By Rukayat Moisemhe
The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) has restated the need to bridge gender divide in the technology sector to drive a more inclusive economic growth and development.
The President, Ms Bisi Adeyemi, said this during the Chamber’s International Women’s Day (IWD) event with the theme: “Embracing Equity” held in Lagos.
She said the annual event afforded the organisation an opportunity to lend its support to women and restate its commitment to advocating gender equality.
She said the chamber was delighted to join the global community in celebrating the achievements of women in the social, economic, cultural, and political sectors worldwide.
Adeyemi said that this year’s IWD with the theme: “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality”, was apt as innovation and technology had been identified to transform societies.
According to her, it also has the ability to break down barriers, and create opportunities for women and girls.
She said that in pursuit of the agenda to bridge the gender gap in the tech sector, the organisation launched the NBCC Tech Academy in December 2021.
She said that the first cohort of women (and men) graduated in November 2022 from the academy, while the second cohort was expected to kick start in March 23.
“We cannot ignore the barriers that women continue to encounter.
“Equity implies fair treatment, equal access to opportunities and advancement for everyone and the process of identifying and removing the barriers.
“Attention is being drawn to the significance and we must ensure that women and girls are not left behind in the digital transformation.
“We must ensure that they have equal access to the resources they need to succeed,” Adeyemi said.
The Deputy Country Representative, UN Women Nigeria, Mr Lansana Wonneh, said that the IWD theme highlighted gender equity in all aspects of life, including education, employment, healthcare, politics and social norm.
Wonneh said the theme was also a call to action to ensure women and girls had access to resources to dismantle systemic barriers that prevented them from achieving their full potential.
He said that discussions for long had been about gender equality but that this year, equity was being embraced globally.
This, Wonneh said, created an enabling environment that empowered women and girls to participate fully in public and private sector.
“The theme for this year’s IWD is particularly important for the chamber mission statement which hinges on women entrepreneurs dominating the private sector in Nigeria.
“Study has shown that women have the same objective and drive to run businesses as their male counterparts,” Wonneh said. (NAN)
