Why are northern women difficult to find in the corporate world?
Anyone with reasons for the scarcity or possibility of finding them to groom for international careers

Jamb question
BTW have you been outside of lagos?

_{when they get there you now accuse them of being there to fill a certain quota or because they know someone}

Hauwa Audu

Amyn Investments


one of ur ex finance ministers nko? no be Hausa woman ni?

I have seen and interacted (even has as friends) with Hausa women who are in these professions- medicine ( doctors and nurses), Architecture, banking. The thing is most of them live in the north and they are doing good in their chosen profession

Esther Nenadi Usman
Kolo Kingible
Sarah Jibril
Faridah Waziri
Many that I can't even remember.


You should read papers more o!

Well I confess that I reside  and work in Lagos, hence my skewed vision.
And i read the papers thank you, even at that how many Northern women are there, compared to their counterparts from other regions.

I actually meant young emphasis on young, upwardly mobile women in corporate environments like oil companies, banks, FMCGs, Multinationals and not Government parastatals where its quota system or PDP rationing is used.

Northern babes in companies like Guinness, Cocacola, BAT, PZ, Shell, GTB, BG, NBL, , where art thou!

bolee:

Well I confess that I reside  and work in Lagos, hence my skewed vision.
And i read the papers thank you, even at that how many Northern women are there, compared to their counterparts from other regions.
I actually meant young emphasis on young, upwardly mobile women in corporate environments like oil companies, banks, FMCGs, Multinationals and not Government parastatals where its quota system or PDP rationing is used.

Northern babes in companies like Guinness, Cocacola, BAT, PZ, Shell, GTB, BG, NBL, , where art thou!

Its pretty obvious why they are not as represented, you'll find them-those that decide to venture out  of their comfort zone- in social services most  then CSR departments of those companies you've listed up north and HR especially

_{why dont african partake winter olympics?}

@bolee,
There are a lot of Northern women o. I have worked with many, in telecoms, and not in CSR mind you.
I just can't list their names here for reason of confidentiality.

@Dis Guy, there are lots of Northerner ladies who are doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. They are mostly up north.

AjanleKoko:

@bolee,
There are a lot of Northern women o. I have worked with many, in telecoms, and not in CSR mind you.
I just can't list their names here for reason of confidentiality.

@Dis Guy, there are lots of Northerner ladies who are doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. They are mostly up north.

Yes there are; Ive lived in the north before, im talking about those not in the North- in Business/'corporate world'

_{a bit weird labelling people really but i guess this is nigeria}

AjanleKoko:

Esther Nenadi Usman
Kolo Kingible
Sarah Jibril
Faridah Waziri
Many that I can't even remember.


You should read papers more o!

This actually does not answer her question.

Most of those listed appear to be in civil service or private enterprise (contracts), not in Corporate life.

It is very glaring that corporate Nigeria has very few women of northern origin.
But have we noticed that judiciary and journalism appear to have more northern women. The first female justice of the Supreme Court is a northerner. We also have them in Courts of Appeal and Federal High court. Justices Binta Nyako, Fati Abubakar, Zainab Bulkachuwa, Aisha Dahiru etc. In journalism too, Kadaria Ahmed, formerly of BBC and now editor of NEXT is from Zamfara state, not to mention the fact that most of NTA veterans, Hauwa Baba Ahmed, Aisha Bello etc are Hausa/Fulani women.

Now back to corporate Nigeria, let me mention a few:

1, Amina Oyagbola( ED at MTN, from Kogi state but married a Yoruba man)
2, Maimuna Aliyu (ED at Aso Savings & loans Plc, formerly Head, Northern operations, FCMB)
3, Bilkisu Rimi (Company Secretary, Aso S&L Plc, University of Buckingham-trained lawyer)


There are others that are DGMs and GMs in some of these banks.

bolee:

Why are northern women difficult to find in the corporate world?
Anyone with reasons for the scarcity or possibility of finding them to groom for international careers

On my way home i was thinking about this part ??
Care to explain what you mean, cos to me the underprivileged ones should be groomed to polytechnics or universities
so their daughters will have something to aim at.

