IWD: Tallen Laments Low Women Participation in Ecosystem, Others

• Concerns have been raised over the low rate of women and girls in the Nigerian technological sector
• The Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, enumerated these concerns at the 2023 annual gender justice conference organised by Christian Aid UK-Nigeria
• Meanwhile, the Country Director of Christian Aid-Nigeria, Dr Temitope Fashola, said collaborations are already in motion to bridge the gaps

FCT, Abuja - The Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, has expressed concern that despite the rapid growth of the nation’s info-tech sector, only a few women have the opportunity to participate in the ecosystem in which men largely dominate.

She said this on Tuesday, April 4, in Abuja at the second annual gender justice conference commemorating the 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD), organised by Christian Aid UK-Nigeria in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and other development partners.

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Tallen expressed concern about the continuity and interrelation between offline and online violence, harassment and discrimination against women and girls.

She lamented that only about 30 per cent of 93 surveyed technology companies in Nigeria are owned by women, and more than a third of these companies employed no woman at all, as stated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In Nigeria, the information and communication technology (ICT) sector has contributed 18.44 per cent to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2022.

Tallen said:

“This growth is significant when compared to the fact that ICT contributed less than 1% to Nigeria’s GDP in 2001. However, women are not part of this landmark achievement despite that more can be achieved with their involvement.”

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Speaking exclusively to Legit.ng the event, the Country Director of Christian Aid-Nigeria, Dr Temitope Fashola, said the conference was geared towards establishing collaborations with several partners in other sectors to help foster the movement of women and girls inclusion in tech and other related fields.

He said:

"Part of the things we want to achieve is to enlist other collaborators and partners. And in a way, we've been able to achieve that this year. And this would continue to improve as we go into the year in, year out."

When asked about the possible outcome of implementing ideas that would foster women and girls' inclusion in tech, Fashola said they are looking towards more collaborations across varying sectors to help bridge the gap for women and girls in tech.

He said:

"A project, in a community or in a state would not bring about the change we want to see. But this in itself is a project, a space to enable those conversations to happen at different levels."

Source: Legit.ng