US empowers Nigerian women techpreneurs

The United States consulate in Nigeria has sponsored a series of seminars and trainings for leading women technology leaders on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The consulate brought a 16-member delegation of senior tech executives and professionals from the Silicon Valley to mentor the Nigerian women.

These women tech leaders are expected to inspire younger generation to take up careers in STEM.

The delegation members who came to Nigeria represented organisations as diverse as Twitter, LinkedIn, Netflix, and Mozilla. Among them were also representatives of Autodesk, WomenCollege Tech, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Juniper Networks, Fairrer Samani Group, Northgate Environmental Management, Jessica Dickinson Goodman Consulting, and the Institute of International Education.

“Sadly, many young women who pursue studies in STEM at tertiary institutions share stories of being grossly outnumbered by men. In workplaces, women in STEM fields face discriminatory practices and behaviours from colleagues and supervisors including compensation at lower levels than male counterparts for their labour. They also generally lack opportunities for coaching, mentoring, and growth compared to their male colleagues,”said U.S. Consul General F. John Bray.

Bray said when Ambassador Symington opened the American Space in Yaba in 2017, co-hosted by Co-Creation Hub (CCHUB), he pledged the U.S. government’s support for additional projects that might expand the use of technology in Nigeria.

He stated that the consulate had since funded a number of projects to increase STEM education in different parts of the country.

“In October 2017, we hosted RoboRAVE, a robotics education program in Lagos and Abeokuta. Last December, we funded the establishment of a technology hub in Lagos that will host training and mentoring sessions for persons living with disabilities in various technology-based skills,” he said.

He explained that the United States had invested millions of dollars to directly advance gender equality across sub-Saharan Africa, through activities that promoted political and economic opportunities for women, access to health and education services, and efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.

“In 2011, the U.S. government introduced the TechWomen program to empower the next generation of women leaders in the technology field. This exchange program brings together women in Northern California with their counterparts in the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria for a professional mentorship at leading technology companies in the U.S,” he stated.

He said that the U.S. government was convinced that when barriers to women’s full participation in STEM fields were removed, women, families and countries would do better.

“Whether at home or abroad, promoting women in STEM fields is a top priority of the U.S. government,” he added.

ODINAKA ANUDU