DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that in 2010,
International Telecommunication Union (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.
This year, the
fourth Thursday was on April 25, 2013, ITU and concerned global technology
community and partners celebrated ‘Girls in ICT Day’ via awareness-raising
initiatives designed to pay acknowledge women’s contribution to the technology
industry and promote tech careers to a new generation of girls with an interest
in science and maths.
To this end,
the Nigerian community was not left wanting as the Ministry of Communication
Technology, eBusiness Life Magazine and Women in Technology Nigeria (WITIN) as
well as Cisco, among others joined the fray to demand a change in concept for
girls, mostly with technology evolution taking its cause every day in human
lives.
Speaking in
Abuja, CommTech Minister, Mrs. Omobola Johnson counseled Nigerian girls to
embrace careers in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to bridge
the gap between the male and female gender in ICT sector on this occasion at
the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
She noted that
despite the advances recorded in ICT globally, there are few 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.
“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 decried. Pointing out
that the need to ask ‘why’ and help remove all the barriers militating against
girls and women embracing technology.
She identified
some barriers limiting women to include lack of support, encouragement and her
Ministry will provide the necessary support by encouraging women to embrace
careers in ICTs.
Special Adviser
on Media to the Minister, Mrs 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.
Earlier, the
permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Henry Akpan who flagged off the
programme, encouraged the girls to take advantage of the opportunity provided
by the Ministry to celebrate “Girls in ICT Day to learn and excel.”
The Director,
Planning and Research, Mr. Wole Edun commended participating students, teachers
and various schools represented for taking time out to grace the programme.
As part of its
contribution to the calls for more girls in ICT, eBusiness Life magazine
instituted an award to celebrate deserving women that have made their marks in
Nigeria, tagged “Tech Women Hall of Fame.”
Chief Executive
Officer/Editor-in-Chief of eBusiness Life, Mrs Ufuoma Emuophedaro said that
those honoured during 2013 year’s maiden induction included CommTech Minister,
Mrs Omobola Johnson as the ‘Best Policy Contributor’; Chief Executive Officer,
MainOne, Ms Funke Opeke, was named ‘Tech Achiever of the Year,’ and the Chief
Technical Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mrs Lynda St. Nwafor became the ‘Tech Supporter
of the Year’ as well as the Group CEO, Omatek Ventures as ‘Best Woman Tech
Entrepreneur.’
Others, she
said, include the Director, Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC Mrs
Lolia Emakpore, (Best Fit in Regulation) and CEO, FutureSoft Resources Limited,
Ms Nkemdilim Uwaje (Amazon of Youth Tech Empowerment).
Explaining that
instituting the award was a way of appreciating the women who have made
remarkable impact in the field of ICT in Nigeria, and have contributed
immensely to the growth and development of the industry.
She however
challenged the recipients to ensure that their knowledge does not end with
their achievements, but are inculcated into younger girls through mentorship
arrangements. Stressing that lack of trained female professionals women now
account for less than 20 per cent of ICT specialists.
“The European
Union calculates that in ten years’ time there will be 700,000 more ICT jobs
than there are professionals to fill them; globally, that shortfall is
estimated to be closer to two million,” she said.
ITU
Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré noted that during a networking lunch at the
European Parliament, in company of ITU partners like Cisco, Intel and WITIN
(Women in Technology in Nigeria) an award on Tech Needs Girls prizes was given
to five talented young individuals, and a group of young Nigerian girls, for
innovative technology-based projects.
The WITIN ‘Princeton’
group comprised Adeola Augustina Fasan, Abisola Chinonye Jegede, Chiemerie Mary
Okoro, Joy Ayomide Olufemi, and Chikodili Grace Ozoagu. Cisco winners were
Florence Boden, Thea Bradley and Caitlin Wilson, while Intel awarded its prizes
to Meiri Anto and Naomi Shah. Cisco is also organizing 80 of its own Girls in
ICT Day events in 60 countries around the world.
Dr Touré also
highlighted the urgent need to redress the growing gender imbalance in the
technology sector.
“Despite some
progress, only 21 of the Fortune 500 companies are run by women. There are only
16 women ICT Ministers out of ITU’s 193 Member State governments, and only 10
of the world’s 160 independent ICT regulatory authorities are headed by a
woman. In a world where over 95 per cent of all jobs now have a digital
component, and where there is a large and growing skills shortage in the ICT
sector, we need to get more girls involved in science, technology, engineering
and maths, and we need to get more girls taking an interest in ICT careers,”
Toure said, emphasizing that Girls in ICT Day has an important role to play in
raising the issue at a global level.
DigitalSENSE Business News, noted that since its inception in
2010, Girls in ICT Day has garnered momentum worldwide with over 1,300 events
organized in 90 countries in 2012, and even more activities set to take place
in 100+ countries spanning 21 time zones during the course of the day
celebration.
Remmy Nweke/DigitalSENSEBusiness News
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