Ekiti State has emerged the top performer in a women equality survey conducted by a United States of America-based resource centre, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS).
In the survey titled ‘Huge Disparities in Women’s Equality in Nigeria’, the Institute examined the roles of women in forging peace and growing economies based on data obtained from the 36 States of the country and the FCT.
The report indicated that the best index score are concentrated in the southern part of the country, with Ekiti State leading the sub-national performance index.
According to the survey report which was obtained from the Institute’s website, ( https://giwips.georgetown.edu), Ekiti State was ranked top in women representation at the level of the legislative arm of government with no fewer than four women at the State’s House of Assembly and one woman occupying one of the three senatorial seats meant for the State at the National Assembly.
From the ranking, Ekiti State had a WPS Index of 0.752 followed closely by Lagos State with 0.716.
The report also ranked Ekiti 89.9% in female who participate in decision making, 90.9% in cellphone use and the lowest indices of 0.059 in organized violence between 2010 and 2017.
“Ekiti, a southwestern state rich in natural resources, is the top performer on the sub-national index, leading in women’s cellphone use and parliamentary representation”, the report states.
It is recalled that the State Government under Governor Kayode Fayemi had put in place several legislative and policy framework which guarantee the rights of women, their welfare as well as ensured that certain percentage of leadership positions are set aside for women.
This step also produced the first female Head of Service of the State Civil Service since 1996 when the State was created.