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Sierra Leone Female Parliamentary Caucus (SLEFPAC) with support from Orange Sierra Leone on Thursday, 13th March, 2025 observed Orange Day Celebration and launched its Strategic Plan with the theme “Accelerating Action: Strengthening Women’s Leadership and Civic Engagement for Inclusive Governance” in commemoration of the International Women’s Day at Parliament Building, Tower Hill in Freetown.
Speaking on the Development Partner’s Conversation during the programme, on the topic, where are we in terms of implementing GEWE ACT, 2022?, Orange Head of Sales Business to Business (B2B), who doubles as Orange Sierra Leone Women’s President, Priscilla Okechuwu highlighted the strides of the company in implementing the Act.
“Orange understands the need to support women and in terms of employment percentage, I will proudly say we are above the threshold in term of the 30% quota as dictated in the Act. At Orange, the number of female employees are at 33%, above the 30% threshold. This is evident in the number of women we have in our Senior Managerial Positions. For example, we have 14 directors and among those directors, we have 6 female directors and 8 male and that is giving us about 40%. Apparently, we are looking at having 50/50 in decision making of the company.”
She further said that the Group CEO of Orange is a woman, and that they are pursuing the mark of 50%.
The Head of sales B2B highlighted company’s partnership endeavour with the government in empowering women and girls through Orange Foundation with the establishment of the Orange Digital Centre (ODC).
“We are a compliant company in terms of implementing the GEWE Act, 2022 as they often provide local and international training for female staff. We provide soft loans to both male and female staff.” she averred.
SLEFPAC Vice President, Hon. Rosemarie Bangura acknowledged the continued support of Orange (SL) saying that they are partners that are always there to respond to their calls to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality.
She said that this year’s commemoration resonates deeply with their collective commitment in fostering an environment where women can thrive in all aspects of life-politically, socially and economically.
“Our gathering today is not just a celebration or a show of work, but it’s the call to action, a reminder that while we have made strides in attracting women’s rights and representation in governance, there is still much work that needs to be done. Over the past few years, we have witnessed remarkable progress in increasing the number of women in Parliament with the support of our partners, the government and our allies.
“We have worked tirelessly to advocate for policies that promote gender equality. The enactment of GEVE ACT stands as a testament to our commitments. This legislation has paved the way for greater female representation and participation in decision making processes, and the incorporation of the child marriage act , the sexual offenses Act, and customary land Rights Act as amended, amongst others.” She stated
British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, H.E. Josephine Gauld emphasized the importance of gender equity and women’s political leadership. She noted that gender inequalities persist all around the world, stagnating social progress, slowing growth and hindering development. Adding that globally women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership.
“In many ways, Sierra Leone is bumping the global trend. You have increased the number of women in cabinets, in local government and at the grassroots. Sierra Leone has also been at the forefront of gender equality on so many fronts. The British High Commission is seeking to work with you to remove the barriers and get in the way of gender equality and all that we do, whether it girls’ education, improving sexual reproductive health, reducing maternal mortality or helping women to economic empowerment” she said.
Orange continue to be a key driver and partner for women empowerment in Sierra Leone. Orange is Here! Orange de ya!
