The Executive Women’s Summit, a high-level annual leadership event in Lagos, has called for a shift from gender representation to greater participation, influence and economic authority for women in corporate organisations.

The convener of the summit, Bola Matel-Okoh, made the call on Tuesday night at a media parley in Lagos ahead of the second edition of the summit scheduled for October 28.

The annual summit was designed to empower, equip and connect women in executive, entrepreneurial and leadership roles.

Ms Matel-Okoh said that although more women were being represented on corporate boards, representation alone was not enough to guarantee women’s meaningful participation in decision-making.

“We have been so focused on inclusion that now the conversation needs to shift from inclusion to actual participation, influence and economic authority. Women have been represented, but we now want to move to a place where we can also influence, impact and have economic power,” she said.

She said organisations would need to examine career pathways available to women and ensure that women would be positioned for senior management and chief executive positions. According to her, women are often in functional departments such as human resources and legal services, while their representation declined at senior and executive management levels.

She said the summit would challenge organisations to address structures  hindering women from progressing into strategic and revenue-generating roles.

Ms Matel-Okoh said women would need to understand and communicate the value they brought to their organisations rather than remain “the best kept secret”. She said competence should be complemented by strategic visibility, relationships and the ability to demonstrate measurable value.

Ms Matel-Okoh said the summit was building platforms and communities to sustain leadership development among women beyond its annual one-day conference. She said the initiative would provide executive women with opportunities to build strategic relationships, share experiences and access practical support for their careers.

She announced plans to establish a clubhouse for executive women to provide a platform for continued engagement.

Folake Sanu, a banking and finance professional, urged women seeking executive positions to broaden their competencies beyond functional roles.

Ms Sanu, a non-executive board member of some companies, advised women to develop expertise in market-facing operations, revenue generation, customer experience and strategy. She also encouraged them to build networks, sponsorships and influence within their organisations.

According to her, competence alone may not be sufficient for progression into senior executive positions without an understanding of organisational dynamics and relationships with key stakeholders.

She urged women to volunteer for strategic projects, take additional responsibilities and document the value they brought to their organisations.

Izehi Anuge,  a values strategist and Founder of Shape A Child, said emotional intelligence and personal values should be treated as critical leadership competencies rather than soft skills.

Ms Anuge said effective boardroom leadership required emotional intelligence to navigate people, pressure and conflict, while strong values helped  to guide decisions on ethics, governance and risk.

Mabel Adeteye, head of brands and marketing communications at Wema Bank Plc., advised women to distinguish genuine professional influence from social media visibility.

Ms Adeteye urged professionals to focus on competence, substance, value and measurable impact rather than merely seeking online visibility. She said the growing use of artificial intelligence made professional judgement and subject-matter knowledge increasingly important.

Kikelomo Atanda-Owo, communications consultant and chief executive officer of Z-Edge Ltd, urged women to see failure as part of the process of achieving success.

“Failure is not the opposite of winning. Failure is part of winning. You cannot play to win if you are not willing to lose,” she said.

Ms Atanda-Owo encouraged women to learn from setbacks, embrace continuous learning and build meaningful relationships with other women.

(NAN)