By Chukwuma Umeorah
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has urged the new leadership of the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria (SWAN) to address the unique challenges women face in the profession and uphold its principles at promoting their interests.
The governor, who spoke at the investiture of the 11th National Chairperson of SWAN, Hilda Ofure Ozoh, in Lagos, yesterday, identified some of the challenges to include gender bias and work-life balance issues, while advocating professional development, fair compensation and gender equality in the workplace.
Represented by his wife, Ibijoke, Sanwo-Olu emphasised the vital role of women accountants in the evolving business landscape, saying: “Your expertise in financial management, auditing, and taxation positions you as a key decision-maker and trusted advisor in organisations across several sectors.”
He encouraged SWAN to inspire young girls to pursue accounting careers, emphasising mentorship and support as key to the institute’s continued growth.
Demonstrating his support, he said: “The state remained committed to driving issues that concern our women with passion and emphasised an unwavering stance against discrimination based on gender, religion, belief, or culture.
“Your members who are within the employment of Lagos State would always get what is due to them without fear of favour and they would be given equal representation and opportunities like their male professional colleagues as we aim to foster professional development and the generality of their well-being.
“This we do in partnership with other relevant ministries, departments, agencies of the government in line with the renewed hope initiative of the office of president.”
Ozoh, in her acceptance speech, emphasised the administration’s commitment to sustaining SWAN’s legacy of impact.
She outlined various initiatives aimed at equipping female chartered accountants to remain relevant in a changing business landscape, including the establishment of SWAN Academy and partnerships with financial institutions to promote entrepreneurship among female accountants.
She also highlighted mentoring programmes, the creation of female accounting clubs in secondary schools, and efforts to increase SWAN’s international visibility through diaspora chapters.
She encouraged SWAN members to embrace Artificial Intelligence for their professional growth.
Commissioner for Finance, Edo State, Adaeze Uzor Kalu, while underscoring the impact of SWAN, urged other professional bodies to use this as a challenge to create an enabling environment for women growth in line with SDG-5 which focuses on girl-child and women empowerment.
Adaeze, who represented Governor Godwin Obaseki, said: “The government will continue to support women towards this profession. Not many professional bodies have something like this. We urge them to emulate this and empower their women to rise and attain good positions of authority and support of the government for economic development.”