Author and public speaker, Jane Egerton-Idehen, has launched a national campaign tagged ‘Be Fearless.’
The campaign focuses on highlighting the hurdles that prevent women from fulfilling their potential and providing a guide to younger women on the complexities of navigating career and life opportunities in their fields.
Speaking ahead of the online release of her new book “Be Fearless: Give yourself permission to be You”, Egerton-Idehen decried the under-representation of women in corporate Nigeria and challenged young ladies to pursue their dreams.
“There is a significant gender imbalance in corporate Nigeria, especially in the technology industry, where the ratio of women to men is as high as 1:5. We must now deliberately work towards a more balanced sector where everyone is enabled.
“The theme of the International Women’s Day, ‘ Each for Equal’, reminds us that there is still more to be done towards improving gender equality and fostering a healthier, wealthier and more harmonious world. We hope to encourage more young girls and stimulate gender-equality discussions, via this campaign, my new book, endowments to girls and the experiences of many African women who are contributing to this campaign”, said the Country Manager Nigeria/Regional Sales Manager, West Africa for Avanti Communications.
Egerton-Idehen also encouraged the lovers of women; parents, siblings and husbands and colleagues to empathise and help them achieve their potential at home and in the workplace.
The ‘Be Fearless’ campaign features a book tour to about 20 tertiary institutions in Nigeria, book reading sessions at some leading book stores, scholarships to female students in STEM courses and a formal launch of her new book.
The campaign is also expected to encourage leading entrepreneurs and businesswomen in Nigeria to share their experiences building successful careers, challenges they encountered and learnings they hope to pass on to a younger generation of African women.
“Be Fearless: Give yourself permission to be You” chronicles the author’s remarkable experiences challenging gender roles and stereotypes, via her rise from the slums of Ajegunle in Lagos, Nigeria, to brokering million-dollar deals for global telecoms giants.
Written with the young woman who dreams of being more in mind, Egerton-Idehen opens up about her less-privileged background, education, career journey, marriage and motherhood stories, exploring the cultural expectations, biases, and impossibilities that turn dreams of career success into wishful thinking and demystifies them.
The book is available online as from March 17 on Amazon.