By Nosa Alekhuogie
The recent event to celebrate the global campaign for the International Girls in ICT Day, organised by eBusinesslife in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other stakeholders in the industry, has placed more emphasis on grooming more young girls that will take up the challenge of exploring ICT-related careers.
The event, which held recently in Lagos, was part of a year-long campaign instituted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to sensitise young girls to explore career options in ICT and related fields, which prior to now have been male-gender dominated.
Introducing the event, the Convener and Publisher, e-Business Life Communication Limited, Mrs. Ufuoma Emuophedaro, aligned with a report by the ITU, stating that the ICT sector remains a buoyant and growing sector for employment, and a key economic factor reinforcing both national and international development.
“Any professional job we can think of today has a strong tech component. Technology has become a critical tool in fields as diverse as art, history, archaeology, law, primary teaching, to mention but a few. As such, tech qualifications will give an advantage in a competitive job market, earn a high salary and give career mobility,” she said.
While encouraging the students to tap into the future, Emuophedaro stated: “The future of the ICT sector promises to be an exciting one. It is estimated that within the next 10 years, there will be more than 2 million technology jobs that cannot be filled because of lack of qualified ICT specialists.”
A statement by the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, said: “Gender equality is a human rights issue, but it is also in all our interests: men and boys, women and girls. Gender inequality and discrimination against women harms us all. There is overwhelming evidence that investing in women is the most effective way to lift communities, companies and countries.
Women’s participation makes peace agreements stronger, societies more resilient and economies more vigorous. Gender equality is the unfinished business of our time.”
She noted that that given the rising need for software engineers and web developers, and coupled with the projection that advances in gender equality can result in a $12 trillion boost to the global GDP by 2025, it is hardly surprising that the world is making more space for women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
She applauded female mentors with whose efforts more girls have and will dare to pursue careers in STEM in the near future.
Deputy Director, New Media and Information Security at NCC, Mrs. Olatokunbo Oyeleye, said the ITU on April 8, 2011 announced the establishment of an International Girls in ICT Day to be held yearly on the fourth Thursday in April, which was a direct result of the adoption of its Resolution 70 – “Gender mainstreaming in ITU and promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).” The Resolution was to incorporate a gender perspective in the implementation of all ITU programmes and plans.
Oyeleye, who represented the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, cited examples of young girls that broke the gender barrier with exploits in STEM fields, noting, “And they are a proof that breaking gender norm should become the norm.”
