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The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED) Plc., Dr Benson Uwheru has commended female employees of the company, describing them as compassionate, caring, empathetic and kind, strong, tenacious, hard working, dedicated, committed, resilient and go-getters.
Dr Uwheru noted that the theme for the International Women’s Day this year aligns with the company’s 2023 strategic transformational pillar of Innovation and Technological Change with specific focus on achieving gender equality and empowerment of female employees in the company. He encouraged the women to constantly innovate and use technology for the good of the company.
Dr Uwheru re-echoed the dogma that what a man can do, a woman can do better, and affirmed that the place of the female gender is not just in the other room, but quite appropriately in the boardroom, reiterating that women are competent and possess high degree of character and capacity.
According to him, the company is opposed to every force that supports gender inequality, discrimination against women or gender biases. He informed that the company is committed to creating a conducive work environment for women with focus on developing and preparing women for leadership positions in the company.
He informed that management is committed to making life better for women in the company and announced a review of the duration of maternity leave for nursing mothers from three to six months and institutionalised a monthly reward system for women in the company. Speaking further, he confirmed that there will be a whistle blowing policy against women discrimination, a mentorship and an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for female staff members in the company.
He acknowledged that female employees in the company are incredibly brilliant and are a positive force, and thanked them for their contributions towards making the company great. He also thanked the male gender in the company for helping to create a gender-inclusive work environment.
Speaking to female staff of the company at the company’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, Mrs Omolola Ezeifeoma, a Data Management professional and facilitator at the event dwelt on the theme, Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality. She explored the subject; “Breaking the Mind-Set”, noting that it is wrong to assume that technology is masculine and complex. She noted that technology is everything and should be embraced by women because technology is an open ground for everyone, though it is not everything. However, it starts with innovation, and it is an enabler for subject matter experts.
She encouraged the women to be tech models, rethink how they solve problems, think digitally, ask for help, be courageous to fail whilst trying to figure things out and create tech communities for women. She posited that by so doing women can innovate and use technology to foster gender equality.
