Truckpusher: You can call her female CHAUVINISTA

babyosisi:

Hahahahaha
I guess the reason why I seem to be carrying on about this is that I am female and a female professional in a male dominated career
A quadruple whammy for me actually

Female
Black
Professional[b]Foreign accent[/b]

Do you know ow many times I am mistaken as the assistant?
Do you know how many times I hear my assistant who is a white female tell someone that she is the assistant because automatically they assume she is because she is white
And if she were male of course that will happen even more .
So reading ogugua and sisi kill creates a scenario I have to deal with
I teach students too
I have had folks assume my student was the teacher because they are male or white

Chrisbenogor:
Which one come be foreign accent again lmaoooo nairaland sha

babyosisi:

I am Nigerian and live in America so my accent is foreign despite all my finest foney
Gerrit?

Chrisbenogor:
Yels oh I gerrinit infact amaechi shall appoint you next
Shebi you go come back ni

babyosisi: Hahahahaha
I guess the reason why I seem to be carrying on about this is that I am female and a female professional in a male dominated career
A quadruple whammy for me actually

Female
Black
Professional
Foreign accent

Do you know how many times I am mistaken as the assistant at my job?
Do you know how many times I hear my assistant who is a white female tell someone that she is the assistant because automatically they assume she is the boss because she is white
And if she were male of course that will happen even more .
So reading ogugua and sisi kill reminds me of a scenario I have to deal with
I teach professional students too
I have had folks assume my student was the teacher because they are male or white
And of course you must know there are some that will also assume I could not be as competent because I am black,female not a natural born citizen but will not make the same assumption of a white male who may be less experienced than I am
Same thing I am reading here.


One of my saddest days early in my career was having an Italian man refuse to be seen by me because I was female ( and perhaps black too)

ogugua88:

[size=13pt]You're not alone. We all have to deal with it. I was born in the US and have "no accent" or "sound American", and I still have my own encounters. It's funny that this has come up today as it was only yesterday that I was discussing with my mom how angry I get when someone tells me I speak "good English". Firstly, I speak English well. Secondly, how were you expecting me to be speaking? I can't go out with my youngest sister, who's 11, without getting stares as people think I'm her mother. Even when I'm wearing scrubs on the train back from the hospital, I get stares. Single black mothers fill the train with cantankerous children, and there I am, sitting quietly in uniform and holding my book bag. I've met white supremacists and have been told cruel things. I've ran into a young Klansman in May (couldn't have been older than me), and that's fine. I should be telling them "thank you" in fact. They can continue stereotyping and grouping me anyhow they like. I still have my goals and aspirations and will meet them by force. Their negativity gives me more reason to prove them wrong anyway.

Like Sisi rightly asked, do we combat that by continuing to place that emphasis on ourselves? I try not to. My goal is to apply to medical school in the next few years. I know that affirmative action may help in any future acceptances I may receive. There's nothing I can do about that. When I get there, however, I still have a lot to prove as many know the situation around minorities and the few that get accepted. We always have to work that much harder to prove to everyone else that we're intelligent and were accepted for more than quota purposes.

I believe in hard work. In various sectors in Nigeria, getting to the top doesn't require hard work, and working hard doesn't guarantee career ascension. I hope these six women know what their new positions entail. It's also my hope that they're perseverant and take their jobs seriously, in hopes of impacting real change wherever possible. Although I see where you're coming from, I cannot support someone simply for their gender. I'm sorry. That's how I was phone banking for Obama in 2008 and women were telling me they'd vote for John McCain because he had a female vice presidential candidate. Just as it has to be more than being a URM (underrepresented minority) in medical school to be taken seriously, it has to be more than gender for anything to come of these six appointments.[/size]

babyosisi: I hear you but most importantly I feel so old now
So ancient

My main point is that you don't automatically think "less qualified" because you hear the appointees are female which is the way you came off
Your story is not different from mine.
The article highlighted their gender because of its rarity
That is not a reason to question their competence

[size=13pt]Lol, don't o

I automatically assumed less qualified because our politicians are fond of appointing people anyhow lol. I still don't know why Nkiru Sylvanus was appointed her position in Imo. Governor Amaechi is no fool. He made sure to state they were appointed on merit in hopes of people not raising eyebrows. If he and other politicians want Nigerians to start trusting them and taking their appointments seriously, then they should let us see the merit of which they talk.[/size]

babyosisi: Welcome news
Even if being female was one of the major deciding factors so be it
Do they have college degrees?
Have they been working at their jobs without sanctions?
They are more than qualified
We have tried the men and they have failed let the women go there and try too

What qualification did OBJ or IBB or buhari have before they became head of state?
Shagari was a TTC graduate before he headed our country
A woman who is running her household has more than enough qualifications to lead Nigeria what more those that have worked in civil service and went through the ranks
I see a doctor there
Did she buy it at Alaba ?
If these had been men,nobody will ask these questions many people including females are asking about qualifications


Infact even if they are mediocre sef ,we have had mediocre male leaders,let us try the women too
They couldn't be worse

Sisi_Kill: Na wa oh! It's amazing and quite disappointing how people you think should be more perceptive turn out to be errr. . .not so.

