As the world celebrates the 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD), a number of Nigerian women look poised to push for a bigger share of the country’s growing tech space in their quest for gender equality.
The theme of this year’s IWD, ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’, was chosen to recognise and celebrate “the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education”, according to the United Nations.
According to UN Women, women make up only 22 percent of artificial intelligence (AI) workers globally and a global analysis of 133 AI systems across industries found that 44.2 percent demonstrate gender bias.
In Nigeria, women have made considerable inroads into the tech industry in recent years but there are still several hurdles limiting their involvement.
There has been increased awareness of women empowerment, tech tips and sensitisation on the need for the eradication of all forms of gender biases and inequalities.
Several women in technology are particularly elated at this year’s theme as it further drives home the need for more women to be involved in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
“Innovation and technology are critical for gender equality, and it is important for us to utilise existing tools at our disposal to see how we can minimise inequality for women, particularly considering the unconscious biases that are inherent in a lot of our processes, from schools and universities to organisations in the technology space.” Wendy Okolo, associate project manager and aerospace research engineer at NASA, told BusinessDay in an exclusive interview.
Onyeche Tifase, vice-president, grid consulting at Siemens Energy, highlighted the need for all women working in digital, innovation and tech fields to achieve social, economic, and political equality for humanity to attain a sustainable future.
She said: “As a female, African, engineering professional I have seen firsthand the power of diversity.
“Women in STEM fields bring new perspectives, compassion, strength, resilience, warmth, and sparkle to the workplace. They are also capable of creating safe spaces that enable more women to thrive in male-dominated fields. I am confident of a better future as we unleash the power of DigitALL to ensure equal opportunities and improved working conditions for women.”
Innovations and technology have steered the world to move at an unprecedented pace and will continue to do so more rapidly. Indeed, this is shaping the future, yet women are still underrepresented in this space with about 28 percent presence in STEM, according to recent studies.
Experts have therefore insisted that it’s time to accelerate gender equity initiatives for the inclusion of women and girls in this digital age.
They also urged women to explore the progress made in the past years, evaluate the impact on society, review the lessons they have learnt, and chart the course going forward to drive the inclusion of more women and overcome the barriers that exist.
“Gender equity and empowerment in the innovations and technology space should remain a priority but with more consciousness in order to drive transformative change. Women in the technology space should become a norm and not a wow factor; this is the goal,” Harb Cynthia Ige, CEO of Internet Solutions Nigeria Limited, said.
She said women need to value and embrace equity in tech by actively supporting others within their ambit of influence, especially to encourage STEM for girls.
“In a bid to level up the female gender deficit in innovation and technology space, it is necessary to start building the interest of girls in ICT-related courses at the early stage – Catch them young,” she said.
According to Ige, to create an inclusive world for women, girls need to embrace STEM and be prepared for opportunities in these fields as adults.
“Gender stereotypes, discrimination, and cultural biases, amongst others, are some of the issues to draw attention to and address. It’s time to reflect on how we can be part of the solution by bridging the confidence gap; this will go a long way to create an enabling environment and achieve equity,” she added.
She stressed the need to increase advocacy and awareness among girls, with enhanced vocational counselling for careers in innovation and technology.
Echoing the same sentiment, Omobola Johnson, senior partner at TLcom Capital, said: “If you are not interested in STEM, do develop an interest in STEM because if you look at the way the world is going, the world is being driven by technology; even if you are not an engineer or somebody who is a technology professional, you have got to understand technology to be able to function in the world going forward.”
Technology has a pivotal role to play in achieving gender equality globally, as many corporates and governments have already collected gender-specific data about key indicators of success and development, including the pay gap, access to education, and access to credit.
For Folake Owodunni, co-founder of Emergency Response Africa, the problem is that “we often stop at collecting data and quoting statistics”.
She said: “One of the most meaningful activities that we can do, not just this International Women’s Day, but every day, is to commit to intentionally turning our data insights into innovative initiatives that advance gender equality.
“Whether it is equal pay for equal work initiative in your workplace, or proactively sponsoring women in STEM as role models for future generations, it is our time to act. Used correctly, data can help us close the gap between women’s potential and their achievements.”
There are several ways in which digital innovation and technology can be used to promote gender equality.
Yemi Keri, founder/CEO of Heckerbella Limited, said closing the digital gender divide would provide greater access to digital technologies for women, which would promote their full participation in economic, social, and political spheres.
“This includes access to basic digital tools such as smartphones, laptops, and the internet. This can be addressed through community-driven initiatives that provide support to women in technology,” she added.
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According to her, encouraging more women to pursue careers in technology is another way because the technology industry needs more women, and one way to achieve this is by creating an inclusive environment where women can prosper.
“This entails breaking down barriers to entry, promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives, and offering professional development opportunities to women in technology,” Keri said.
She said developing gender-inclusive digital products is another way, by incorporating gender-inclusive design practices in the development of products and services, which will help to eliminate bias and increase access to technology for everyone.
“This could mean developing products that cater to the unique needs of both men and women and promoting the creation of digital products and services that are inclusive of different genders,” she added.
Keri said involving women in technology decision-making processes would help to promote gender equality in the digital age.
“This includes recruiting more women to technology leadership roles, increasing the visibility of women’s perspectives on tech policy issues, and actively engaging with diverse communities to ensure that digital innovation benefits everyone,” she said. “Overall, addressing the current gender gaps in digital innovation and technology is an essential step towards achieving gender equality.”
