In “Be Fearless,” Jane Egerton-Idehen draws from her almost two decades of experience as a telecommunication executive in West Africa and her understanding of the challenges women have with building lasting careers, especially in male-dominated STEM industries. This led her to start a professional women advocacy group, Women in Careers.
The book chronicles the author’s remarkable experiences challenging gender roles and stereotypes, from her rise from the slums of Ajegunle in Lagos, Nigeria, to brokering million-dollar deals for global telecom giants and of embracing who you are as a woman. Written about women for women as well as the men who love, nurture, support, and work with them at home and in the office, Egerton-Idehen opens up about her less-privileged background, education, career journey, marriage, and motherhood, exploring the cultural expectations, biases, and impossibilities that turn dreams of career success into wishful thinking and shattered dreams.
In “Be Fearless,” Egerton-Idehen shares a profoundly moving and searingly-honest account about her childhood and living in Ajegunle, one of Nigeria’s poorest slums for the first 27 years of her life to her professional life, marriage and motherhood with a promise of hope for millions of women that they too, can, with persistence, tenacity, and courage, deal with the default behaviours that might be currently holding them back from pursuing the career of their dreams.
In response to the success of the book on launch day, Egerton-Idehen shared “I am truly humbled and grateful for the amazing response to my new book. One of the bigger themes I wanted for this book was to reach out to the men. Most times, when we discuss gender parity and all that, it appears it is just the women having the discussion. But we cannot achieve it without men; our husbands, brothers, bosses, colleagues, and neighbors who work with women to achieve it. We are calling for male sponsors that will support and encourage this because they can see their daughters, wives, and nieces considering what this book is talking about. The biggest takeaway I would like my readers to have is about collaboration with men, to have more men as male mentors, sponsors, and advocates because I believe if men understand the issues women face, it would be easier to resolve. It would be easier to have that discussion because both parties would understand what the issues are and what it takes to resolve them.”
“Be Fearless: Give Yourself Permission to Be You” is a must read for women across ages who are trying to choose or start careers, expand their careers, or even mentor others. It is also relevant for men, to help them become more aware of the underutilized and underappreciated female talent in their organisations and lives. Egerton-Idehen and the Women and Career forum are passionate about promoting gender equality, increasing female representation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers, and providing support and direction for professional women. This collective group is taking the “Be Fearless” campaign to younger women, to highlight the hurdles that prevent women from fulfilling their potential and providing a guide to younger women on the complexities of navigating career and life opportunities in male-dominated environments.
Egerton-Idehen is giving away hundreds of copies of the book to over twenty tertiary institutions and high schools in Nigeria and is hosting a book tour where she will lead book-reading sessions at notable bookstores and award scholarships to female students in STEM courses in Nigeria.
The book is available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle versions.
About the Author
Jane Egerton-Idehen is the Country Manager Nigeria/Regional Sales Manager, West Africa for Avanti Communications Group PLC and founder, Women and Career organization, a Nigerian advocacy and support group for professional women. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Egerton-Idehen holds a degree in Electronics Engineering and an MBA from the Warwick Business School in the UK. She also received Executive Education at both Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management in the United States.
Having worked in the telecommunications industry in Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia for more than 17 years, her knowledge of technology, ability to manage complex stakeholder relationships, and skill in managing teams and creating strategies to support growth and drive business are keys to her success. Her mission includes promoting girls in STEM and ensuring women in STEM industries remain and grow their careers in those industries.
