Dr. Elizabeth Eterigho is the 17th president, Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria . She spoke to VICTOR GBONEGUN on efforts to promote STEM courses, ensure better representation of women in the profession and other issues.
Currently, we are bridging the gender gap in engineering through continuous advocacy and programmes. We have ‘invent it, build it’ programme, which centres on bringing up the younger ones from primary schools and teaching them that engineering is not as difficult as they are seeing it. For the first time in the history of the country, APWEN has been able to develop a diversity and inclusion policy, which has been implemented by the President Muhammadu Buhari. About 11 female engineers out of 45 technical board members of NASENI were appointed.
There are worries about inadequate patronage of local engineers in projects by the government despite existing orders like the ‘Executive Order five’ on promotion of local content in science, engineering and technology. What are your perspectives on this? Nigeria is confronted with infrastructural and insufficient technological deficit. How is APWEN promoting infrastructural development and growth?
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics courses are believed to be difficult terrain for the girl-child.Why the girl child feels STEM is difficult is because of mathematics and physics. Part of the programmes we do is starting from the primary level and ensuring that pupils are taught right. For example, if you want to do practical work, you must ensure that materials to be used are cut according to measurements. That is mathematics.
We also selected them from schools and take them to a nearby industries and engineering firms, where they could see how things are done. We educate them on the work of the engineers like how the telephone is developed and what makes it possible to speak from one end and hear from the other. But if engineers were into politics, they would be able to influence policies and lead Nigeria into progress. What we are asking the men to do is collaborate with us and allow our competence and skills to speak for us.
ceey_nan Hi, wishing you blessings and good energy while doing your NYSC. 🙂