By Vivian Onyebukwa
Heels and Tech CEO, Bisola Alabi, has identified the dearth of female role models, generalised discrimination and prejudice against women, and lack of an effective learning platform as some of the snags responsible for female gender underrepresentation in the tech industry.
According to her, to promote diversity and inclusivity in tech, government and private organisations need to promote the culture of employing as many qualified women as men, particularly in the tech sector.
Speaking during an online training session, Alabi noted that the problem is not new in Nigeria, and the world at large. She stated that it’s been difficult for women to join the male-dominated industry because of the widespread misconception that men are better in tech than women.
She stated further that though where this misconception stemmed from cannot be ascertained. “Some believe that it is because of the age-long belief that men are natural in matters of engineering and women do not have what it takes to thrive in the engineering field.
In Nigeria, the problem starts from homes and schools, where parents encourage their boy-child to study Engineering courses and the girl-child study Foods and Nutrition and Home Economics. Reports say women are about 30% of the tech professionals in Africa. And the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2015, the LFPR for women in Nigeria is 65.1%, compared to 71.4% for males.
She decried that qualified women are ignored or deprived of job opportunities based on their gender.
“Even when fully qualified, women are many times ignored or deprived of opportunities because of their gender. Many young women find employment in computing uninteresting due to the male-dominated stereotypes of programmers, a dearth of female role models, and generalised discrimination and prejudice against women in the industry”.
Alabi urged the women to enroll in tech courses, and seek growth opportunities in other to build a presence for themselves in the industry.
She also added that the problem of female underrepresentation in tech can also be curtailed if women already in tech stand out as role models to the ones seeking to join the industry.
“To get the best learning experience, women should train with beginner-friendly learning platforms, which also offer mentorship programs. If women already working in tech continue to suppress their thoughts and ideas, they will not serve as role models. More women are needed in Nigeria’s IT industry to inspire other women to pursue productive careers in STEM fields. And providing more role models and mentors who have valuable experience and lessons to share will create a meaningful change,” she said.
She continued by saying that addressing the gender gap in tech is as imperative as discussing the future of technology in Nigeria. Heels and Tech, she noted, are playing a key role in changing the narrative.