Embrace career in ICT, Johnson urges Nigerian girls

The Communication Technology Minister, Mrs. Omobola Johnson has urged Nigerian girls to embrace careers in ICTs to bridge the career gap between the male and female gender in ICT.
 

She made this call at a ministerial programme to celebrate the 2013 Girls in ICT Day in Abuja in line with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) global advocacy to get more girls into ICT sector.

She said that despite the advances recorded in ICT globally, there are not many women in ICT due to the perception that it’s for geeks or for males, adding that the Ministry is encouraging girls to come into ICT in order to erase that perception.

Lamenting that despite the growing advocacy for women to embrace technology across the world, nothing has really changed.

“When I was studying engineering I was one of 5 girls in a class of about 80. My daughter has just graduated in an engineering degree and she was also one of about 5 or 6 girls, so nothing has really changed in 30 years,” she declared.

Johnson pointed out that we may need to ask ourselves why and help remove all the barriers militating against girls and women embracing technology.

“Some of the barriers limiting women have to do with lack of support and encouragement and the Ministry will provide the necessary support by encouraging women to embrace careers in ICTs,” she promised.

Special Adviser on Media to the Minister, Efem Nkanga disclosed to DigitalSENSE Business News that the Minister invited the best girls in sciences in their various schools to the one week programme of the Ministry in order to encourage and expose them to do more in sciences and increase the percentage of women and girls in ICTs.

“The girls in the course of the one week programme were exposed to the power of technology and its impact on development. They met with several female engineers and interacted with many role models during the duration of the programme that increased their enthusiasm for the ICT profession,” she said.

Mrs. Johnson further enjoined the girls to be hard working, courageous and confident to speak out and be committed in the pursuit of their studies.

Earlier, the permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Henry Akpan had flagged off the programme by encouraging the girls to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the Ministry as they commenced the programme to celebrate “Girls in ICT Day to learn and excel.”

In his closing remarks, the Director Planning and Research, Mr. Wole Edun on behalf of the Honourable Minister and the Permanent Secretary commended the participating students, teachers and the various schools represented for taking time out to grace the programme.

DigitalSENSE Business News notes that in 2010, ITU set aside the fourth Thursday of April every year for the celebration of Girls in ICT, which is an international initiative backed by ITU Member States in Plenipotentiary Resolution 70 (Guadalajara, 2010); to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in ICT.

 

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