As the world marks yet another International Girls in ICT Day, stakeholders have decried the wide gap in male to female participation in Science, Technology. Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Nigeria.
The International Girls in ICT Day is a day set aside by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to build awareness about the gender digital divide, support technology education and skills training, and encourage more girls to actively pursue careers in S.
The Managing Director, inq.Digital Nigeria, Valentine Chime, who was speaking at the event held at Oriental hotel, Lagos, with the theme: ‘Connected Girls, Creating Brighter Futures’ decried the wide gap between female and male participation in STEM in Nigeria.
The MD noted that while some level of progress has been made with increasing participation of girls in STEM, the gender gap in ICT remains unacceptably wide with representation continuing to be disproportionately higher for males than for females, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Chime pointed out that the gap was even wider in Nigeria, compared to Ghana and South Africa; adding that affirmative action on the hiring women in STEM, reorientation against the socio-cultural beliefs and practices that deter women’s participation in STEM and investment in early ICT education of women are methodologies that should be applied to reduce this gap.
He used the opportunity to stress the company’s readiness to promote equitable ICT development in Nigeria, as demonstrated by the company’s support for increased female participation in STEM.
He said, as a responsible corporate citizen and leading cloud and digital solutions provider in Nigeria, inq. Digital will always prioritize the increased participation of the girl-child in ICT, as part of its contribution to human development and nation-building.
Convener of the event Ufuoma Emuophedaro noted that the global event presented a platform for various stakeholders to highlight the gender digital divide, proffer solutions and build partnerships that will help accelerate the movement towards the increased involvement of girls in ICT.
She appreciated inq. Digital’s for the continuous support to Girls in ICT initiative and commended its mentorship program which provides opportunity for girls to gain a first-hand experience in the ICT sector.
