FirstBank dedicates the month of March to celebrating women

FirstBank Celebrates Women in March and Reinforces Commitment to Empowering Women

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, a premier and leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria, is dedicating the month of March to celebrating women worldwide as it commemorates the globally recognized International Women’s Day on 8 March 2023.

The First Women Network (FWN) Mentoring, Coaching, and Sponsorship Pillar Webinar, scheduled for Friday, 3 March 2023, marks the beginning of a series of internal activities designed to honour women. The bank’s First Women Network aims to address the gender gap and increase women’s participation at all organisational levels.

On 8 March 2023, FirstBank will join the global community in celebrating the 2023 International Women’s Day with the theme “Embrace Equity” during its International Women’s Day 2023 event.

As a UN Women member, FirstBank utilizes relevant women empowerment tools, such as the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Gender Gap Analysis Tool, to assess its performance and provide progress reports contributing to the WEPs’ performance indicators. FirstBank has a female-to-male employee ratio of approximately 39% to 61%, with 32% of women in management positions promoting a deliberate policy consistent with the WEPs – Equal Opportunity, Inclusion, and Nondiscrimination.

In collaboration with UN Women on 15 March 2023, FirstBank will play a key role in an event showcasing young women and men in Nigeria aged 18-35, who use technological innovations and tools to promote gender equality, women’s empowerment, and inclusion. This aligns with the UN International Women’s Day theme for 2023, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”

The discussions on “Embrace Equity” and “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” will be reinforced on Twitter Spaces, featuring notable speakers such as Foluso Gbadamosi, Executive Director of Junior Achievement Nigeria.

Concluding the Women’s Month celebration, FirstBank will support the Heroism of Erelu Ota – a play in line with the bank’s First@arts initiative to promote arts and women. The heroism of Erelu Ota tells the story of a legendary goddess in the Ikorodu Kingdom who travels on the sea with a mat and plays a crucial role in assisting the people of Ikorodu during the Agbala war.

Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications at FirstBank, spoke about the upcoming events, stating, “We remain dedicated to diversity, inclusion, and women’s empowerment through digital education and providing opportunities for women to access digital tools to bridge the gender digital divide and achieve gender equality. As in previous years, FirstBank has set aside March 2023 to celebrate women and their outstanding accomplishments, including leadership roles and pioneering standards in Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). We intentionally partner for greater impact – ensuring we reach as many women as possible during Women’s Month and beyond.”