Nollywood actress Monalisa Chinyere Chinda has refuted the myth that women in positions of power have to “sleep their way” to the top.
During an empowering speech at the Young African Women Congress (YAWC) Network event in Abuja, Nigeria, Monalisa addressed common misconceptions about women’s success in the workplace. She emphasized that hard work, dedication, and respect are the true keys to success.
“People think that for a woman to rise to the top, she must sleep her way through. It’s such a myth. I want every lady here, and those listening on social media, to know that you don’t need to sleep your way to the top. This belief is one of the most damaging assumptions about women in the workplace. It minimizes our hard work, dedication, and talent, making it seem like our achievements aren’t earned,” she said.
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Monalisa shared her personal journey, highlighting her transition from acting to publishing with the launch of Mona Lisa magazine. She encouraged women to learn and develop skills in unfamiliar fields, stressing the importance of continuous self-improvement.
“As women, we don’t need shortcuts. We don’t need to play by someone else’s rules. Lay down your own rules. When we find ourselves in jobs we don’t know much about, let’s learn, work on ourselves, and develop our skills. It’s critical,” she added.
The actress credited her success to discipline, hard work, and a strong sense of purpose, urging young women to dream big and remain persistent in the face of rejection.
The Young African Women Congress (YAWC) Network is a fraternity of young women of African descent living in Africa and the diaspora, aiming to empower themselves and become change-makers for leadership and development on the continent. Its mandate includes mobilizing women from the grassroots level for leadership and development through advocacy, training, and projects.
This year’s edition, held from October 27 to 31, 2024, was themed “Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment through Innovation and Technology.
