BBC - Women of Rubies

In Career Gems October 2, 2018 By Editor

NIGERIAN-IRISH DOUBLE BASS PLAYER, CHINYERE ADAH NWANOKU, RANKED 9TH IN THE WORLD’S MUSIC MOST POWERFUL WOMEN LIST

Woman’s Hour Power List 2018 has released its top 40 most influential women in music and a Nigerian made the list. Her name is Chinyere Adah Nwanoku, OBE (born June 1956, London). She is a double Bass player and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies at the Royal Academy of Music. She was a founder member and principal bassist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, a position she held for 30 years.

See the Top 10 below…

1. Beyoncé
2. Taylor Swift
3. Vanessa Reed (PRS for Music)
4. Adele
5. Stacey Tang (MD of RCA Records)
6. Gillian Moore (Director of music at Southbank Centre)
7. Rebecca Allen (President of Decca Records)
8. Marin Alsop
9. Chi-chi Nwanoku
10. Maggie Crowe (Director of events at BPI)Beyoncé came first in a list of the industry’s 40 most influential women, thanks to her feminism, activism and empowering musical messages.

Taylor Swift, Adele and Dua Lipa were also included on the power list, which was unveiled as part of BBC Music Day.

The top 40 didn’t just recognise big-sellers and global stars, making room for the unsung heroes who work behind the scenes to champion women. Third place went to Vanessa Reed who, as director of the PRS Foundation, has persuaded dozens of festivals to sign up to a 50:50 gender balance on their line-ups by 2022.

The top 10 also includes Marin Alsop, who became the first female conductor to lead the Last Night of the Proms in 2013, and Chi-chi Nwanoku, who founded Europe’s first professional majority black and minority ethnic orchestra, Chineke.

Source: LIB

In Career Gems September 27, 2018 By Editor

FEMALE ARCHITECTS IN NIGERIA NEED A THICK SKIN” -TOSIN OSHINOWO

Female architect Tosin Oshinowo has revealed in an interview with BBC, how challenging it is to be a female architect in the male-dominated field.

Female architects in the country “need a thick skin,” she said, sharing an instance when she cried out of a site because she was being disrespected.

She also discussed her style: afro-minimalism, revealing her love for clean lines and minimal but functional designs.

Watch her speak below:

In lifestyle September 18, 2018 By Editor

DOCUMENTARY REVEALS A TRIBE IN NIGERIA WHERE GIRLS ARE SOLD INTO MARRIAGES TO PAY OFF DEBTS

BBC’s documentary has revealed that among the Becheve tribe of Cross River, girls are sold into marriages, sometimes before they are even born, to settle debts.

Described as “money marriage,” and the girls as “money wives,” these girls are owned by their husbands in exchange for money lent to their parents.

Watch the documentary below:

https://youtu.be/Eu9A6ONxnCU?t=2

In Career Gems February 13, 2017 By Editor

NIGERIA HAS MORE WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR – BBC REPORT

A recent documentary by BBC shows the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerian women. BBC spoke to two women – Ayo Megbope and Aminat Salau – who sell moi moi, a meal made from beans, to make a living.

“Forty percent of Nigerian women are entrepreneurs, that is higher than anywhere else in the world,” BBC said.

Ayo started by selling moi moi, but now has a restaurant and a catering service.

“I started my business about nine years ago with a seed capital of $3. Nine years after, we are turning over about $250,000 annually. My access to education and information has helped me a great deal. Family and friends have also been good to me. There have been times that I got stuck and I needed to raise capital and I ran to family and friends because the traditional financial institutions would not listen to me,” Ayo said.

According to Aminat: “Sales are good, on some days we sell 60 or 80 wraps in the morning. When we have more time or more people passing by, we sell till late in the evening.”

According to BBC: “Female entrepreneurs in Nigeria often struggle to secure investment, banks normally require collateral, like property, which women often do not have. Without access to capital, it will be difficult for Aminat to grow her business.”