So wanting to be hired for a job based on MERITS not because of GENDER means women don't know what they want?

Not wanting to be seen as just another quota filler means women don't know what they want?

So women only have two options. . .be discriminated against because of their gender or be favored because of it? Not wanting gender to play a role at all in how one is perceived in the work place is a sign women don't know what they want?

. . .Someone, a fully developed someone can actually think like that in this day and age?

Oh! Father in heaven take us, take us right now. . .what is the point of being here if some people are just gonna waste the brains which you have generously given us.

ogugua88: [size=13pt]I hope they were chosen on merit and not for the sake of having women in office. They can be rogues too.[/size]

basisop:

Have you been to Stadium Road, Ikwerre Road to Agip Roundabout? Have you seen the Primary Schools and quality teachers in River State?

Have you not noticed the way waste are disposed like in Europe?

What about the security we now enjoy in the city?

Created job opportunities for graduates that control traffic thereby inserting sanity amongst PH drivers.

Should I continue?

REVOLUTNIS:
Really? visit the city

Jellita: I am surprised Ini Edo is not one of them.
Abi is she not from PraCourt?

We thian Godioh. . .they are all professionals and 'Mrs-es'!

babyosisi:

I am shocked to read the commentaries from women
We are indeed our own worst enemies
I don't even believe there are less qualified women,but the system promotes males ahead of females
Gender discrimination is alive and well and worse in the 3rd world
How many female army chiefs are there?
Were they no females in Ihejirikas graduating class, and above where are they?
It is the system keeping them down more than anything

ogugua88:

[size=13pt]I know exactly what I want. If women must be in office, then they must be competent, rational, intelligent, and firm. I, personally, don't want anyone appointing me to anything because I have XX chromosomes. I'm willing to do the hard work to get wherever I want based on merit rather than my gender. That's how people start slacking and believe that gender, race, etc can get them to the top. That's the argument for opponents of affirmative action in the US, and it's a valid argument.

Granted, supply may not be there, but I don't think it wise to start selecting incompetent or incapable people for quota purposes. I'd rather have the best of the best serve, regardless of who they are, from where they come, etc.[/size]

babyosisi:

This is because this is a rare occurrence even in 2013
Why should that surprise you ?
Nigeria is 52 years old and is yet to have a female state governor
The first female Chief Justice of the federation also made news and this happened just a few months ago
If memory serves me right the first female Vice chancellor of a university was Grace Alele Williams, in the 80/90s she also made news .i don't know if there has been any others since after and there are about 100 universities in the country ,Most with revolving tenures for VCs
Yet there are towns of female professors in the universities

So you see the adjective female was used in the headline
It is is not a common occurrence in Nigeria

Equating their gender to the reason for the appointment or reading more meaning into it reminds me of Republicans who prefer to emphasize Obamas blackness rather than his competence.
Yes he was the first black president and references are made to that but he deserved it ,so should these women be viewed.

babyosisi:

Let them appoint me first,let me go and get my share of the national moi moi
It's about time

pro01:

I don't really know what Sisi_Kill and Ogugua are on about. E be like say na too much book and oyinbo exposure don scatter their brain.

The fact remains that there is a supply disequilibrium in Nigeria as regards qualified females in comparison to males, especially for the high positions. That is not necessarily an indication of mental superiority or whatever, but more a consequence of social reality. Many (educated) married women in Nigeria end up as housewives, while those that go on to have a career may have limited career options, or a 'glass ceiling' in their careers due to their husbands' and families'/society's restrictions. It is a fact, however unpalatable it sounds to 'modern, intelligent, and enlightened' women like Sisi-Kill et al, lol.

How many female professors do we have in Nigeria in comparison to male?
How many female engineers do we have in comparison to male?
how many female SANs do we have in comparison to male?
How many female directors do we have in the Federal and state civil services in comparison to males?
How many pilots, chartered accountants, administrators, politicians, etc etc?

What I'm trying to say is that if we were to choose a qualified woman for a particular 'high' position, for the fact the she is indeed qualified, then her chances are automatically (and drastically) reduced - simply because of good-old probability and supply issues. If there is a pool of 50 qualified persons, out of which only 5 are women, and out of which only 5 persons would be selected, there is a high chance that none of the 'selectees' would be a woman, unless a deliberate effort is made to select at least one woman in order to ensure some balance. That's the point that needs to be understood. Cases like Okonjo-Iweala or Oby Ezekwesili are unique because they were handpicked for the reason of their perceived superior competence/experience. They didn't have to be randomly selected from a pool of other equally qualified candidates, most of whom would be male in most other cases.

All these feminist rantings are overly idealistic and ignore the reality on ground in the Nigerian context. I believe Babyosisi understands this idea quite well. You must select women because they are women - and happen to be qualified. . . Otherwise, women would be severely under-represented in these positions. That's the reality.

J12:

There's an ample supply of qualified female personnel in most careers, sectors and industries in Nigeria. Your submission that most educated women in Nigeria endup as housewives is actually outdated.