In furtherance of its sustained efforts to promote fairness in its regulatory initiatives in the telecoms sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Thursday unveiled a Women in Leadership Programme aimed at ensuring gender equity and fostering career advancement in the nation’s digital economy space.
The programme is designed to create a sustainable pipeline of women leaders, provide mentorship opportunities, and build professional networks that will empower women to take on greater responsibilities within the industry.
Speaking during the launch of the programme, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, said the programme reflected the commission’s commitment to nurturing female talent and institutionalising leadership development for women in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry.
Specifically, the commissioner said that the initiative would help in establishing a structured mentorship community for female professionals within ICT vaule chain as well as creating a platform for knowledge sharing and professional growth.
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She explained: “Although several leadership initiatives for women exist, this is our first deliberate effort to create a structured community. We want to build a mentorship network for female professionals within the regulatory environment.”
According to her, the programme is introduced to become a permanent feature of the Commission’s capacity-building framework, ensuring its sustainable continuity in the commission.
Speaking on the NCC management’s success so far progress in its gender inclusion drive, Makama disclosed that currently women occupied about 70 per cent of director-level positions within the NCC, thereby deliberately encouraging cognate experience that can be transferred to younger women professionals in the commission.
She clarified: “We want to harness that energy and wisdom and channel it into developing women working in regulation. We must continue to build and scale female leadership across the industry.”
In his remarks at the forum, the NCC’s Executive Vice-Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Aminu Maida, said the programme represented a strategic initiative for inspiring and preparing the next generation of women leaders in the communications sector.
The industry expert maintained that the initiative would create opportunities for female professionals to share their experiences and motivate younger women to pursue leadership roles in the industry.
Maida, who said the programme would encourage women to aspire and reach the top of their careers, noting that many talented women within the commission have the potential to assume key leadership positions in the years ahead.
In his concluding remarks, he projected: “I see a lot of promise in the next generation of women in the commission.”
