In Her Element: When You Give, You Gain — Reflecting, Pausing, and Rising Together

L-R: Head of Corporate Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Zainab Obagun; Non-Executive Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Adenike Ogunlesi; Managing Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Tobi Adeniyi; Filmmaker/Founder, Greoh Studios, Jadesola Osiberu, and Founder, Herconomy, Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti during the celebration of International Women’s Day themed” Give to Gain” #InHerElement organized by Unilever Nigeria Plc and held in Lagos on Monday.

There’s something powerful about watching women exhale.

Not the tired kind of exhale after a long meeting. Not the quiet sigh between deadlines. But the kind that comes from feeling seen.

That was the atmosphere as women across Unilever Nigeria Plc gathered to mark International Women’s Day under the theme #InHerElement. It was intentional and thoughtful. Designed around one central idea: creating space for women to stand firmly in who they are becoming.

The room carried a soft confidence. Professional headshot sessions captured women owning their presence. Massage sessions offered rare moments of stillness. Makeup artists added finishing touches as laughter floated easily between co-workers. For a few hours, the women in the room weren’t multitasking. They were simply present.

Then the conversation deepened.

On the panel sat women whose journeys have shaped industries and rewritten narratives: Adenike Ogunlesi, Non-Executive Director at Unilever Nigeria and founder of Ruff ‘n’ Tumble; award-winning writer and producer, Jade Osiberu; and Founder of Herconomy, Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti. Moderated by Zainab Obagun, Head of Corporate Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, the session unfolded less like a formal discussion and more like a room full of shared truths.

Adenike Ogunlesi spoke about structure, “the invisible backbone of success”. She traced her journey back to her mother who nurtured her creativity and taught her to dream without apology. Her message was clear: the choices a woman makes, especially as a mother, shape the confidence, character, and future of her children.

Her guiding principle, “Give to Gain”, wasn’t a theory; it was practice. She built systems around her long before her reality matched her vision. Growth, she reminded the room, is intentional.

For Jade Osiberu, the story was resilience. Over a decade in the creative industry has required grit, the kind that keeps you steady when recognition is slow and when the pressure is loud. Longevity, she explained, is built on consistency.

Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti brought it home with a call to responsibility: when a woman opens a door for you, treat it with honour. The real way to rise is to lift with excellence and integrity.

In his remarks, Managing Director, Unilever, Tobi Adeniyi, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to ensuring women are not just present, but influential, highlighting the continued growth of the Shakti Women’s initiative.

But beyond the speeches, what lingered was a feeling of reassurance, inspiration, and quiet determination. Being in her element isn’t about perfection. It’s about alignment between ambition and action, values and decisions, who you are and who you’re becoming.

And in that room, as the women bonded over making their own candles, the women agreed to pay it forward because when you give, you gain!

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Nutrition, Oral Care, Beauty & Wellbeing, and Personal Care products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 3.4 billion people every day. Unilever Nigeria is a locally listed business that has been operating for over 100 years, selling iconic brands such as Knorr, Royco, Closeup, Pepsodent, Vaseline, Rexona, and Pears. For more information about Unilever and our brands, please visit the website.

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Further Information:

Please contact Zainab Obagun at mediaenquiryng@unilever.