PRESENTED BY INQ.DIGITAL
2021 International Girls in ICT Day: inq. Digital Nigeria Advocates for More Girls in ICT
Leading African Cloud and Digital solutions provider, inq.Digital has called for the increased involvement of the girl-child in ICT.
The International Girls in ICT Day is a day set aside by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to build awareness about the gender digital divide, support technology education and skills training, and encourage more girls to actively pursue careers in STEM. Currently, in its 10th year, this year’s event held at the Oriental hotel Lagos Nigeria with the topic, Connected Girls, Creating Brighter Futures.
At the event attended by a broad spectrum of educationists, civil society groups and policymakers, factors inhibiting the participation of the girl child in STEM were highlighted, and solutions were proffered. Peak lane College International College won the graphics design competition held at the event with prizes, including a mentorship placement at inq.Digital and an educational tour of inq.Digital’s ICT facilities.
Valentine Chime, Managing Director of inq.Digital Nigeria, comments to mark the 2021 International Girls in ICT Day, that while significant progress has been achieved with increasing the participation of girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), the gender gap in ICT remains unacceptably wide, with representation continuing to be disproportionately higher for males than for females, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Chime expressed concern that the gap was even wider in Nigeria, relative to countries like Ghana and South Africa. He reaffirmed that investment in early ICT education, affirmative action on the hiring of women in STEM and a reorientation to change the sociocultural beliefs and practices that deter women’s participation in STEM, as approaches that should be explored to reduce this gap.
The convener of the International Girls in ICT Day, Ufuoma Emuophedaro, noted that the global event presented a platform for various stakeholders to not only highlight the gender digital divide but proffer solutions and build partnerships that will help accelerate the movement towards the increased involvement of girls in ICT.
She expressed appreciation for inq. Digital’s continuous support for the Girls in ICT initiative and commended the inq.Digital’s mentorship program which provides an opportunity for girls to gain a first-hand experience of working in the ICT sector.
In his conclusion, the inq.Digital Nigeria MD Chime, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to promoting equitable ICT development in Nigeria, as demonstrated by the company’s support for increased female participation in STEM.
He assured stakeholders that inq. Digital, as a responsible corporate citizen and leading cloud and digital solutions provider in Nigeria, will always prioritize the increased participation of the girl-child in ICT, as part of its contribution to human development and nation-building.
ink.Digital, which operates in Nigeria, Botswana, Zambia, Cameron, Cote d’Ivoire and Malawi, delivers cutting edge solutions across five major service categories including Edge AI Solutions, SDN/NFV Solutions, Cloud-Based Solutions, Digital Solutions, and Intelligent Connectivity.
