Investing in Tomorrow’s Leaders
This month marks Women’s History Month — a month we get to highlight the contributions of women in society and history. March further corresponds to International Women’s Day, marked annually on 8th of March, a focal point of the women’s rights movement; traced back to 1909, when this day was first observed in the US, in honor of a worker’s strike by women from New York City factories who protested over working conditions.
This year, as the world marked International Women’s Day calling on friends, colleagues and the community to press forward and progress gender parity under the campaign #PressForProgress, we at Andela joined in by hosting women leaders and technologists across the Nigerian ecosystem, where we explored what Investing in Tomorrow’s Leaders entails, as we progress towards achieving gender parity in the technology space too.
Tomorrow’s leaders are all around us. We hear of their moonshot ideas in queues or in groups. We see them sitting at corner desks for hours jamming away on their tools-of-work. We read of their work from that forwarded message in one of the various WhatsApp groups we are in.
Beyond that, how deep can we rate our level of engagement with them, with an aim of empowering them towards the road to success, the road to having them feel and be empowered? Empowered enough to feel encouraged to bring their ideas or concepts to life, and further, lead their peers/teams/groups as they continue shaping our tomorrow?
More so, do we purpose to ensure these engagements create room for diverse voices, diverse opinions, diverse perspectives as we invest in our leaders of tomorrow?
At Andela, we believe that talent is gender-neutral, and on 10th of March, we got together over 90 trailblazing women who have been in the tech industry in various capacities; founders, technical team leads, software engineers, product managers, product designers, in addition to upcoming women in technology pursuing STEM courses in university.
Diverse voices who engaged with the women, to share their experiences this far on how they have worked outside the box to beat status quo in tech, how they have failed and learned at work to refine their paths as leaders in the tech space, and while at it, fuel the fire for tomorrow’s leaders to keep moving.
The day was beautiful, and fun, as much as it was raw, and real, and a reminder that tomorrow’s leaders are around us, and that they need diverse voices to engage with them in their journeys; to point out facts, to share experiences, and to highlight opportunities and resources.
In honor of this month long celebration, I’d like to share 10 wisdom nuggets from the Inaugural Andela Women in Tech Summit, that can hopefully help push us (both upcoming and those already in the industry) to act more, and to engage deeper, as we Invest in Tomorrow’s Leaders.
- “If you are the smartest person in the room, you need to re-evaluate that room; that’s what growth is.” — Chika Uwazie on growth in career and life
- “Invest in yourself first, then invest in others.” — Taiwo Judah-Ajayi on Investing in Tomorrow’s Leaders
- “Those decisions I have made when scared/afraid, happen to be the best decisions in my career this far!” — Moyinoluwa Adeyemi on the topic Outside the Box
- “Identify your tribe; people who push you to be better, to do better. ” — Chika Uwazie on Investing in Tomorrow’s Leaders
- “Realize you are unique as a woman, do not be afraid to bring in your unique perspectives to the table.” — Bilikiss Kola-Abiola on Failing and Learning at Work
- “From the sea of information and advice and points of view, pick that which works for you.” — Neku Atawodi on Failing and Learning at Work
- “Write your vision down (vision board), and let it play a role in getting you to the goal.” — Oluwaasola Obagbemi speaking on Tomorrow’s Leaders
- “You need to surround yourself with people who will push you to be better.” — Simi Nwogugu on Tomorrow’s Leaders
- “Always be learning. It never gets old, so do not stop.” — Feyikemi Olabiyi on the topic Outside the Box
- “There’s a thin line between determination and stubbornness; surround yourself with mentors and peers who can help keep that line in check.” — Banke Ajagunna on Failing and Learning at Work
Happy Women’s History Month!
Want to share your highlight of Women’s History Month? Comment down below, or tag me on Twitter, @mercy_orangi
