Changing mindsets -- KPIs are not enough | Omobola Johnson | TEDxPlaceDesNations

Summary

The speaker, a female minister of communication technology from Nigeria, shares her journey from being oblivious to gender imbalances to actively addressing them. She highlights the transformative impact of ICT on gender disparities, citing examples like reduced maternal mortality and increased access to education for girls. Despite progress, she emphasizes the need to confront deep-rooted cultural mindsets and redefine success beyond key performance indicators to truly achieve gender equality.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The speaker grew up in Nigeria where she didn't initially recognize gender-specific patterns in society, including in education and career opportunities.
• 🎓 In engineering school, she noticed a significant gender imbalance, realizing the male-dominated field and her unique position as one of the few women.
• 💼 Early in her career, she worked in a gender-neutral environment but later found herself as a minority among senior executives in a male-dominated firm.
• 👥 Along with other women, she co-founded an NGO to elevate the profile and influence of women in management and business, later extending to public service.
• 🇳🇬 As a minister of communication technology in Nigeria, she saw the potential of ICTs to address gender imbalances and contribute to national development.
• 📱 Mobile technology, such as distributing phones to pregnant women, has been instrumental in reducing maternal mortality rates in Andhra state, Nigeria.
• 🏫 ICTs are helping to achieve educational goals, including gender parity, by providing educational content to those excluded from formal systems.
• 🌟 Despite progress, there is a need to address the underlying cultural mindsets that contribute to gender imbalances and societal prejudices.
• 🔢 The current KPIs may not fully capture the depth of progress or the cultural shifts needed to achieve true gender equality.
• 🌐 The increasing connectedness through mobile phones offers a chance to redefine success and develop more holistic KPIs that consider both form and substance of progress.
• 🌱 The speaker calls for a collective effort to leverage ICTs to not only achieve measurable goals but also to transform cultural mindsets and promote gender equality.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial perspective on gender-specific patterns in her early life?

The speaker was quite oblivious to gender-specific patterns in her early life, as she grew up in Nigeria where science and math classes were equally populated by boys and girls, and she had the freedom to choose her education and career path without overt discrimination.

How did the speaker's experience in engineering school change her perspective on gender in the field of science and technology?

The speaker's first day in engineering school as an undergraduate was a wake-up call, as she found herself one of a handful of girls in a class of about a hundred students, which made her realize that science and technology was a field dominated by men.

What was the name of the non-governmental organization established by the speaker and what was its mission?

The non-governmental organization established by the speaker was called 'Women in Management and Business'. Its mission was to be the catalyst that elevated the profile and influence of women in management, business, and later extended to include public service.

What is the speaker's role in the Nigerian government and what is her mandate?

The speaker serves as the Minister of Communication Technology in the Nigerian government. Her mandate is to leverage information and communication technologies for national development.

How has the use of mobile phones contributed to reducing maternal mortality in Andhra state, Nigeria?

In Andhra state, Nigeria, maternal mortality was halved within three years through an innovative program that involved distributing mobile phones to pregnant women and healthcare workers, facilitating communication throughout pregnancy and using the phones to deliver conditional cash transfers.

What progress has Nigeria made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals related to universal primary education?

Nigeria is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals of gross enrolment, net enrolment, and universal primary education. Importantly, the country is also on track to achieve gender parity, with nine girls registered for every ten boys in primary and secondary schools.

How are information and communication technologies helping to achieve educational goals for women and girls in Nigeria?

ICTs are helping to achieve educational goals by providing educational content on mobile phones and the internet, making it accessible to women and girls who were excluded from the formal education system, thus giving them a second chance at education.

What is the significance of the speaker's daughter's graduation in the context of gender representation in engineering?

The speaker's daughter graduating with an engineering degree from the same institution where the speaker was one of only five girls in her class almost 30 years prior, signifies a small shift in gender representation. However, the daughter was still one in a class of only ten girls, indicating that while progress is being made, there is still a long way to go.

What challenges does the speaker highlight regarding the achievement of key performance indicators (KPIs) in the context of gender imbalance?

The speaker highlights that despite the achievement of KPIs, underlying issues such as violence against women, abductions in conflict situations, and sexual harassment persist. She suggests that the current KPIs are not comprehensive enough to capture the full scope of progress needed to address gender imbalance.

How does the speaker propose redefining success in terms of key performance indicators?

The speaker proposes redefining success by developing more holistic key performance indicators that measure not only the form but also the substance of progress. This includes considering the cultural mindsets and underlying root causes of gender imbalance, rather than just focusing on the numerical achievements.

What potential does the speaker see in the pervasiveness of mobile phones for addressing cultural mindsets?

The speaker sees the potential for mobile phones to connect people globally, facilitating the sharing of information across cultures and geographies. This connectedness could lead to a better understanding of cultural mindsets and help in developing strategies to shift these mindsets towards a more equal world.