Those in 'international schools' are not looking for international careers IMO, they buy their tickets immediately after graduation some don't even attend the graduation ceremony

Sagamite:

This actually does not answer her question.

Most of those listed appear to be in civil service or private enterprise (contracts), not in Corporate life.

There are many in corporate Nigeria that I know personally. Just can't mention their names here.
Although the tribalism factor has a role to play. Most MNCs in Nigeria are usually dominated by people of a particular ethnic stock, though nobody wants to admit to it. Northerners always have some fringe representation in all, though.

@ Jarus, thanks for the list, that is a start.
@ Dis Guy, That perhaps is where the anomaly lies. Why will those trained with a bit of exposure shun the corporate world? Is it the tribalism factor or the cultural factor?

Lagos is a potpourri of tribes and we have Ibo and Yoruba women equally represented and I just observed that in Lagos (the corporate capital of Nigeria) particularly they do not have enough representation and frankly speaking I would like to do something (in my own small way ) to correct that.
So if I were to start strategically sourcing for Northern females for corporate jobs, both fresh graduates and mid career levels, where would be best to start from?
E.g. Will the girls from Bayero be willing to relocate to Lagos? Most of the companies I listed earlier request for Management Trainees from all universities but we hadly ever get northerners that qualify talk less of the female ones, hence my worry

bolee:

@ Jarus, thanks for the list, that is a start.
@ Dis Guy, That perhaps is where the anomaly lies. Why will those trained with a bit of exposure shun the corporate world? Is it the tribalism factor or the cultural factor?

Lagos is a potpourri of tribes and we have Ibo and Yoruba women equally represented and I just observed that in Lagos (the corporate capital of Nigeria) particularly they do not have enough representation and frankly speaking I would like to do something (in my own small way ) to correct that.
So if I were to start strategically sourcing for Northern females for corporate jobs, both fresh graduates and mid career levels, where would be best to start from?
E.g. Will the girls from Bayero be willing to relocate to Lagos? Most of the companies I listed earlier request for Management Trainees from all universities but we hadly ever get northerners that qualify talk less of the female ones, hence my worry

The blunt reasons why you may not have sufficient Northern female executives like their Southern counterparts is that

- It is not a secret that the north is not as into traditional form of western education as the south. On average FAR more southerners get educated than northerners even despite the north having more population. Out of the smaller proportion of northerners getting educated, few are women, as the rights of women are less in the north (especially in the education respect) in comparison to the south.

- Even for those northerners that are educated, in comparison to their southern counterparts that are educated, the quality of the southerners' ability in education, on average, is better. I guess the fact that:

1) southerners have a higher bar set for them right from time (common entrance level)
2) southerners have a higher number of finest quality educational institutions (primary, secondary and university) and the best in each of the 3 category would be located in the south
3) also the perception that southerners have to strive harder to compete to achieve or compete for their own allocations (quota system), whilst a northerner knows there is less competition, plays a big role in this. An average northern grad, back in the day (at least), and most likely nowadays, is quick to get a top civil service role (in local council, state or federal), so it is hard for the average northerner to motivate himself/herself to strive for the highest standard, which is required to compete for corporate roles.

- It is even a further challenge for Northern women to achieve in the corporate world as they are married off early, this applies to even the educated ones. I bet if you did an analysis of the average age of marriage across regions, the north would most likely be, at least, 5 years less in average marrying age of women than the next lowest region. This means the girls get matrimonial responsibility and hence can hardly focus on career.

