THE NECESSITY OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INTERVENTION BY THE NIGERIAN OIL SECTOR

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is simply a company’s sense of responsibility towards activities that benefits its stakeholders, of which women are part of the key stakeholders. They are the most valuable untapped resource. Significant research has shown that a substantial difference exists in the distribution of risks and benefits offered by oil and gas industries. Meanwhile, measurement of these risks and benefits shows that men tend to benefit more than women while the risk factors tend to affect women more. Among the risk factors are health and environmental risks, issues of property rights of women, poor economic opportunities and negative impacts on community and gender relations. There exists plethora of potential benefits that will be derived in promoting women sensitization and economic empowerment within O&G industries. Meanwhile, it is a wellknown rhetoric that women make a lot of contribution to the social, economic, and environmental sustainability as well as enhancement of national development. In order to enjoy these positives, it then becomes a necessity to further promotion of women empowerment. This paper therefore advocates for economic empowerment of women through CSR intervention which is an area that has remained insufficiently explored even though established as one of the major goals of the UN Millennium Declaration (MDGs). Promoting women empowerment through CSR–led activities can help in attainment of a better and well balanced society. To achieve these feats, the present study became a necessity in order to propagate the need and the role of corporate organisations in the O&G industries regarding the implementation of Women Empowerment through CSR.CSR-led women empowerment yields a great deal of benefits to compliant companies. This could be in form of a more inclusive development, greater diversity, increased productivity and better corporate images of firms as gender champions. Finally, this study therefore recommends empowerment of women by multinational companies especially those in the O & G industry by provision of women education and promoting the welfare of women politically, economically, socially as well as information and awareness on health aspects through their CSR policies and programmes.