SPECIAL FEATURE
From exclusion to equality: The struggle for voice
inclusion. Progress has always depended on dismantling entrenched beliefs, if not power structures, including the need to convince those in power that equality strengthens society. Even today, despite countless studies, reports and statistics, gender equality remains an unfinished project. The data points in the same direction: progress is uneven, fragile and – as seen in recent years – not irreversible. This, despite the fact that it is logical and empirically clear that limiting half of humanity’s potential curtails economic and social development. Equality as an economic imperative Empowering women is not only a moral and social prerogative – it is an economic necessity. When women are denied equal access to education, jobs, credit and property, societies lose out. The role of institutions such as the OPEC
Fund is therefore critical. They can help shape new realities by supporting initiatives and projects that guarantee equal rights and opportunities, ensuring that all individuals have a seat at the table, thus enshrining the lofty notion of inclusiveness. Economists have reached a near- universal conclusion: women’s empowerment accelerates development. Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo, who won the prize in 2019, demonstrated that gender equality promotes growth and that economic development in turn reinforces equality – a virtuous circle. Naila Kabeer, professor at the London School of Economics, showed that sustainable development requires women to be part of the decision- making process, while the Indian economist Bina Agarwal’s work showed the importance of ownership of assets for women.
One indicator of societal progress is suffrage – the right to vote. Yet it took 120 years to extend this basic right to all women worldwide. New Zealand became the first country to grant women’s suffrage in 1893. In Europe, Finland led the way in 1906. The first country with a Muslim-majority to enfranchise women was Azerbaijan in 1918 – decades before France, the land of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité . This timeline reflects a simple reality: men who controlled political decision- making had to vote for women’s
“There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.”
Former UN Secretary Kofi Annan, New York, 2005
Olukemi Afun-Ogidan Country Manager, Public Sector Operations, OPEC Fund
Coming from a Nigerian-Indian background, early exposure to cultural diversity sowed the seeds of openness, curiosity and adaptability that helped me navigate the world. Since then I’ve studied, lived and worked in five countries – the Netherlands, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa and now Austria. I spent more than a decade working on creating access to finance for smallholder farmers and agri- SMEs, as well as financing mechanisms to increase private investment in agriculture across Africa. At the OPEC Fund, I’m a Country Manager in the Public Sector department, responsible for operations
in East and Southern Africa, specifically, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Botswana and Mauritius. This role has been a seamless transition from my previous life at the African Development Bank. My firsthand knowledge of Africa’s socio-economic, political and developmental dynamics, experience implementing complex national and regional projects, as well as the broad professional network which I have built across various multilateral institutions, has helped me form relationships with the respective governments, resolve portfolio challenges and identify new investment opportunities.
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