'Female engineers moving to other professions' - APWEN laments

The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), Lagos Chapter, has cried that female engineers were leaving the profession for greener pastures.

Professor Oluwatoyin Ashiru made this known while speaking at the International Women's Day public lecture in Lagos state.

She noted: “We are losing female engineers to other sectors; they go first to auditing firms, then move to banks and they are doing well? When you see them in banks and you ask what they studied, you hear chemical engineering.

“On empowering women engineers, government policies and organisational initiatives play a crucial role in promoting gender diversity in engineering. In addition, scholarships for women in engineering, funding for women-led research and advocacy for gender parity in engineering fields are essential steps.”

According to Ashiru, empowering women for inclusion in engineering was not just about achieving gender balance.

She added, “It is about leveraging diverse perspectives to foster innovation and creativity in solving some of the world’s most complex problems. A collaborative effort from educational institutions, and corporations; women must learn to be celebrated.

"One of the things I did when my daughters were growing up was to celebrate them, and it gave them a sense of pride. In addition, always publicise success stories”

Speaking on the launch of a Resource, Technology & Innovation Hub to empower female engineering students at the event, Dr Atinuke Owolabi, the newly elected chairman said the main goal of setting up the project was to create a collaborative ecosystem for female engineering students.

She said, “The primary objective of the Resource, Technology & Innovation Hub is to create a collaborative ecosystem where female Engineering students (with 10 per cent of our boys), young Engineers and professional women engineers can access resources, exchange knowledge, and develop innovative solutions to address societal challenges.”

BEB