Some female ambassadors, on Wednesday, advised Nigerian women to choose mentors who they trust and respect.
They spoke at an event organised by She Forum Africa and Women Lead Forum in Abuja.
The programme was titled: “Defy the Odds: Thrive and Step It Up.”
The Ambassador of Finland to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Leena Pylvanainen, said women should see their mentors as role models.
According to her, a mentee should always be allowed to choose his or her own mentor.
“And in making that choice, a woman can go for a man as a mentor.
“It may be a man the woman knows and understands.
“In our system, we talked about allies and how to foster new types of alliances with men.
“However, not every man can be a good mentor for you and not every woman can be a good mentor.
“It has to be someone you know to trust and to respect and that takes a bit of time,” she said.
Ms Ulla Mueller, Resident Representative of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said in mentorship, one needs to take into consideration the desire of the mentee.
“What do you really want? Do you want to be mentored to be yourself, achieve your life ambition or just for a career progression?,” she asked.
She said it was time the women knew that “the odds are not with us and we have to find ways to define the odds.”
She said women should work to create a society where they stand up for one another.
“It is not only about us striving, it is about communities, countries and the world striving.
“We should embrace each other, stop criticising each other.
“Regardless of your hierarchy, open your door and listen with an intent to listen, not with an intent to answer,” she said.
On her par, the High Commissioner of Malaysia to Nigeria, Gloria Tiwet, commended the organisers of the event.
She said compared to her country with 32 million people, Nigeria is a big country.
“I can say half of your population are women and that is double of the size of Malaysian population,” she said.
Tiwet described Nigerian women as “hardworking and disciplined”
The Executive Director of Dinidari Foundation, Ms Ndi Kato, said if more Nigerian women are given chance in the quality of work and leadership position, there would be a marked difference.
“We need this opportunity for Nigerian women. We need to see more collaboration and more work with women,” she said.
Founder of She Forum Africa, Ms Inimfon Etuk, said going by this year’s title, the women are encouraged to double their energy to achieve the same level of achievements the men had.
According to her, though it has always been said that the world is equal, when you come to the actual experience and the reality of many women, equality is still very much faraway from women in Nigeria, African continent and globally.
Etuk said the conference, therefore, provided a platform to review what should be apparent priority as they continued to aspire and work towards achieving general equality in the country and on the continent.
She urged the Federal Government to prioritise development for the citizens and make development a personal target towards the citizens, especially the women and girls.
She said the organisation is a platform nurtured to provide a mentorship support to Nigerian women.
