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Towards Effective Women’s Leadership in a Globalized World

Dorothy Igunbor Local Government Service Commission, Delta StatePresented at “When Women Gain, So Does the World,” IWPR’s Eighth International Women’sPolicy Research Conference, June 2005

Abstract

The globalization process represents the most significant challenges on the path towomen’s development. Increasing participation of women in education has improved women’s participation in leadership positions in Nigeria. The global interconnectedness of the presentcivilization is moving the world to a single place and moving towards world citizenship, openingvarious channels, and presenting contradictions and challenges for women development in theworld, through economic, social, cultural and political systems. The various channels opened byglobalization are a worthwhile opportunity for women to seek to advance their leadership potentials, which will create avenues of opportunity for them to affect public policy in their various communities, countries and globally. This paper examines the various leadership potentials of Nigerian women and how women in leadership roles can effect changes throughorganizational leadership.

Introduction

In the past centuries, there seems to have been an increased involvement of more peoplethinking about and working to improve the status of women in the world. Governments, non-government organization funding agencies, small groups and some isolated actions byindividuals have been geared towards meeting up with the changes, advancement anddevelopment of women. As human societies change overtime with the development of new waysof doing things, women’s situations also change. These changes vary from society to society.There have been tremendous changes in women’s roles and leadership positions they occupy inAfrica and Nigeria in particular. With the various challenges that globalization has posed, morecould be achieved in the shortest possible time if only globalization would work for the benefitof the majority of African women in today’s global village.

Women’s Leadership in Nigeria, the Gradual Changes

An examination of oral tradition shows quite clearly that during the pre-colonial periodsin Nigeria, women featured prominently in the Nigerian Traditional societies and took an active part in decision-making that affected their respective societies. Highly placed women, mostly palace women, such as queens’ and kings’ mothers, exercised great power and influenced societyin matters relating to the economy and politics.There was another group of women who achieved their position of leadership on merit,which usually originated from their various neighborhoods. They sat at meetings with malechiefs and actively participated in the deliberation of issues affecting their various communities.These women commanded substantial financial resources with which they maintained their status and were able to articulate women’s views with undue influences from any one.There were also various women’s associations which were active in mobilizing womenfor the welfare of their societies. According to Awe (1992) “what is clear is that during the pre-colonial periods, women were not left out of political decision-making process.” Thoughwomen’s involvement differed from society to society, Oyebade (2001) asserted that “at no pointcould the women be ignored, their contribution was complementarity and not opposition.”Before the influence of colonialism, which brought about a great change in women’s positions in Nigeria, Nigerian women had exercised some measure of power and authority and participated indecision making at various levels.The British colonial ideology of domestication of women, who were not to function inthe public domain like men, and the adoption of the indirect rule system administration, wheretraditional ruler and chiefs became agents of the British administration carrying out their masterswishes rather than wishes of the people, had adverse effects on some of the traditional roleswomen played in decision making and political process (Ezumah 2002). Women chiefs ceased tohave recognition and input in decision making processes. While the men were sent to schoolwomen were left out. This limited to a great extent the opportunities available to women. Thusthe complementary contribution of both the man and the woman was destroyed.

3Nigerian women did not just sit down and allow themselves to be relegated to the background. They rose up to the challenge and began seeking for the advancement of women.Various women organizations were formed by women to seek the advancement of women. Suchorganizations included amongst others, the Lagos Women League, which campaigned for moreemployment opportunities for women, vocational training for girls and better working conditionsfor nurses from 1923-1944. The Women’s Party, also in 1944, campaigned for the expansion of opportunities for women, more government employment for women, equal pay for equal work,and more training opportunities for women. The Federation of Nigeria Women Societies in 1953initiated the action against the British system of indirect rule, and encouraged women to take partin the political, social, and economic life of the country like they used to. (Oyebade 2001)Towards the end of the colonial era, the women’s pressure groups emerged to articulatewomen’s interests. With more women becoming leaders of women’s wings of political parties,they worked together with the men to fight for Nigeria’s independence, but were dropped when itcame to power sharing, because the constitution did not approve the participation of women in public life. In the 1954 elections, women in the south were allowed to vote while those in thenorth were disenfranchised until 1979 when the new constitution gave all adults the right to vote.For over thirty years, Nigeria was under military rule. The military government, which by tradition is a male dominated one, excluded women completely from governance and did notrecognize their impact in leadership in other sectors of the economy. But women in Nigeriacontinued to use the little opportunity they had to pursue higher education and continueddeveloping themselves individually. With pressure mounting from the United Nations Women’sDecade (1975-1985), the military began the tradition of including women into leadership positions and identifying the leadership potential of women by beginning to give their wivesleadership opportunities (First Lady Syndrome) as well as giving women token appointments.Women again teamed together under an organization called the Nigeria Women’s Associationunder the umbrella of the National Council for Women’s Society (NCWS) to condemn the policyof token appointment for women.There have been various organizations under the leadership of women, especially thevarious first ladies, in the country and other women’s organizations that have worked for thedevelopment of women. Today Nigeria can boast of female university chancellors, vicechancellors, registrars, rectors, chief executive officers of banks and other financial institutionsand companies, female members of the legislative houses, as well as ministers in key positions,such as minister of finance, lawyers, and doctors, engineers and director generals.The success of women’s involvement in leadership has not been achieved a hundred percent as it used to be before colonialism, but there has been huge progress for women in thecountry and world at large. As the saying goes, ‘it takes a second to destroy but years to build.’

Globalization and Its Challenges for Women’s Leadership

Globalization is an undeniable reality, and has remained the main subject for mostcontroversial debates and impassionate protests in the world today. It has become a fact of our contemporary world, which according to Anya (2003) “has fostered integrations and

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