Wednesday, November 10, 2021  / 8:45 AM / by NGX / Header Image Credit: Linked/NGX Group

TheNigerian Exchange Limited says it remains committed to promoting andsupporting gender equality as well as creating and maintaining an environmentthat is free from all forms of discrimination.

TheChief Executive Officer, NGX, Temi Popoola, CFA stated this during the launchof Hofstede Insight's Nigeria Diversity, Equity and Inclusion report onTuesday.

Whilestating that the business case for diversity and inclusion is well established,Popoola, citing a recent study conducted by Boston Consulting Group, said thatcompanies with more diverse management teams have 19 percent higher revenuesdue to innovation.

Henoted that organizational culture is of utmost importance in enhancingorganizational performance and added that the NGX recognizes that aspect oforganisational culture.

Accordingto him, the exchange implements various initiatives that help shape the methodthat issuers adopt in their approach to corporate governance, and by extension,promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.

"InNigeria, gender forms arguably forms the most topical theme in the discourse ondiversity, equity and inclusion. Promoting gender equality can be an economicgame changer and at NGX, our support for gender equality, and by extension,elimination of gender-based discrimination is strategic element of ourCorporate Sustainability Strategy (CSR).

Within our operations, we are committedto creating and maintaining an environment that is free from all forms ofdiscrimination. Across our ecosystem, we have partnered with InternationalFinance Corporation (IFC) to implement the first multi-stakeholder countryproject focused on reducing gender gaps in Nigeria's private sectorcompanies", Popoola said.

TheNGX CEO further revealed that the exchange pays close attention to genderbalance by tracking the ratio of male to females across our operations and oursubsidiaries while adding that prior to demutualization, the Nigerian StockExchange (NSE) had a female representation of 27 per cent on the NationalCouncil, the highest level of leadership of the NSE. 

"Thishas improved significantly since our demutualization with female participationstanding at 27 percent for NGX Group and 18 percent, 57 percent and 50 percentfor NGX Real Estate, NGX Regulation and Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX)respectively. It is noteworthy to add that the Chairpersons of NGX Regulationand NGX Real Estate as well as the Chief Executive Officer of NGX Regulationare women.

We remain committed to committed to championing efforts aimed atadvancing gender equality across our ecosystem through the introduction ofgender-responsive and inclusive financial instruments, advocacy for increasedparticipation of women on boards and in senior management and support forcapacity building initiatives to enable companies achieve their gender-relatedaspirations", he said.

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