THE Ekiti State Government has commenced moves to integrate women’s economic empowerment into its broader development agenda, with stakeholders calling for stronger coordination, reliable data and gender-responsive policies across government.
The call came at the end of a week-long stakeholder engagement on the domestication of the National Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Policy and Action Plan in Ado-Ekiti.
The engagement, which brought together government agencies, financial institutions, private-sector organisations, civil society groups, women-focused organisations and professional associations, examined barriers limiting women’s participation in the state’s economy and proposed practical solutions.
The lead consultant for the exercise, Prof. Olabisi Aina, affirmed that women’s economic empowerment could not be achieved by the Ministry of Women Affairs alone, stressing that ministries and agencies responsible for finance, agriculture, education, infrastructure, labour, transportation and technology must play defined roles.
She spoke at the Technical Session of the engagement, which featured key informant interviews, focus group discussions and validation sessions.
Prof. Aina said the National WEE Policy, adopted by the Federal Government in 2023, was designed to address structural and institutional barriers limiting women’s full participation in economic development.
She urged the state to adopt a more coordinated system in which gender considerations are integrated into planning, budgeting, policy formulation and service delivery across government MDAs and institutions.
Earlier, Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to improving the economic wellbeing, inclusion and independence of women in the state.
Gov. Oyebanji, who received the WEE technical team at the Governor’s Office through the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Habibat Adubiaro, said his administration recognised the invaluable role women play in Ekiti’s socio-economic development.
The governor highlighted interventions in areas such as skills development, enterprise support, and opportunities linked to the Ekiti Knowledge Zone and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Investment, and Cooperatives. He assured that the state would collaborate with relevant stakeholders to strengthen the agenda for women’s development.
The engagement focused on five major areas: agriculture and rural development; entrepreneurship and micro, small and medium enterprises; financial inclusion; education and skills; and labour.
Stakeholders also examined opportunities for women in emerging sectors such as information and communication technology, e-commerce, renewable energy, creative industries, fashion, agribusiness, digital finance, tourism, technology and media.
Participants identified limited access to finance, land, technology, markets, infrastructure and productive assets as major barriers to women’s economic advancement.
They also called for stronger support for women-owned businesses, particularly those operating in the informal sector, as well as improved access to affordable credit, financial literacy, digital banking, insurance and market opportunities.
The stakeholders further stressed the importance of reliable sex-disaggregated data to guide policy formulation, budgeting and monitoring of interventions targeting women.
Unpaid care work was also identified as a major obstacle to women’s participation in the labour force, with participants advocating improved childcare support, social protection and family-friendly workplace policies.
The engagement emphasised the need to deliberately include rural and urban women, young and older women, and women living with disabilities in the state’s economic empowerment framework.
In her presentation, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Olapeju Babafemi, commended Governor Oyebanji’s Administration for championing initiatives that advance the rights and development of women and girls.
The domestication exercise is expected to produce a stakeholder consultation report, sector-specific analysis of barriers facing women, an inventory of existing interventions, a stakeholder map, a priority intervention matrix and monitoring and evaluation indicators for a proposed five-year Ekiti State WEE Action Plan.
The initiative will also reposition women’s economic empowerment as a shared responsibility across government and the wider economy, with emphasis on access to finance, skills, employment, markets, technology, land and entrepreneurial opportunities.
The ultimate objective is to ensure that women and girls become active participants in driving Ekiti State’s economic growth and prosperity, rather than mere beneficiaries of development programmes.