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The Pandemic Undid The Global Strides Made Towards Gender Equality
By Joanna Baidu, Youth Lead, PMI
Over the past decades, the movement to dismantle organised bias against women in workplaces, politics, academia, fast-tracking of economic opportunities and access to healthcare has been gaining ground. While society remains unequal, these gains were unequivocally meritorious and resulted from the tenacity of women driving it. However, in just over two years, Covid-19 undid the gains and exposed existing social inequalities.
Joanna Baidu
If not addressed, discrimination against women and girls will stay on as a side effect of the pandemic. The gender-skewed labour shortages in the workplace need to be ironed out on priority to create an even playing field for women who are in and will be entering the job market. This year’s theme for International Women’s Day “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” is timely and rooted in human and not just women’s rights.
Project Management Institute (PMI) identified several megatrends such as civil, civic and equality movements, demographics shifts etc in their 2022 Global Megatrends report. The report paints as an ongoing concern the rising inequality intensified by the pandemic as a contributor to social unrest.
According to the Wits University School of Economics and Finance, while women accounted for less than half (47%) of those employed in February 2021, they accounted for two million, or two-thirds (67%), of the three million net job losses recorded between February and April of the same year.
Although women suffered 67% of job losses, men received two-thirds of Covid-19 grants (65%). As the economy started opening again in September 2021 women’s employment levels were still down 20%, while men were down 13%. The fact that, Covid-19 forced more women than men out of work speaks to both the real and perceived value of women in the workplace.
The reality remains that women have had to find a balance under extreme conditions that the pandemic has presented or needed to drop out of the workforce to focus on their caregiver duties which further diluted their contributions in the workplace or presents challenges they’ll face in re-entering the job market.
Despite studies showing the importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for business growth, women and ethnic minorities remain underrepresented and underpaid at all corporate levels.
As such from a project management perspective, it has never been more important to get women back to work as well as more women into work. As the Covid-19 pandemic subsides and companies once again actively seek employees, many women are, however, having trouble resuming or starting new careers.
With 25 million new project professionals needed by 2030, according to PMI’s 2021 Talent Gap report, current labour shortages will only intensify the challenges of delivering projects that are on time, on a budget that meets customer expectations.
Available statistics from PMI show that women only constitute an estimated 20% – 30% of the project management staff worldwide. For women to directly benefit, diversity must be at the heart of sustainability and a preamble to driving solutions and opportunities for women in the project management space.
Overall, the trends we have been witnessing and monitoring combine to present the sector opportunities to build a better, more inclusive, and efficient working environment.
Despite current setbacks, in the longer term, we expect the trend of female participation in the workforce to increase. Equality of access from a gender perspective can hopefully be understood on a more level playing field, one that acknowledges and correctly values and rewards the full contribution of women to economies, beyond the workplace. We also need to recognise the imperative to include more women in leadership so that we can guide more gender-diverse and accommodating cultures.
We believe a lot of the changes that have taken place recently, and observed in the 2022 Global Megatrends report, can be used to achieve greater gender equality.
Remote work, for example, provides flexibility and should over time see more women enter the workforce and stay. Remote work has also been a great leveler for people subject to bias in the workplace.
Many women of colour are reluctant to return to the office, according to a recent New York Times article. In the United States, remote work has also eased the stress of working in predominantly white workspaces and reduced exposure to microaggressions and discrimination.
As far as gender equality goes for a sustainable tomorrow, it will require buy-in from everyone including men.
MTN Group has begun rolling out MTN One TV, a new entertainment proposition designed to make digital video content more accessible, relevant, and flexible for customers across African markets.
Introduced in line with MTN’s Ambition 2030 strategy, MTN One TV brings together local storytelling, live channels, international programming, and market-specific viewing options tailored to how customers across the continent access and pay for digital entertainment.
The proposition is designed to give customers greater choice in how they watch content, with viewing models that may vary by market and can include free-to-view content, advertising-funded experiences, pay-as-you-watch access, and subscription offerings.
Depending on local availability, customers may also be able to pay through airtime, Mobile Money, and other locally supported payment methods, helping to reduce common barriers to streaming access.
