Archive

March 3, 2017

Browsing

Basic Truths about Terminal Diseases- Systemic Scleroderma

A quick search on the internet reveals countless diseases that affect women in many different ways but most women do not know the first things about these diseases and how to guard against them. In this week’s article, we will be presenting the touching story of a young lady who was diagnosed with Systemic Scleroderma just after her honeymoon. Living with this disease has been without doubt the most challenging time in her life even as her body has begun to take other forms. This brings to reality the pains attached with managing terminal illnesses but it also brings a ray of hope to many women living with these diseases across regions because despite her difficulties, Chanel White stays happy as she smiles for her daily selfies to get her mind off the pains. Here is her story: She suffers from a rare autoimmune disease that is turning her body…

Gender Equality Key to Achieving SDGs-UNDP

In 2016, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) released the 2016 edition of the African Human Development Report, which revealed that gender inequality jeopardizes Africa’s efforts to achieve economic growth, inclusive human development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report analyzed the economic, political and social drivers that affect women’s advancement in Africa, providing recommendations on how to close the gender gap, and proposing two initiatives to promote gender equality. According to the report, African women achieve only 87% of the human development outcomes of men and made only 7 cents for each dollar made by men, in part due to lower levels of female secondary attainment, lower female labor force participation and high maternal mortality. The UNDP report observes that this gender gap costs sub-Saharan Africa US$95 billion annually on average and that a 1% increase in gender inequality reduces a country’s human development index (HDI) by 0.75%.…

Janice Bryant Howroyd: Leading effectively through passionate service

Janice Bryant Howroyd is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The ACT-1 Group, the largest woman owned workforce Solutions Company founded in the U.S. She is an entrepreneur, educator, ambassador, businesswoman, author, and mentor. Howroyd was born on September 1, 1952 in Tarboro, North Carolina – USA, the fourth of eleven children in her family. She attended her town’s integrated High School in the Deep South end, where she had to deal with colour segregation. In a 2016 interview, Howroyd recalls her time enrolled in the school, when a teacher spoke about how blacks were well suited for slavery. She, recounted biting the inside of her jaw to avoid shedding tears, as she believed crying could depict accepting defeat. Howroyd eventually became one of the first African American students to desegregate her town’s previously segregated high school. Her personal motto, “Never compromise who you are personally to become who…

Is your Daughter Guarding the Concrete Slab?

What is her opinion about herself, religion, or people of a different race? By – Boma Benjy Iwuoha I recently came across a piece by Dr. Diva Verdun, called Guarding the Concrete Slab. It was a story about an army barracks that had 4 soldiers on post, guarding a concrete slab and changing shifts, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, for over 80 years. They never sought to find out why they were on constant shifts, guarding the concrete slab, until a new commander was assigned to the barracks. When the new commander asked why the soldiers guarded the concrete slab, he got the answers; “We’ve always done it this way, it’s our tradition or our former commanders instructed us to do this”. The new commander eventually found answers to his questions in an old document in the archives, and guess what; guarding the slab was an…

Banking Industry Addresses Diversity, Adding Women to Boards

By: Elizabeth Olson Banking and capital markets often viewed as dominated by men, achieved high scores in a newly released survey measuring the diversity in their director ranks. In 2016, women made up 26 percent of the boards in the banking and capital markets industry, which tied with the retail industry, according to a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The average rate of women on boards of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was 21 percent. In addition, the 21 companies that the survey defined as its banking and capital markets sector have shored up their position by adding more women to their boards. About 13 percent of new directors in 2016 were women. The entertainment and media industry also scored well, with 22 percent women directors. Despite a negative spotlight on the lack of women in moviemaking, the 17 entertainment and media companies that were included in the…