Paulinus Ugwoke (6th left) flanked by participants

The Head of the Digital Bridge Institute, DBI, Lagos Campus, Paulinus Ugwoke has called on the government to seriously invest in initiatives to get more young girls and women interested in the growing Information and Communications Technology, ICT, space.

He harped on the need for more strategic campaign by organisations and government at all levels for girls to take up subjects in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to bridge the digital gender inequality gap.

Ugwoke said these while speaking to a group of young secondary school girls who were on a tour of the institute to mark the 2019 Girls in ICT Day, organised by TRYinitiative; an initiative that seeks to support youths in the areas of leadership, empowerment, education and sharing enduring values for the good of the society, in conjunction with the Justice Development and Peace Centre, JDPC, of the Holy Family Catholic Church Festac.

According to him, in this part of the world women have been traditionally isolated from the mainstream economy and global pull of information and knowledge due to societal, cultural and market constraints which does not give room for empowerment.

“Women have been relegated to the background, especially when it comes to certain areas of discipline, and so the time is now for girls/young women to be assisted to grow their knowledge/ interest in things around ICT and technology since there’s virtually nothing you can do these days without knowledge in ICT or even technology”.

He added that emphasis on the values, benefits and opportunities in the ICT/Technology space to young girls should be made, while showing them women, girls who have excelled.

“It’s a good thing that Nigeria has keyed into the global Girls in ICT Day initiative of the International Telecommunications Union, ITU. This is a good way of starting off. Nigeria is performing well in the global ICT arena and in terms of bringing more women into the fold. With time it will get better if we better understand the data on the number of women in the space compared to the men”, he said.

Speaking earlier, the coordinator of TRYinitiative, Theresa Igata said, “for us to have the required digital transformation and gender equality the need to have more women in the growing fields of ICT/ Technology cannot be overemphasised at a time when technology has become a key driver of our 21st century life”.

Other speakers also charged the young girls on ICT skills while exposing them to the opportunities in the sector.

For Segun Maleghemi, Co-founder Nest innovation hub, “technology is gender blind, anybody can come up with an idea, all it takes is the interest which is why we’re here; to encourage you, to help you in that path because there are numerous opportunities within the space”.

Bamido Idowu, CEO Jrango technologies added that Nigeria still has a long way to go in terms of bridging the digital gender equality gap, saying it is now more than ever, a necessity that young girls and women be encouraged to take up courses in STEM and careers in the growing ICT space. She however enjoined teachers and parents to encourage young girls so as to develop their interest.

The Girls in ICT Day celebration is a global campaign which aims to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

It is also to show young girls/women that they have the potential of not just being ICT users but also ICT creators.

Report by: Theresa Igata (Senior Correspondent)