By Father Alito
The indomitable telecommunications network in Sierra Leone, Africell SL has on Thursday 7th March 2024, on its Headquarters, Wilberforce village, hosted prominent women and eminent personalities in celebration of the International Women’s Day.
The MC for that well attended occasion is a Gender Expert, Officer in Charge UN Department, Miss Baindu Massaquoi. She stated that the International Women’s Day is a special day for Women, showcasing this year’s theme: invest in women accelerate progress .She concluded by affirming that it is time for self assessment leading to Gender equality. Leaving no one behind. Private sector promotes innovation and open markets. Gender equality has great effect. Gender equality in the private sector is a good business.
ChibLee Francis Kamara who is the deputyCommissioner of Labour laid emphasis on the Theme for this year which is invest in women accelerate progress. He cautioned that Workers have right and employers have obligations. As a Labour Expert he outlined that Gross insubordination will result to summary dismissal. Worker’s compensation Act cap 219 1955 is in full effect.Trade Unions work with collective bargaining agreement. Due to the exigency of time Kamara appealed to deliberate on labour issues in due course.
As the event gained momentum, the Assistant Director of the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs , Miss Hannah Lahai-Robinson stated that March 8th has been set aside to celebrate the thrives made by women. She opined that it is the day meant for addressing barriers women are facing, creating awareness on Gender Equality, enactment of Gender and Women’s empowerment, Women having access to finance, creating Gender Unit in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs),designated employees should constitute of at least 30% female workers and they should be part of decision making. Madam Lahai- Robinson stressed that sexual harassment should be highly condemned and that Gender equality should be highly placed on remunerations.
She ended by saying
“We must all work together. We must Put value in women for rapid advancement/development.Women are still facing challenges in the workplace related to Gender parity and financial inclusion. Africell is doing well when it comes to women’s empowerment”.
Furthermore, the Senior Human Rights Adviser, Uchenna Emelonye working for the United Nations(UN), elucidated that We can only accelerate profit and progress if we invest in women. He asked that why are intelligent women not progressing after leaving school. He talked of unconscious biases. And that Society has placed heavy weight on women. He ended by pinpointing that “Steps make the difference in income. There are Internal dynamics between men and women. There is no room for discrimination of women. UN is committed in working with Africell. UN is committed working with women’s empowerment. Attitudinal change is highly needed. It is your Right to make yourself assertive”.
Moreover, the outstanding Managing Director (MD) of Africell SL, Shadi Gerjawi who is referred to as the “He for She Champion” highlighted on the benefits of empowering women. He affirmed that Michaella has been a strong woman and she is still going strong. School settings are finite and the work place is infinite. He urged personalities that were present to Understand that we are the same. Gerjawi outlined that Women are distracted by too many things sometimes. Shadi suggested that the subject matter should be changed from Women’s Empowerment to Gender Globalization. Government is saying 30% Quota but Africell is working on 50%. He optimized that Africell is committed in placing more women in management positions. The performance oriented MD who is passionate about Women’s empowerment updated that over the years, Africell have been investing in women with specific managerial roles assigned to women.
Michaella Mackey Esq, when asked how she navigated her career to where she is today? She responded that Consistency has been her watch word. The renowned Lawyer and Corporate Affairs Expert inspired fellow women that defining their roles in their line of communication is very important and urged them to establish boundaries during the course of executing their duties.
Sia Lajaku-Williams from the International Labour Organization (ILO), updated that ILO is a specialized UN Agency. Sierra Leone became a member of the said organization in 1961. Among the numerous functions they play, enhancing social dialogues and standard settings are key in their daily operations. She concluded by affirming that Sierra Leone has signed 45 conventions.
Anita Adams, Head, Commercial Banking Group-Access Bank highlighted that Access Bank has been creating equal opportunities for everyone to tap into. Promoting female issues have been a norm at Access Bank. She assured that Gender Equality is part of the bank’s agenda.
Dr. Elizabeth Allieu stated that one of the key things in maintaining a sound mental health is self awareness. Resilience and understanding the situation without affecting our social wellbeing is relevant.Self compassion. Setting the boundaries. Target. Effective communication. Healthy coping mechanism. Seeking help are all good practices leading to a sound state of mind. According to Dr. Elizabeth Allieu everyone has a mental health challenge but it is based on how it is handled.
In conclusion, engagements were made and some of the top management female staff at Africell SL were called upon by MD Gerjawi to make commitments, as a way of inspiring junior colleagues The event ended with a wonderful female song and vote of thanks.