Renowned Management Consultant and Executive Director of the Salt and Light Ministries, Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee has urged women to work collectively to change misperceptions.
According to Dr. Aryee, women can be perceived to be comfortable in lower ranks of the corporate world. This, she said, limits women’s progression to leadership roles, hiding their rich creativity and innovative abilities ‒ especially when many women have accepted this perception themselves.
She was speaking at Vivo Energy Ghana’s International Women’s Day event to celebrate and empower its female workforce to aspire to greater heights.
Speaking on the theme for the year, #EachforEqual, Dr. Aryee urged women to embrace collective individualism – developing themselves for the benefit of the whole.
“Women are intelligent, focused, resilient and compassionate, qualities they can leverage to make a significant difference. In consciously empowering women, men must also be empowered in order to align with the current trends in recognition of equal rights and opportunities for all”, she said.
The Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr. Ben Hassan Ouattara who spoke on ‘Women in Leadership’, recognised that there is no gender bias in leadership. Leadership effectiveness is based on the individual and not on sex. However, women may instinctively care more about their team’s well-being and have a stronger desire to connect with them on a personal level, thereby making women more transformational leaders than transactional leaders. He therefore urged them to take advantage of their natural abilities to aim at top leadership roles.
A senior family physician of the Korle-Bu Polyclinic, Dr. Priscilla Vandyck-Sey, advised women to be more conscious of the pressures associated with the corporate world and undertake regular medical check-ups to ensure they are fit to deliver on their collective individualism agenda.
International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on 8th March to showcase commitment to women’s equality, launch new initiatives and action, celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness, highlight gender parity gains and more.
The day is celebrated and supported globally by industry, governments, educational institutions, community groups, professional associations, women’s networks, charities, non-profit bodies and the media.
With a vision to become Africa’s most respected energy business Vivo Energy Ghana, the company that distributes and markets Shell-branded fuels and lubricants was established in 2013. The Shell brand has been in Ghana since 1928.
Vivo Energy Ghana has a fuels storage capacity of 11,000m³ and 238 service stations, with many offering Shell Cards and convenience retail stores.
Vivo Energy Ghana employs 150 people. The company is recognised as a leader in the oil industry, championing and setting standards for safety.
Vivo Energy operates and markets its products in countries across North, West, East and Southern Africa. The Group has a network of over 2,100 service stations in 23 countries operating under the Shell and Engen brands and exports lubricants to a number of other African countries. Its retail offering includes fuels, lubricants, card services, shops, restaurants and other non-fuel services. It provides fuels, lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to business customers across a range of sectors including marine, mining, construction, power, transport, and manufacturing. Jet fuel is sold to customers under the Vitol Aviation brand.
The Company employs around 2,700 people and has access to over 1,000,000 cubic metres of fuel storage capacity. The Group’s joint venture, Shell and Vivo Lubricants B.V., sources, blends, packages and supplies Shell-branded lubricants at plants in six countries.