By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has highlighted steps that can be taken to achieve a more robust and inclusive economy.
Speaking at the maiden All Progressives Congress (APC) National Women Conference held at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja, the Minister said women must be given critical roles to handle to enhance the economy.
“By economically empowering women and ensuring their full participation in society, particularly in leadership and decision-making roles, we can ensure improved economic development outcomes for all,” she stated.
“It is crucial to take a long term and strategic approach towards ensuring that women are economically empowered and imperative that we prioritise the advancement of women in all spheres of society, and specifically in areas relating to socio-economic empowerment,” Mrs Ahmed further said.
According to her, “women’s economic participation and empowerment are key drivers of overall economic growth and improved development outcomes, ultimately leading to improved economic resiliency and greater social inclusion.”
The Minister also called on individuals, leaders and aspiring leaders, civil society organisations, the private sector and general society to work collaboratively with the tiers of government to support programmes and ideas that ensure the participation and empowerment of women.
She used the occasion to list some challenges women face and the steps being taken towards addressing, noting that some of the key areas of focus for targeted interventions include access to financing and capacity building for women-owned businesses, particularly MSMEs; boosting financial inclusion and financial literacy amongst women and girls; and improving human capital development outcomes for women and girls through targeted government spending in line with government priorities in critical sectors, including health and education.
She listed others as ensuring that fiscal policies and public financial management processes are more gender-sensitive through comprehensive gender mainstreaming, particularly in budgeting, implementation, and M&E; ensuring equal access to information; and closing the digital gender gap.
