WIMCA 2022: Otegbayi Urges Support Groups To Bolster Networking Among Women In Marketing

Dolapo Otegbayi, Specialized Nutrition Director at FrieslandCampina WAMCO has called for a support system that can bolster the career of Women in marketing and communication through networking, collaboration, and connecting them with other professionals in the same field across the country and the African continent as a whole.
Otegbayi made this assertion in her presentation at the first masterclass session of the 2022 Women in Marketing and Communications Conference and Awards (WIMCA) held at the prestigious Landmark Event Centre, Lagos on Saturday, 8th October 2022.
Speaking on the topic, “Marketing To Women; The Place Of Mentorship As Catalyst For Consistent Growth” Dolapo advised Women in the top and powerful positions to seek and uplift other younger women by sharing and encouraging them to experiment with, and learn different leadership styles that can boost their confidence and performance in future.
“Mentorship among women is vital and should go beyond the normal manager/subordinate line management. and focus on learning specific competencies or tasks and building a climate of trust so the mentee can feel secure to seek advice on issues impacting her success”, Otegbayi stressed.
An alumnus of the prestigious University of Liverpool (2005), University of Lagos (2003), and Ambrose Alli University (1998), Dolapo Otegbayi is a highly experienced Senior Business Executive with over 20 years of experience in brand marketing and sales strategy with expertise in innovation, integrated commercial planning & execution, international business development, project management, and cross-functional team leadership.
Lessons from these years of quality experience were quite handy and she spent over an hour driving home the relevance of mentorship among women in marketing.
Speaking earlier on the first day of the conference, on the topic, “Breaking More Biases For A Sustainable Future “, the Managing Director of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Oyeyimika Adeboye urged women in the marketing communication industry to be dedicated to offering more value to distinguish themselves from their male counterparts.
She also tasked women with getting mentorship from other professionals to fast-track their growth process while calling on brands and businesses to give more women the opportunity in the workplace and eliminate all gender-based biases.
Oyeyimika explained that stereotyping and culture have made many women feel less of themselves when they are working with men “To overcome biases, we need to step out and pull the bull by its horn” she stressed.
In addition, she called on senior women to volunteer to be a mentor to the junior women by sharing their experiences and telling their stories in order to help them grow.
In his welcome address, the Publisher of Brand Communicator and Convener of WIMCA, Joshua Ajayi called on women to deliberately create opportunities for their exposure, elevate their personalities and deepen their performances to consolidate the impact they have made already, with the hope that other women would be motivated to confront and overcome any type of bias on their path.
This year, WIMCA was packaged as a two-day event with conferences, exhibitions, masterclasses, and awards. At the awards and gala night that took place that Saturday evening, the 50 most outstanding female marketers in Nigeria were recognized and celebrated to encourage equity and growth in Nigeria’s marketing communications industry.