{"id":13145,"date":"2026-06-20T12:26:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/iita-pushes-for-more-women-in-key-positions\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T12:26:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:28","slug":"iita-pushes-for-more-women-in-key-positions","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/iita-pushes-for-more-women-in-key-positions\/","title":{"rendered":"IITA pushes for more women in key positions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Women<\/a>
IITA women researchers in the Lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nIncreasing the number of women in research is all about improving productivity and efficiency, says IITA\u2019s Director General Dr Nteranya Sanginga.\n\nAddressing women staff members in Ibadan in March, Dr Sanginga said there is a need to increase the number of women in IITA because they are more productive then the men workers.\n\nHe cited as an example the unit involved in the threshing of crops such as maize, soybean, cowpea, and rice at the Threshing Building in Ibadan. Out of a workforce of over 100, only 30% were women, but in terms of output, they accounted for more than 70%.\n\n\u201cAnother example that comes to mind is the IITA Women\u2019s Group. They are involved in several charitable programs involving orphanages, community development, fund raising, and provision of scholarships.\u201d\n\nThe Director General described the women in the workforce as a productive resource that was yet to be fully tapped.\n\nMaking the vision a reality<\/strong>\n\nDr Sanginga was not merely advocating an increase in the numbers of women; he envisioned more women in management positions in the Institute in the years ahead.\n\nHe called on women to come out of their shell and aspire for higher positions.\n\n\u201cYou need to be excellent in whatever you are doing… You need to be innovative,\u201d he said.\n\nBut as elsewhere, challenges abound that limit their potential performance.\n\nFor instance, young working mothers have to take care of children and husb ands…For many, taking on higher positions with more responsibilities would compromise these duties.\n\nAnother challenge is the cultural perception which views women as the weaker of the sexes, especially in the African context. For this reason, some women see some jobs, especially in research as \u201cno go areas.\u201d Things are changing, however, with more African women going into research. IITA\u2019s Human Resources Service has always emphasized IITA as an equal opportunity employer to encourage more women to apply for positions.\n\nThis is why Dr Sanginga urged the women, \u201cApply for the positions… Don\u2019t be shy.\u201d\n\nDelivery is key<\/strong>\n\nAs positive sentiment across several organizations to increase the quota of women grows, several organizations have different propositions to address this challenge of low populations of women.\n\nIn IITA, the key is for women to muster more courage than ever before and participate in project execution to ensure that IITA meets its delivery goals. \u201cIf we are able to meet our delivery targets, I will not hesitate to employ more women. But if we fail to meet our project execution targets, we will have no option but to downsize,\u201d Dr Sanginga said.\n\nIn less than 2 years, IITA has doubled its annual budget and there are still prospects for growth. Dr Sanginga said the energy from the women is needed now to ensure that the Institute meets its obligations, emphasizing that \u201cif you (women) take care of IITA, IITA will take care of you.\u201d\n\nOur say<\/strong>\n\nIn response to the call for greater participation of women and to be able to fill top management positions in IITA, some women called for policies that would enable them to further their education while at the same time keep their jobs and take care of their babies.\n\n\u201cWe need to further our education,\u201d Mrs Kafilat Odesola, IITA Scientist, said, emphasising that such opportunities would not compromise research, \u201cbecause women can multitask and do a hundred things at the same time.\u201d\n\nBesides the challenge of furthering their education, women at the forum also voiced out other limitations.\n\nHowever, Dr (Mrs) Bussie Maziya-Dixon, IITA Crop Utilisation Specialist, noted that climbing the corporate ladder would entail women setting their priorities right. \u201cWomen should know what they want. What you want to achieve at 30… What you want to achieve at 40 etc. I have seen a lot of women who come with the ambition to do a PhD. And the supervisor looks for funds because he\/she knows that if he\/she educates a woman, he\/she is actually educating 20 people at a go. But in the middle of the program when the boyfriend comes and says we are getting married, she drops everything just like that. So my advice is: \u201cknow what you want as an individual and pursue it.\u201d\n\nCorroborating Dr Maziya-Dixon\u2019s position, Mrs Bukky Adeyemo, Executive Assistant to the Deputy Director General (Corporate Services), encouraged women not to look at limitations if they wanted to be at par with the male counterparts.\n\n\u201cI remember working in IITA years back with my little children (2, 3 years old), and sometimes closing at 8.00 pm. But I was determined to do the job because that is what it entailed. So we just have to be determined and tackle the challenges that come,\u201d she said.\n\nWay forward<\/strong>\n\nBut more than rhetoric, the women staff set up a committee to map out an implementation strategy to increase the workforce of women, and advise on matters relating to staff promotions in IITA.\n\nThe committee, which has strong institutional backing, plans to raise the number of women staff by 50 percent over the next 3 years. At the moment, women represent 22 percent of Nationally Recruited Staff and 30 percent of Internationally Recruited Staff according to April 2013 recruitment figures from the Institute.\n\nThe committee met on 14 March and pledged to work with IITA management to ensure:\n