In a bid to break biases in the workplace, the Managing Director of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Oyeyimika Adeboye has urged women in the marketing communication industry and other industries to be dedicated to working by 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 who is the first female Managing Director of Cadbury Nigeria Plc made the call on Day 1 of the 6th edition of the Women in Marketing and Communications Conference and Awards (WIMCA) held at the prestigious Landmark Event Centre, Lagos on Friday, 7th October 2022 while speaking on the theme Breaking More Biases For A Sustainable Future as keynote speakers.
According to her, stereotyping and culture have made many women feel less of themselves when they are in a gathering where men are also gathered.
She explained that some women are already breaking the glass ceiling, I am proud to say that in media organisations, marketing communications, IT, and other industries, there are a lot of women in the industry trying and already making impacts.
However, she pointed out that The faults of biases in the workplace are wholly on women. I don’t think we have done justice to ourselves as women because we give excuses for not doing things
Oyeyimika said To overcome biases, we need to step in and pull the bull by its horn
In addition, she advocated for mentorship, I also encouraged 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.
Similarly, the Publisher of Brand Communicator and Convener of WIMCA, Joshua Ajayi in his welcome address said The theme for this year’s WIMCA conference is Breaking More Biases For A Sustainable Future. It is to reinforce the actualization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5-Gender Equality, in line with this year’s International Women’s Day campaign theme which is #BreakTheBias.
In doing this, we would also dissect how women can create opportunities for greater 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.
WIMCA is a two-day event with conferences, exhibitions, masterclasses, and awards. The other prominent professionals that spoke on Day 1 are Steve Babaeko, President of AAAN and CEO, X3M Ideas; Busola Tejumola, Executive Head of Content & West Africa Channels, MultiChoice Group; Solape Akinpelu, CEO, HerVest and Country Director, Women in Tech Global Nigeria Chapter; Anurika Azubike, Managing Partner at Marketplace Innovation Africa; Bidemi Zakariyau Akande, Founder/ CEO of LSF PR; Charles O’Tudor, Principal Consultant of ADSTRAT Branding Management Consortium Limited; and Uche Ajene Ayere, Founder/Managing Director, Stephanie John & Associates among others.