Technology stakeholders lament 58% women dropout in STEM

BY OLABISI OLALEYE

Stakeholders in the In­formation and Com­munication Technol­ogy (ICT) in the country have lamented that over 58 per cent of women drop out in Science, Technology, En­gineering and Mathematics (STEM) field.

They noted that one out of every seven engineers is a woman and many women should actively key into STEM for the next level.

While calling on women and girls to leverage on ICT to achieve their dreams, they noted that this could brighten their future as well as boost the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the economy. This was the submission during the career fair organised at the “International Girls ICT Day” in Lagos.

One of such groups, Wom­en in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN), noted that a good percentage of girls are not go­ing into science and engineer­ing because they had no idea of the options available in the fields.

The International Girls in ICT Day is an initiative backed by all ITU member states in ITU Plenipotentiary Resolution 70. It aims to cre­ate a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the grow­ing field of ICT.

According to the founder and President of WITIN, Mrs. Martha Omoekpen-Alade, the girl child should take up careers in STEM so she can brighten her future, as well as that of Nigeria. The event brought together over a 100 girls from several secondary schools in Lagos State, with an exposition of the various career options available in the STEM field. Over 40 dif­ferent career options in ICT alone were expounded in the fair.

She stressed the need to have more girls in STEM as there is huge gender parity in most tech companies. “Re­search has shown that com­panies with a more balanced workforce with women on board do better”; their prod­ucts would satisfy the needs of consumers more. As long as users of technologies re­main diverse, producers and inventors of technology must have diverse and balanced teams of males and females. This diversity can only be attained if girls begin to con­sider careers in STEM. Early interventions will enable girls understand that limitless op­portunities abound for them if they leverage on careers available in the field.”

Alade disclosed that WI­TIN was committed with her partners to reduce the female gender STEM leaky pipeline, adding that the world is con­trolled by technology today as there is hardly any profession that does not have ICT com­ponents.

 

Follow us on Twitter: @NewsFetchers
Like our Facebook page: NewsFetchers