The tech industry has continued to push towards getting more women into the sector globally as the number of females in the space has always been lower than that of men.
Around the world, there exists a gender gap in science and technology which statistics from UNESCO science reports state that women still account for 28% of engineering graduates and 40% in computer science and informatics.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, on average, Nigerian women make up just 22% each year.
Nigeria’s tech sector may be rising, but it still has a sizeable gender gap and a lot more needs to be done to improve gender diversity to encourage more women to take up careers in tech.
Motunrayo Opayinka, founder of Womenovate shared why women building tech careers should be supported.
CFA: Motunrayo thanks for joining us on tech trends today
Motunrayo: it’s a pleasure to be here today, thank you.
CFA: all right, women in technology, what’s your take?
Motunrayo: it’s exciting, it’s about time we have more women participating in technology more for inclusion, innovation, and also the diversity that it brings. Women are the core of the economic engine for any nation so it’s about time we take the step and be involved rightly.
CFA: what would you say about the steps being taken at all levels to see that this happens in reality?
Motunrayo: well, I mean it’s a global drive now, thanks to the UN with the SDG goals which they’ve developed, we see different countries trying to align with those goals.
More and more is being done, we see the numbers rising, and we still have a long way to go but surely, we’re seeing the differences, there are more women in leadership now, more women in roles that years back, we wouldn’t have thought of them being in so yes, its the right way forward and we are making progress.
CFA: okay so let’s drive it down right, talking about science, technology, engineering, arts, agriculture like you put yours, how do we drive young girls at an early age to embrace some of these sectors?
Motunrayo: like you rightly said, we still start them young, values are inculcated very early in stages of human life so we start young from primary education, a child should look up and say I could be a doctor if I want to be, I could be an aeronautic engineer if I choose to be it. It’s exposing them to that, ensuring that there is no limitation, and encouraging participation at all levels… ( Watch the full video here).
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