every woman has a voice which should be heard. The four core pillars of our programs and operations are Promoting Women’s Inclusion, Representation, Diversity and Leadership. We organize virtual and in-person training, mentorship and career-building programs to educate and provide opportunities for women in the fields of technology, business, leadership, health, non-profit, human resource, finance, climate change, politics, and others. We equip women and girls with valuable resources in their chosen fields.?

Since our inception in 2018, we've reached out to over 5,000 women and girls across Africa, and Africans in the diaspora, and we are still excited to help and assist more African women thrive in their various career paths.

3. What do you think are the biggest barriers in the workplace for women?

The barriers women face in the workplace include limited access to opportunities and resources, racial and gender discrimination, poor networking, gender pay gap, lack of childcare support for working moms, poor work-life balance - the list is endless.?

But I believe, we are making progress, breaking down prejudices and paving the way for women's inclusion and equal opportunities in the workplace.

4. Why should we promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace? And what steps are you taking personally and at a business level to create more inclusive workplaces??

Promoting Diversity, Equality and Inclusion enables women to excel and thrive in the workplace. It gives women the opportunity to attain top roles, and use their potential to the fullest and it creates balance at work. Personally, I am a strong advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion in all spheres, and this applies to my businesses.?

In order to stand for what I believe, I confidently embrace all of me - being an African woman enjoying my hair texture, my skin colour, eye colour, accent, food, and heritage, and I proudly educate anyone who cares to ask about my culture.?

As a young African woman, I grew up in a society where women are greatly sidelined in the workplace, women face discrimination when trying to take on leadership and executive roles (as it is generally believed that women are to do manual jobs, cater for the family and domestic chores). I create a free, safe and inclusive environment for women to work without bias or any form of discrimination irrespective of race, gender, or skin colour. I use remote working systems to enable women from diverse backgrounds to work in my organization. I've in place flexible work-study schemes for students who are my employees and a generous maternity leave policy for working parents.?

5. How can we empower young girls to raise their voices??

I will prefer using the word 'enable' because empower shows girls as being weak. To enable young girls to raise their voices we have to help them see the lots of hidden potentials in them.?

A girl who thinks she's inadequate or powerless, won't be able to speak up. In laying the foundation, to enable young women to use their voices, it tells them that their voices matter and their opinions count.?

Asking girls about their views and opinions on issues, preferably "What do you think?" or "How would you do it differently?" questions, would guide them to think critically, identifying solutions through their own thoughts and encourage them to use their voice to speak those solutions without fear or feelings of inadequacy; that way we empower girls to speak up boldly. It helps them to be brave and speak up for what is right. It builds their self-esteem, confidence, and trust in themselves.?

Also, providing young girls with opportunities, and adequate education, and sharing stories of women who have used their voices to help other women, can help reassure them of their rights.?

6. How do you think society has changed and will continue to change under the leadership of women??

A good amount of effort has been made but there are still fundamental stereotypes in women's involvement in leadership roles. Women in leadership will combat the issues of lack of childcare support for working mothers, gender pay gap, gender discrimination, sexual harassment in the workplace and other problems women face. However, seeing women taking up leadership roles in business, politics and other corporate spheres I believe will help increase the goal of breaking the gender bias gap and discrimination.?

7. What goals are you pursuing right now?

For now, I am currently pursuing a career in project management while studying for a certification and taking up roles in project management. I love organizing, problem-solving and collaborating with teams to perform tasks. Although it's quite a challenging role, starting up and successfully completing a project that meets stakeholders' expectations is a great deal for me.?

Also, I am currently overseeing the programs and operations of the ongoing six-month mentorship bootcamp for 400 women in She Connect Africa - providing them with information, resources and opportunities to excel in their careers.

8. Is there a particular female leader that inspired you when you were growing up??

I have a community of women who inspire me every day.?

My mother, Mrs. Bridget Imoisili has always been an inspiration to me. She's a mother of six grown-up children, has a happy marriage with my dad, owns a registered fashion business and is still exploring business opportunities in the agricultural sector that prepares women never to be mediocre.?

Also, growing up, Michelle Obama was an inspiration to me; her selfless service to humanity while being a mom of two and first lady of the United States showed me that I was too capable of being and doing anything I wanted, but it should all be for the good of the people I represent. Some of her words always stayed with me: “When you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.”

Lastly, permit me to mention my Dad, Mr. Peter Imoisili, whom I respect and admire so much. He believes in giving women borderless opportunities to grow and thrive without discrimination or bias, I guess that's why I am where I am today.?

9. In your current role, and considering the journey that you have been through to get here, what is the one piece of advice that you would give to your younger self??

I’d say to my younger self: Hey Joy, Be brave and courageous. Dare yourself to take bold steps, dare yourself to be more, and do more. Travel the world, learn more, meet new people, learn new languages and find useful resources to help other people. Please, see the world as your playground. You might never know how much you could achieve until you try.?

10. If you had the attention of the whole world for five minutes, what would you say??

It'll be an honour to tell the world that, to achieve an equal society for all, Men, we need you.?

It takes a man who knows the importance of women in society to appreciate her value. And, when we talk about enabling women to raise their voices, women's rights, gender equality, and inclusion, I want you all to know that we are not in competition with the male gender. We are simply talking about advancing the interest, inclusion of women in a wider spectrum than it is today. Women should strive to become better at anything they choose to do not feeling less of themselves, accepting the stereotype of "this is a man's job" or agreeing with the phrase "it is a man's world."?

And most importantly, breaking free from any form of abuse, violence or infringement of human rights even in the workplace. I stand for the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion of women in all spheres of life. And I stand with and support every woman out there taking giant strides.?

11. Anything additional that you would like the LinkedIn community to know??

If you would like to learn about my African heritage, what I do at She Connect Africa or as a LinkedIn Top Community Outreach Voice and LinkedIn Top Community Engagement Voice 2023, feel free to connect with me here on LinkedIn or reach out to me via email: [email protected]

Ready to share your story? Join my interview series “Women Inspiring Women” and let your voice be heard! Connect with me today to be part of the conversation.