How Temitope Iluyemi Used The Challenges Of Being The Only Woman In The Boardroom To Her Advantage
The Director, Global Government Relations for Africa at P&G, Temitope Iluyemi is highly sought after as a key contributor to development solutions in the Africa region.
Following a short career as a Pharmacist, Temitope joined P&G Nigeria in 1998 as an Account Executive in the Sales function. Since then, she has held several roles across various functions in the organisation.
As a result of her work, she sits on the board of directors. Having often experienced being the only woman in the boardroom, she tells GuardianWoman how she uses it to her advantage.
She shared:
”Maybe I wouldn’t use the same word at this stage, but it certainly feels lonely and often challenging to be the only woman in the room. In almost all my careers to date, I’ve often been in male-dominated environments – Sales, Supply Chain and Government Relations.
However, with continued self-development, any feelings of intimidation only lasts as long as I notice it. I start to think: how will I change this narrative? I consider how to turn the challenges of being the only female in the room to an advantage.
I change the stories I tell myself about the representation in the room and even am amazed what magic can happen as a result! The only thing that stops us is fear of how others will react to us, or our ideas.
Once we can conquer self and understand the dynamics of the room, everything else looks “effortless”. If I have something to say, I keep standing until I am heard. This is something I learnt from mentors. I encourage everyone to speak to someone credible, who they can bounce these ideas and issues off.
I once had to moderate a panel on an international platform and this gentleman in the audience, rather than focus on the panelist topic, directed his comments at me, essentially putting me on a weighing scale to find out what I knew, what made me qualified to be in my position.
My calm and deliberate response earned an applause from the audience, while most people saw through the ruse as several came to tell me after the panel.”
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During the chat, she also spoke about her career trajectory and her thoughts on gender disparity.
Rhe 2019 International Women’s day had the theme, Balance for Better, what is required to ensure that gender balance is accomplished in the workplace?
There couldn’t have been a better theme for this journey on gender parity. I believe that organisations need to be more deliberate and intentional about achieving gender balance in the work place. When we break down aggregates and deep-dive into what is needed to bridge the gap, it’s not as difficult as we imagine.
For example, at P&G, we aspire to build a better world for all of us – inside and outside of the organisation, a world free from gender bias and a world with equal representation and an equal voice for men and women.
We are deliberate about hiring women into our management roles and they are promoted into next assignments at the same progression as men. We strive to achieve equal gender representation in all parts of our company and ensure an inclusive environment where everyone – men and women – can contribute to their full potential. And this cuts across all spheres including recruitment, selection, pay packages and promotions.
P&G Nigeria’s leadership has about 50 per cent women representation; a deliberate strategy to recruit women and men in equal numbers at hiring with clear development plans unrelated to gender.
Finally, we need to change the narrative by broadening our definition of leadership from current male stereotypes that do little to serve both men and women to be more inclusive. For instance, expression of confidence can be replaced with the word “humility, empathy and inclusion. Humility is cited among the top leadership qualities in today’s world.
Are there certain challenges that you have faced as a woman in your climb up the corporate ladder?
Ours is a company that is governed responsibly and behaves ethically; that is open and transparent in its business dealings; and provides an appealing place to work where our employees are treated fairly and given the opportunity to be the best they can be. We make career decisions based solely on performance and is unrelated to gender, race or ethnicity.
However, company policies are only as good as the people applying them. Many managers are not coached on some of the landmines to navigate for successful gender representation and productivity. This is why I encourage women to be well-informed and take part in the shaping of their destinies.
Did you ever have to make a choice between career and family?
I have been blessed to work in a company that sees me as a whole person with many parts, so it’s not an ‘or’ but an ‘and’ & ‘plus’. To contribute my best to the company, all parts of the whole must be coordinated and working well.
As such, it is not a choice. I have two beautiful children and I worked through it all and my career continued to progress and I’m proud of their young achievements. We believe that the interest of the individual and that of the company are inseparable. A well-balanced and secure individual will always deliver their best.
Earlier on I talked about moving back to Nigeria to take a leadership role in a different function of supply chain. This was borne out of my need to meet certain family obligations at that time.
The company listened, I got my requested transfer and a role in which I grew and made significant impact. Every step I take has to work for all the parts that make me who I am – otherwise it isn’t happening.
My priorities are clear for me, and that is my family- they remain long after the work is gone. In life, our priorities also change depending on the season.
The important thing is that you be very clear on what type of support you need at every life stage, having crossed off certain basics of performance. You need to be flexible and adaptable. This is one personality trait I believe has helped me through my journey and still works for me to support my family needs at every season.
There are no absolutes and I look for the opportunities in every situation.
P&G recently took part in the #WeSeeEqual Summit in Mumbai, India, what was the major narrative at the summit?The company announced a new commitment around a number of initiatives that will promote gender equality across the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) region. The declaration is part of the company’s citizenship focus on being a Force for Good and Force for Growth.
Over the next three years, the company aims to spend $100 million on deliberately working with Women-Owned Businesses in IMEA. We will also educate more than 23 million adolescent girls on puberty and hygiene across IMEA.
P&G and its brands will use the company’s voice in forums such as the #WeSeeEqual Summit, brand advertising like Ariel, Always & Gillette and multi-stakeholder efforts to spark conversation and motivate change.
Do you think a time will come when there will be no form of discrimination against women?
We have come a long way on this journey and should acknowledge the progress we have made while there is still much to do.
When I lived in Washington DC, the national archives was right outside my office. I visited one day and walked through the archives. I immersed myself in the journey of many women who had gone ahead to pave the way for women like me to be in positions as I am today. I felt humbled and thought about their grit, courage and sacrifice.
We must not forget these and there are several examples at home including the likes of Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, Queen Aminat, Margaret Ekpo… to name a few. We must not forget how far we have come as it is fuel for future growth.
After all, there was a time women could not vote! (Imagine that). I believe that as long as we sustain the vision of an equal world free of gender bias, we will make progress and it will continue to get better balance. We owe this to our daughters and generations unborn. We have many male advocates in this regard.
This is where I call on policy makers to institutionalise change. Several cultural practices that hold back the girl child (promoting girls education, abolition of child marriage, even legislating into normalcy, the preference to keep your maiden name after marriage, I believe will encourage more fathers to develop their daughters, send them to school with pride that they will ‘carry his family name’ to glory. It all lies in adapting our social orientation and consciousness. We can continue to make progress towards achieving balance.