NDSU professor kicks off women’s leadership workshop in Nigeria
With an upcoming election in Nigeria in which women have not had a strong voice, steps are being taken to empower women to vote.
In December, Judy Pearson, executive coordinator and secretary of the African Women’s Health Initiative and NDSU professor, will travel to Nigeria to present at a women’s leadership workshop to encourage female voters to be active participants in the election.
“ In other African cultures there are women leaders,” Pearson said. “Nigeria is a complicated country that is huge and very diverse.”
Effective communication is hindered by the more than 200 dialects that are spoken by Nigeria’s people.
In addition, women in the country range from the “mega rich” to those who “don’t earn a dollar in one day,” Pearson said.
Variation is also apparent in the women from rural vs. urban settings. Some women have even gone to England to earn degrees.
“ I didn’t fully appreciate it [the diversity] until the first time I went there,” Pearson said.
The conference Pearson will present at is tied to the new political election.
Scheduled first on the agenda is her presentation called Real Leadership for Nigerian Women in Politics and Public Service.
Her presentation will be followed by three more sessions: Networking Strategies for Aspiring Women Politicians, Group Work on Planning Strategies and Media Relations and Political Campaigns.
All of these sessions are aimed at leadership, general empowerment and, specifically, getting women to vote.