Nigeria Joins Global Community To Mark United Nations International Day Of Girls In ICT

By John Maduagwu, Umuahia.

Nigeria will today join the global community in marking the United Nations International Day of Girls in ICT.

It is a day set aside to draw attention to the critical need for the participation of more girls and women in the ICT sector.

Speaking on the importance of the day, a female ICT expert who is a front end developer, Miss Nkem Johnson, said there was need for more girls and young women to get into the tech space as there were a lot of opportunities for them to take up and be gainfully employed.

Miss Johnson said despite being a male dominated sector, the problem solving and analytical skill of women in everyday roles they play would make them valuable assets in ICT and urged them not to shy away from making the transition to tech.

She urged them not to be discouraged by lack of finance to fund training programmes as they were already free trainings both physical and online which they could take advantage of.

On her part, Miss Etinosa Idada who specializes in digital marketing, identified laziness and ignorance as some of the factors hindering many women and girls from getting into ICT, thereby missing out of the benefits of doing so.

Miss Idada said the sector was very broad and urged girls and women who want to come on board to carry out the necessary research to find out the area that fits their skill set and interests and develop themselves in that aspect.

The experts said among other benefits, the Sector offered those in it the opportunity of working remotely for local or foreign companies with huge potentials for growth and advancement.

The theme of this year’s event is “Access and Safety”. It highlights the need for girls and women to have safe and reliable access to the internet and other digital tools to enable them to thrive in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.