International Women’s Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1975 to celebrate and promote gender equality and to raise awareness of women’s economic, social and political empowerment. This year’s theme is on innovation and technology for gender equality.
Despite the fact that Nigeria has the highest black population in the world and has a high proportion of women, data indicate that very few of its citizens work in the digital and technology fields. Over the past few years, the Nigerian tech industry has grown significantly and gained recognition. Recent research indicates that Nigeria’s tech ecosystem will grow from $4.9 billion in 2021 to $10 billion in 2022. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 30% of tech industry professionals are women. Only 14% of global fintech founders and cofounders (CEOs) were women, and only 6% of fintech companies had female CEOs, according to research. In the Nigerian technology sector, women have recently been closing significant business deals and taking on leadership roles in their organizations. We see Chipper Cash’s Seun Runsewe, Crowdyvest’s Tope Omotolani, Unstack’s Adaora Nwodo, Bamboo’s Yanmo Omoregbe, and so on.
Despite all of these achievements, women in the technology industry only make up 22% of the workforce. This influence is due to a number of factors, including: cultural stereotypes, society’s perception of men’s suitability for tech roles, and other factors.
International organizations have launched programs and initiatives to educate people about the significance of women in the digital and innovation fields and raise awareness of this challenge. The surface, on the other hand, has just been scratched. There is ample room for improvement.
Awareness to Action.
It is time to walk the talk and spotlight areas to push for innovation and technology for gender equality:
- Promoting Girls’ STEM Education: Scholarships, mentorship programs, and awareness campaigns are all ways to accomplish this. A World Bank study found that providing girls with scholarships could help them enroll in STEM education by as much as 40%.
- Programs for mentoring and training: Creating Funding Opportunities for Women-Led Startups: Providing mentorship and training programs for women in the technology industry can help address the skills gap. Venture funds and accelerators can be established to address the problem of women-led startups in Nigeria not having access to funding. A Boston Consulting Group study found that while female-led startups receive less funding, they generate more revenue than male-led startups.
- Promoting policies and procedures that are inclusive: Gender bias and discrimination can be addressed in the tech industry by promoting inclusive policies and practices. Diversity and inclusion training, equal pay policies, and flexible work arrangements are examples of this. A study conducted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that businesses with a higher proportion of women in leadership roles typically exhibit superior financial performance.
- Increasing Educational Access: The government and other stakeholders can make investments in programs that promote girls’ education in STEM fields to address the limited access to education.
- Refuting Gender Ideologies: Organizations can develop awareness programs that promote gender equality in the tech industry to combat gender stereotypes. For instance, a group of women working in technology called Women in Tech Africa has held a number of events to promote gender parity in technology.
- Establishing Support Groups: Mentorship programs and networking opportunities for women in the tech industry can be created by organizations to address the lack of support networks.
Mentoring Her provides a platform that helps bridge the gaps in promoting innovation and technology in women. We provide a close knit platform where women and girls can connect, get mentored, and exchange knowledge . We have contributed our own quota in making the world a little better, what would you do? We hope this piece stirs the need to help achieve the points mentioned above. Join us by visiting m.mentoringher.com
Till next time, Happy International Women’s Day to our Amazing Amazons!
Salma Adam.