- Furthermore, I have observed most northerners do not mix with other Nigerians. Whether it is a religious thing or a "they hate us" thing, I don't know. When I was in boarding house in secondary school the handful of Muslim Northerners in the school stuck with each other and did not mix, they were nice and you could share a joke but they did not form a bond with anyone that was not an Hausa speaking muslim. If you were devout muslim but southerner, you could bond a bit more with them, if you were xtian/southern hausa speaker, you could also, but these 2 types were just soft bonds. The real bonds was kept between themselves. The Christian northerners, on the other hand, mixed normally with everyone, like the way Yoruba, SS and Igbos mixed with each other. My closests friend when in school (in Junior days, Igbo guy, in Senior days, a Benin boy and a xtian Kaduna guy), we all mixed well. When I got to London as well, it was the same thing I saw with the Northern Hausas in London, they stuck to themselves and never really bond with anyone outside the click. The single Hausa boy that was in my Uni preferred to mix with Pakistanis than us the other blacks and really was not that open when I even made an attempt to get to know him, the Xtian Kaduna boy in the Uni I had his phone number. The Northern Hausa guys are nice and polite but feel more comfortable with likes. You can only imagine a muslim northern girl would be worse and keep you at a further distance, so that your sneeze does not get her pregnant.  I would not be surprised if this hinders them in the corporate world as they have no networks. A further perfect example is: think of how many northerners have joined NL. Miniscule! I bet they have their own Hausa forum and prefer to mix amongst themselves. If I insult any Ibibio, Igbirra, Esan or Igala here now  , some people go vex because all the other Naija tribes are well represented on NL.

- I guess most will also stick with Northern-owned firms, where they can make serious money from contracts but are not international conglomerates. Now that Abuja is there, most will even not bother with Lagos and this is where the real corporates are.

^^^^

I agree. I think Education and culture are mainly responsible for this. First, the percentage of educated Northerners, both male and female is very low. For the females, the percentage is minuscule.
Secondly, educated Northerners are more likely to work in Government circles that in the corporate world.

One thing to note though is that this trend is not restricted to Nigeria alone, but cuts across countries that practice a more conservative form of Islam.
All the Gulf countries have this same problem and it is fueled by their brand of Islam which tends to (in my opinion) subjugate womenfolk, preventing them from aspiring anywhere beyond baby making and kitchen technics.

For instance, in Saudi Arabia, women aren't allowed to drive. Question is, how does a woman who by law is prevented from driving have the presence of mind to aspire anywhere near a corporate boardroom.

So my point is simple. As politically incorrect as this might sound, Conservative religion has a lot to do with the reason why you would hardly find Northern women in the corporate world.

From the perspective of where I lecture in Up-Northern Nigeria, majority of the females are given out as wives immediately they complete their secondary education, those that escape the statusquo could continue their education to any level though they are still faced with the problems of getting married to a rich uneducated Alhaji who would only keep them strictly at home. . . . . . No practise of what was learnt in school, No going out, No starting of any businesses, Just sit down at home and take care of my children. They can't even move close to the gate of the building.

Another reason is their lagging behind. There are places in North where people still live the same life that was lived in 1821. How do you expect wards from such place to compete with their counterparts in other states ? I often wonder how my Oga was able to gain admission into Portsmo/UCLAN.

I asked my level 100 students to name 12 banks in Nigeria and all they could come up with was I should give them as assignment so that they can check on the internet - - - -Under Civilization.


The above listed females were either born to an elite family or they struggled to get to the peak of their career and were so fortunate to marry husbands with like minds. An average female from the north might not have the oppportunity to get to the peak of her career considering their development problems and "my wife must sit at home husbands"

Lastly, a boy told me that the dad gave birth to 14 females and 8 males. They grew up smart and all they need is normal naija education to be the best. . . . . . . unfortunately the dad only trained the male folks and gave the females out for marriage immediately they clock 17 years.

tkb417:

Hauwa Audu

Amyn Investments


one of your ex finance ministers nko? no be Hausa woman ni?

Hauwa Audu is from Edo State, not North.

In Kebbi state the average marrying age of girls is 11, against the national average of 17.

Page 4 "How Come Early Marriage", middle row.

http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf

I have always thought my clairvoyance is one of my strongest assets, most of the things I say on NL are mostly from anecdoctal observations/hypothesis but when I research, the data always seem to back it up or very close.

