Oxfam Nigeria, women in information technology and communication (ICT), and others have renewed calls for more women to enter technology- and science-related fields in order to drive home the importance of gender mainstreaming in the innovation and technology sector.
Women in ICT, led by Kemisola Bolanrewa, noted that more women are needed in the tech industry for equality, and they should be encouraged to follow the path by shattering stereotypes and ingrained beliefs about what are considered appropriate careers for men and women, respectively.
She claims that women are frequently more productive wherever they are, which is why having more women in technology will lead to more inventions, creative solutions, and scientific breakthroughs.
She used the Women in ICT team’s recent advancements in the early detection of cancer through the early cancer detection smart brassiere as the ideal illustration of how inventive women can be in the innovation space.
“A good example right now is the development of the smart bra that can identify cancer. This cancer has existed for a very long time, but despite the fact that there are many men working in the sciences, they were unable to find a solution. As a result, women have developed technology to address this particular issue.
These are some of the reasons, according to her, why there should be more women working in STEM fields, including space.
According to Professor Olabisi Aina, a researcher and lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile Ife, Nigeria’s National Gender Policy is allowing more economic sectors, like the sciences, to participate in the effort to mainstream gender.
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The National Gender Policy is an umbrella policy to which we expect that every sector, whether it be labor, environment, health, and others, should key into and look at gender issues in their sectors and then draw policy guidelines in order to mainstream gender into what they do, according to Professor Aina, who led the team that wrote the 2006 Gender Policy for Nigeria, which was revised in 2021.
Esohe Ahior, the Head of the Department of Poise Graduate Finishing Academy, mentioned that training girls in fields like graphic design among others has been the focus of her Organization for the International Women’s Month while discussing the significance of upscaling youth in technology and innovation to advance their livelihood and enable them to contribute to the economy.
In order for them to benefit from our programs, she continued, “We always look out for the disadvantaged in society, such as girls who have been abused, young mothers, and those set aside as useful.
Gender mainstreaming in tech and innovation has aided our girls in becoming better versions of themselves, she claimed. “We train them to become confident and useful to themselves,” she said.
