8th June, 2018
A scientist, Ms Joan Udeh says if more attention is given to empowering more girls and women in Information Technology (IT), it will disrupt the status quo and provide more opportunities for them.
Udeh, who is the founder of Girls Vine Code, an Abuja-based NGO, said this on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Girls Vine code is a start-up is aimed at empowering young women through technology.
Udeh said the tech industry was currently skewed toward men and having more girls trained in ICT would translate into having more future role models for women.
“We don’t often see many women, in particular in senior positions within the tech industry and this would lead to a situation where the technology industry is without female role models in key positions.
“Young ladies will have no one to look up to and who can also encourage them to pursue careers related to tech,’’ she said.
Udeh said that if more girls were trained early enough in technology, the industry would have enough girls with strong foundation in digital literacy and they would be well equipped for the future.
“A lot cannot be achieved with the young girls if the private and public sector do not come through to support and help them with digital and innovative tools,’’ she said.
She added that with more girls in technology, they would have exposure to launch their start-ups and grow a broader portfolio of digital solutions, while simultaneously lowering costs and reducing the time for innovation.
“ Having more females, girls in ICT will enable start-ups to grow their business, reduce cost, help them to put innovative applications to use and reduce time taken for such innovation.
“The objective of engaging more girls in science and technology is not only to provide a more inclusive platform, but have a space for women that gives them exposure to learning opportunities and the chance to flex their tech muscles’’ she said.
She said having more ladies join the sciences would result into a tech revolution to “create a network of women’’.
“Women, who are highly skilled in computer literacy, coding and design, and who can leverage those skills to develop innovative and sustainable solutions within their communities.’’