@sagamite et al,

Good analysis (a nice attempt). I like the detachment with which you presented your point of view; quite impeccable. Well done.

Sagamite:

- Furthermore, I have observed most northerners do not mix with other Nigerians. Whether it is a religious thing or a "they hate us" thing, I don't know.
D I would not be surprised if this hinders them in the corporate world as they have no networks. A further perfect example is: think of how many northerners have joined NL. Miniscule! I bet they have their own Hausa forum and prefer to mix amongst themselves. If I insult any Ibibio or Igala here now  , some people go vex because all the other Naija tribes are well represented on NL.

I guess the reason for the posture you observed is a mixture of both religious thing or a "they hate us" thing . Within Nigeria esp. on NL it is the latter.
We find it nifty to perpetuate the same old tired Northerner stereotypes and jokes. Yet, wonder why our backhanded compliments generate aloofness.
Need I say, if I was a Northerner I won't come to a place where so much derision and disparagement is shown to my kind. Methink, it's quite understandable.
same goes for all other groups that suffer this type of discrimination

Bump!

Let me invite the Northern boys to share their view.

tkb417:

Hauwa Audu

Amyn Investments


one of your ex finance ministers nko? no be Hausa woman ni?

Hauwa Audu is from Auchi in Edo state. She used to be my stock broker between 2001 to 2003.

bolee:

Well I confess that I reside  and work in Lagos, hence my skewed vision.
And i read the papers thank you, even at that how many Northern women are there, compared to their counterparts from other regions.

I actually meant young emphasis on young, upwardly mobile women in corporate environments like oil companies, banks, FMCGs, Multinationals and not Government parastatals where its quota system or PDP rationing is used.

Northern babes in companies like Guinness, Cocacola, BAT, PZ, Shell, GTB, BG, NBL, , where art thou!

Then you should know that Lagos is not Nigeria but just a part and therefore should not base everything on Lagos.

Amina Oyagbola, MTN top shot, is from Kogi State(igala) but married a Yoruba man.

Jarus:

Amina Oyagbola, MTN top shot, is from Kogi State(igala) but married a Yoruba man.

That (Igala) is not a northerner, that is a middle belter.

Is a person from Kaduna a northerner?

Depends.

If Northern Kaduna, most likely.

If Southern Kaduna, very debatable. Some are really middle-belters in southern Kaduna.

Jarus:

Is a person from Kaduna a northerner?

This kind question tire me small.

Kaduna is not only North, it's the political headquarters of The North since Ahmadu Bello days.
Yet same Kaduna is middle belt.

Middle Best is not in compass. Middle belt is a political creation. All middle-belt states, including Kwara and Kogi, are northern states.

Kaduna might be the political capital of the north but that does not automatically imply everyone in Kaduna is a northerner.

At least all the southern Kaduna people I know do not regard themselves as Northerners. They are mostly Xtians that prefer to be seen as middle-belters. They are like Delta-Igbos that mostly insist on having a distinct identity.

A lot of Middle-Belt states might geographically lie north and politically dominated by the north but I definitely will not call people from places like Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Plateau as Northerners. They are mostly middle-belters just dominated by north, Kwara is even a Yoruba state.

Well, what I know is South, West, East and North. Officially, we have 19 northern states, of which Kaduna, Kwara etc are officially recognized.

Anybody that is from Kaduna and says he is not a northerner, I'm sorry to say, is an illiterate. Probably, they are mixing up 'northerner' with 'Hausa/Fulani' or even 'Muslim'. One is simply a northerner if one comes from any state officially recognized as Northerner, irrespective of whether he is a Hausa/Fulani, or Yoruba(Kwara/Kogi) or Nupe(Niger/Kwara) or Kanuri(Borno) etc. All are northerners, but different tribes.

Remember, Sunday Awoniyi, a Yoruba Christian from Kogi, was once ACF Chairman. Arewa means North.