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.Lists factors hindering their involvement in innovation, technology
.As OXFAM harps on attainment of gender-just society
By AKOR SYLVESTER-Abuja
Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has expressed concern over the position of women in digital space, saying 37% of women do not use the internet, the situation it described as unacceptable in the modern world.
PENGASSAN, in a message to mark International Women’s Day, said the development is even more staggering in the developing countries, where 259 million fewer women have access to the internet than men.
The message delivered by PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, noted that, in the digital space, there’s a huge disparity of women involvement due to certain factors, which he said called for concern.
Those factors, according to him, included inability to develop the necessary digital skills to engage in digital spaces, which diminishes their opportunities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, women face a lot of bias with regards to their technical capability.
The message said; these capabilities are always questioned and accepted doubtfully as against that of a male counterpart as it erodes confidence.
Other factors, the statement stated were that, women in tech may also face harassment and discrimination, both overtly and subtly, this can include being subjected to inappropriate comments or being passed over for opportunities because of their gender.
According to the message; “Women in tech may struggle to find role models and mentors who look like them or have similar experiences.
“Many women in tech struggle to balance the demands of their careers with their personal lives. This can be particularly challenging for women who are also raising families or caring for elderly parents.
“Addressing these challenges requires a concerted effort from individuals, and the industry as a whole to create a more inclusive and equitable environment for women.
“Some of the ways we must embrace in other to promote women engagement in innovation and technology for gender equity are as follows:
“Providing greater access to education for girls and women in areas where traditional educational opportunities are limited. This has the potential to break down barriers such as distance, poverty, and discrimination.
“Providing new opportunities for women entrepreneurs to access markets, funding, and resources.
“Monitoring and analysing pay disparities, identify problem areas, and create solutions to bridge the gap.
“Creating reporting mechanisms for gender-based violence and provide support to victims/survivors.
“Improving access to healthcare services for women, particularly in rural and remote areas where traditional healthcare services are not readily available.
“Developing mentorship programmes between young women in tech and female technology leaders.
“A sustainable future is dependent upon development of inclusiveness for transformative technology and digital education. There is hope for the future if women brace up to involvement in the tech field, breaking down barriers and making giant strides in the industry”,.
Stating that innovation and technology have the potential to create more opportunities for women, reduce gender disparities, promote digital literacy, reduce cyberbullying, increase employment opportunities, enhance productivity and breakdown traditional barriers, the statement however, said it is important to ensure that technology is developed and used in a way that is all-encompassing and does not reinforce existing gender biases
The statement thanked PENGASSAN Women Commission (PWC) Chairpersons at all levels and all the women who continue to inspire the association with their courage, resilience, and commitment to creating a better world.
It recognized the various ways they have used technology creatively to hold meetings, create awareness, conduct very impactful webinars that has been of benefit to all of members of the association, male and female alike.
“I use this opportunity to celebrate your achievements as we have seen significant improvement in the PWC’s core objective of women’s participation in unionism. I also celebrant and thank all the female staff across all our secretariats who labour day and night to see that the Association keeps forging ahead.
“Thank you all, we are grateful and we pledge to continue our efforts to promote gender equality and create a more inclusive and prosperous world for all”, the statement noted.
It further stated that PENGASSAN has made significant progress since the last IWD in promoting gender equality and women participation in leadership, noting that, last year, the Special Delegate Conference saw the emergence of the PWC an upgrade to the Women-in-PENGASSAN.
“The PWC is a more organized and improved unit that gives women a better leadership platform and more opportunities to be involved in the union’s decision making”, it maintained.
Commending this year’s theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” with a campaign theme #embraceequity, it said the theme highlights the need to harness the power of innovation and technology to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.
It said “as a union, we recognize this potential and we are committed to leveraging technology to support women’s advancement in the oil and gas industry.
“Innovation and technology have been a driving force in the global economy. Over the past few years, we have seen significant strides towards gender equality in various spheres of life, but there is still a long way to go.
“According to UN Women’s Gender snapshot 2022 report, women’s exclusion from the digital world has shaved $1 trillion from the gross domestic product of low and middle-income countries in the last decade; a loss that will grow to $1.5 trillion by 2025 without proper action plan.
“Our lives depend on strong technological integrations which may include, attending a course, calling loved ones, making a bank transaction, or booking a medical appointment. Everything currently goes through a digital process”, .
Meawhile, As Nigeria joined the rest of the world in marking International Women’s Day, a Non Governmental Organisation, Oxfam Nigeria has reaffirmed its dedication to attaining a gender-just society, where opportunities, resources, and decision-making are not influenced by gender orientation.
The organisation advocated a situation where women and girls are not treated differently from their men folks in terms of positions, social amenities, education right and other rights that women are meant to enjoy in the society.
Oxfam Nigeria, in a statement signed by the Country Director, Vincent Ahonsi to mark the 67th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and the International Women’s Day on Wednesday, said it has exploited different areas in pursuit of gender equality for women and girls in the society.
According to the statement: “Our interventions have achieved an increased participation of women in the productive
space and positively change power relations in both the private and public sectors of the society, through the adoption of gender transformative approaches, and the integration of feminism into our programming.
“Our achievements include the deepening of women’s financial inclusion and socio-economic
enfranchisement through the Village Savings & Loan Association (VSLA), increased political inclusion through training and sensitization on Transformative Leadership for Women’s
Rights (TLWRs), the integration of gender transformative approaches such as Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS), and Rapid Care Analysis (RCA).
“We facilitate socio-economic reintegration of survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV), and also integrate women and girls from underserved communities into the society through capacity building, and enhanced inclusion in the digital space”,.
The organisation encouraged everyone to come forward and support it towards advancing gender equality and building an inclusive society where no one is left behind.
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