Beyond enhancing customer experiences, MTN One TV creates new opportunities for African creators, broadcasters, advertisers, and ecosystem partners by helping connect content to wider audiences through MTN’s scale across connectivity, payments, and digital services.
By bringing together a broad mix of content experiences under a single proposition, MTN aims to support greater content discovery, broader audience reach, and sustainable growth across Africa’s digital entertainment ecosystem.
Anchored in MTN’s strategic platforms of Connectivity, Fintech, and Digital Infrastructure, MTN One TV forms part of the Group’s broader ambition to build digital experiences that create value for customers while enabling participation and growth across Africa’s digital economy.
“Entertainment is increasingly becoming an important gateway to digital participation,” said Selorm Adadevoh, MTN group chief commercial, strategy and transformation officer.
“Through MTN One TV, we are leveraging the scale of our connectivity, fintech, and digital capabilities to make relevant content more accessible while creating new opportunities for Africa’s creative and digital economies. This is aligned with our ambition to deliver digital solutions for Africa’s progress.”
MTN One TV is being introduced progressively across MTN markets through a phased rollout approach that reflects local market needs, existing services, and partnership opportunities.
Over time, MTN will bring together a combination of video capabilities, content partnerships, and customer experiences under the MTN One TV brand to create a more consistent and scalable entertainment proposition across its footprint.
Through MTN One TV, MTN continues to extend its role beyond connectivity by combining entertainment, payments, and digital services to deliver experiences tailored to the needs of African consumers.
The rollout supports MTN’s Ambition 2030 vision of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress while expanding access to digital entertainment across the continent.
International Air Transport Association (IATA) has identified Nigeria as one of the most expensive countries in the world for airline operations, citing high taxes, charges and operational costs that continue to weigh heavily on local carriers.
IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Al-Awadhi, disclosed this during the association’s Annual General Meeting held in Rio de Janeiro.
Al-Awadhi said that although Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had been pursuing reforms aimed at improving the aviation sector, airlines operating in the country still faced enormous cost pressures.
According to him, the high-cost operating environment has continued to affect the profitability and competitiveness of Nigerian airlines, making it difficult for the industry to realise its full potential.
He noted that excessive taxes, regulatory charges and other operating expenses remained major obstacles to airline growth across the region, with Nigeria ranking among the most challenging markets from a cost perspective.
Al-Awadhi urged member states of the Economic Community of West African States to adopt a proposed 25 per cent reduction in aviation taxes and charges to ease the burden on airlines and passengers.
According to him, lowering taxes and charges would reduce airfares, stimulate passenger traffic and strengthen the competitiveness of carriers operating within West Africa.
He stressed that a more supportive policy environment was critical to unlocking the economic benefits of aviation, including increased trade, tourism and regional integration.
Industry stakeholders have consistently advocated lower taxes and regulatory fees, arguing that the current cost structure makes air travel less affordable and limits the growth of the sector.
IATA’s latest remarks add to calls for governments in West Africa to implement policies that will promote a more sustainable and competitive aviation industry across the region.
Broadcasting
NASENI Trains 50 Women in Kano on Renewable Energy Technologies Under She-Powers Initiative
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), under the leadership of its Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, has trained 50 women in Kano State on inverter and battery technologies through its She-Powers Energy Initiative.
The three-day programme, held at the Technology Incubation Centre, Farm Centre, Kano which ended yesterday, was designed to equip participants with practical renewable energy skills, promote women-led enterprises, and enhance sustainable livelihoods.
The initiative forms part of NASENI’s broader commitment to empowering women, creating economic opportunities, and expanding participation in Nigeria’s growing clean energy sector. It also aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by supporting job creation, entrepreneurship, and inclusive economic development.
Through targeted interventions such as the She-Powers Energy Initiative, NASENI continues to demonstrate its commitment to leveraging technology and innovation to improve lives and drive sustainable development across the country.
Photos: Participants at the She-Powers Energy Initiative training organised by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) held at the the Technology Incubation Centre, Farm Centre, Kano yesterday.
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