Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers spearheads empowerment and development for Nigerian women

The event themed LATTES (Ladies At the Table Empowerment Series) was designed to furnish women with the required information to enable them to succeed in their businesses, careers, relationships and homes.

The inaugural LATTES session themed: ‘Balancing Career Success, and Personal Wellness’ featured a Human Resource expert as well as a wellness specialist who shared tips on work-life balance and healthy living respectively.

The Executive Director, Business Development at Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, Nike Bajomo stated that Stanbic IBTC has always been at the vanguard of women empowerment. She said:

“We believe that there are opportunities for every woman to thrive and blossom, and as such, we consistently create avenues to help women make the most of these opportunities.

"At Stanbic IBTC, empowering women remains a core priority for us. The pandemic particularly impacted women as many of us had to balance our natural roles as nurturers with showing up every day at our jobs with our A-game intact while dealing with all the challenges that came with the new normal.

"We, therefore, are hoping that LATTES will be an avenue to help women bounce back quicker and continue to thrive well after the pandemic is completely behind us.”

LATTES featured Tolulope Agiri, the Group Chief Human Resources Officer for Interswitch and Sherese Ijewere, the Founder of Carib Health Limited. They both shared insights and experiences with participants on how women can balance work and wellness in their chosen field.

Tolulope opined that lots of women find it hard to create time for themselves and mostly play the role of caregivers while altering career paths. Sighting the pandemic as an example, She went further to explain how women struggled to keep their homes and their jobs amid the covid19 pandemic.

In her remark, Tolulope said “it is of paramount importance to set aside time for family and dedicate a portion of that time for self-care and personal development. While no one has it all, a strong support system that ensures women thrive at home and work cannot be overemphasised. A support system is critical to your growth and mental wellness as it helps create work-life balance.”

She advised women to make demands that will make their jobs easier in their respective places of work and urged them to aim for leadership positions and work synergistically with their employers to make work-life balance a reality.

Sherese Ijewere spoke on how women can incorporate wellness into their day-to-day lives, stating that maintaining a healthy lifestyle contributes to a successful life. She added that an imbalance in self-care could instigate unwanted illnesses.

She admonished women to take care of themselves through a deliberate practice of self-care resulting in higher productivity levels, reducing fatigue and enabling them to take care of others.

Ibiyemi Mezu, Executive Director, Business Development at Stanbic IBTC applauded the initiative in her closing remark and restated Stanbic IBTC’s commitment to creating initiatives such as this to help women harness the genius in them at all times, regardless of their profession and ensuring that women have all the support required to be the best version of themselves. Participants were also reminded that Stanbic IBTC was available to offer pension support and financial advice and can be reached via 01 271 6000 or pensionsolution@stanbicibtc.com