CURATING
Defining Bias, Gates Foundation (New York)
MELINDA GATE’S GOALKEEPERS SESSION (NYC)
Blessing was a Co-Curator and the Lead Presenter of Melinda Gate’s Session on gender bias at Goalkeepers NYC in 2019.
Women leading the fight for gender equality across all sectors around the world.
THE GENDER 7
Blessing was a Co-Curator and the Policy Lead of ONE Campaign’s “Gender 7”: an event that brought together women leading the fight for gender equality around the world, including Angélique Kidjo, Marlène Schiappa, Mamarumo Marokane and Patricia Arquette. This event challenged G7 leaders to put women and girls at the top of their agenda.
FOUNDING
www.theshetank.org
THE SHE TANK
Blessing is the Founder of the She Tank: a modern think-tank launched in 2018 to promote gender equality and the realization of Sustainable Development Goal 5 for women of African descent.
CAMPAIGNING
GENDER EQUALITY CAMPAIGN, ONE
Blessing served on the core team for ONE’s 2019 gender equality campaign, which centered a community of African women activists curated by Blessing. This campaign was launched on International Women’s Day and endorsed by over 100 influencers, including: including Ava DuVernay, Angelique Kidjo, Chelsea Handler, Carrie Underwood, Danai Gurira, Julia Roberts, Lena Dunham, Sheryl Sandberg, Trevor Noah and Oprah. Blessing unveiled this campaign at Cargill’s HQ, in a keynote address joined by the corporation’s over 100,000 employees.
WRITING
POLICY WRITING
Blessing has authored and edited a number of policy reports on gender issues. Most recently, she co-authored a report on Nigeria’s Tech Sector published by the Center for Global Development. Her contributions to the report focused on the participation of women in the Nigerian tech sector.
PERSONAL WRITING
Blessing has been blogging and publishing personal essays since 2008. Between 2015-2020, Blessing ran the "On Being A Woman" blog, where she wrote about the intersection of gender, (pop) culture and religion.
ADVISING
GOALKEEPERS ADVISORY BOARD
Blessing is one of ten leaders selected to serve on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s inaugural Goalkeepers Advisory Board.
ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION'S ROOM 5
The 17 Rooms project is an initiative of the Brooking's Institute and Rockefeller Foundation that brings together a select group of leading thinkers and experts from around the world to identify impactful actions that can accelerate progress on each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Blessing is the current Co-Lead of Room 5 for Sustainable Development Goal 5.
SPEAKING
VOICE OF THE WOMAN
DOCUMENTARY
DOCUMENTARY
Nigeria
In 2019, Blessing participated in a documentary on women’s political participation in Nigeria. This project was supported by the European Union and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
PANEL AT THE CHICAGO COUNCIL
ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS
ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Chicago
During women’s month, Blessing joined a panel at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, where she shared her journey as an “intravist”—advocating for equity within international development organizations.
PANEL WITH THE ELDERS
London
Blessing joined a panel with The Elders in London, where she shared her belief that “Women are Tired of Empowerment, it’s time for Power”
GENDER BIAS SESSION AT THE GATES FOUNDATION
New York
Blessing discusses how gender bias can show up in the fast-growing world of emojis at Goalkeepers 2019