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  • Stanbic IBTC Hosts Women in Tech Event

    Stanbic IBTC Bank, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, has held the second edition of its Women in Tech event.

    The event is a celebration of women in the Nigerian tech space while encouraging more women and young girls to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It preaches the need to close the gender gap and empower women and young girls to seize the opportunities that the tech world offers.

    The event, themed “Building a career in tech: break the glass ceiling”, was held on the Zoom virtual meeting platform. It had in attendance guest panelists from different tech-led careers, including Bisola Alabi, founder, Heels and Tech; Olatokunbo Ogunlade, System Engineer, Factorial HR; Ibifuro Apiafi, Manager, Entrepreneur Selection and Growth, Endeavor; and Moyinoluwa Aiyeniko, Software Developer, Stanbic IBTC Bank. The event was moderated by Vivian Obiajulu.

    Bunmi Dayo-Olagunju , Executive Director, Client Solutions, Stanbic IBTC, said the event is one of the ways the organisation is supporting women to bridge the gender gap in the tech space. “With today’s conversation, we will attempt to debunk those myths that have become obstacles to us women fulfilling our potentials in the tech world”

    She said, “Despite the advancement in technology globally, studies have shown that women only account for about 30 per cent of professionals in the field. More women in the tech space means the reduction of inequalities, leading to a more gender-balanced society and an increase in technological innovation, productivity, and job creation. All these will give a boost to our economy and Stanbic IBTC is ever ready to support and encourage women, and young girls, to take up careers in technology.”

    Bunmi stated that women have demonstrated the capacity to excel beyond expectations when they are encouraged in their endeavours and technology will not be an exception.

    Stanbic IBTC is committed to the advancement of a gender-balanced society while providing excellent innovative services to its customers.

    Partner

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  • 5 Nigerian Women In Tech Talk About Why There Are Fewer Women In Tech

    Every year, people leave their careers to delve into tech. However, this career migration is a lot slower for women. In this article, five Nigerian women talk about why there are still so few women in tech.

    women in tech holding laptops

    Anu, 29, Software Engineer 

    There is the societal assumption of what careers for women should look like. If career paths are stripped of gender roles, there will be more diversity in tech. Recently, a male colleague told a female colleague, a front-end engineer, not to switch to backend engineering because “backend engineering is hard for women.” 

    I also think there are not enough women out there inspiring young children or teenagers to consider tech roles. Young people need to see other women thriving and succeeding. Then there’s the sexual abuse — abuse is prevalent in every sector, even in places with more women, but imagine working in an industry where you are the only woman in your department.

    Mercy, 28, Project Manager 

    As kids, boys are given building toys as gifts while girls receive homemaking toys, which affects how we think about these things. In my university, there more boys were studying technical courses too. So when tech jobs became mainstream, I’d say it was easier for men to transition into these fields because they already had skills that were easily transferable to technical roles. These days, more women are transitioning, but it’s not as simple because we are up against men who have gathered years of experience in tech.   

    In an industry dominated by men, we are bound to face men who expect women to carry out sexual favours in return for tech opportunities even if we are adequately qualified.

    Ugonna, 28, Frontend Engineer 

    There’s a lack of opportunities for women because society thinks women are not wired for technical jobs. Women who eventually get into tech face sexual harassment in the workplace. They have to deal with either sexist colleagues or hostile work environments, or both. There’s also the pay gap. Many companies offer lower salaries to women at the same level as their male counterparts. Women have to work twice as hard to get the recognition that their male colleagues get. I have been lucky enough to be managed by women, so it’s easy for me to report harassment to them. That makes me feel safe.

    Ehi, 27, Cloud Engineer 

    I think it’s mainly harassment keeping women away from tech jobs. I remember when I was first interested in tech in 2019. I sent this guy a message on Twitter, and we got talking. Next thing, he was commenting on my boobs and saying it’s making him horny. I blocked him and removed my mind from tech for a long time. It wasn’t until the lockdown period that I gave software tech another shot. 

    Also, men typically direct women to non-technical tech roles. I remember the same guy encouraging me to do UI/UX because I am a girl. It doesn’t make sense to me because women invented tech. Go read about Kathrine Johnson. 

    KK, 30, Writer 

    I think the barrier to entry is high for women, especially in Africa. There is also little advocacy about the issue. More people are talking about it, but the changes so far are still small. There is also the fact women feel uncomfortable reporting to men in these high-pressure climates. When tensions rise, disrespect tends to happen, but when women speak up against it, they are tagged “emotional.” The issues are interconnected, and until women feel safe enough in these spaces, women participation will remain low. For that to happen, we need accountability and advocacy in these spaces. 

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    Mariam Sule

  • 6 Nigerian Women In Tech Talk About Their Challenges In The Tech Space

    If you’ve seen 6 Nigerian Women Share Their Experience Working In Healthcare then you’d understand how important it is to tell the challenges of Nigerian women working in different eco-systems. Today, I asked 6 Nigerian women in tech to describe the tech scene in Nigeria with one word and to share the challenges they face in this space.

    Ugonna, Frontend Engineer

    Challenging.

    Asides the fact that I have to keep learning about technology and try to solve problems with what I’ve learnt, I constantly have to fight for to keep my space as a woman in a predominately male industry. An incident that stood out for me was one time, a male colleague of mine had a problem and needed help, this person tagged all the men in the group asking for help but didn’t tag me. Turns out I was the only one that had the solution.

    Jemima, Frontend developer

    Potential.

    There are so many brilliant minds in the tech space doing amazing things with technology. I have no doubts that the Nigerian tech space has the potential to do incredible things. However, most of the group chats or spaces I belong to have a distinctive “boys club” feel. So the jokes or comments they make are not things that I’d agree with but I also don’t have the energy or patience to engage in discourse so I usually ignore it. I wish there was a more vibrant tech community for girls in Nigeria. Not just for advancing careers and things like that but just somewhere you can vibe with people in a similar field. 

    Sarah, Data Science/Analytics

    Interesting.

    A major challenge for me is the overfamiliarity. A good example is if I work on a project and put it out there. Maybe post a link to the source code or write an article, people reach out to me on twitter or LinkedIn which is fine until they start texting me every day, calling me “dear” or “baby”, asking if I have eaten. I am expected to be courteous even though I find it exhausting. Some will come under the guise of “let’s work together”, “let’s collaborate” and when you turn them down, they try to make you feel stupid or proud.  Then there’s the profiling that ladies who have other casual interests like fashion, beauty, are not good technically. I need people to come off it because when guys have hobbies, nobody claims it affects their skills. 

    Ope, Product Designer

    Exciting.

    I have to fight to be heard or taken seriously. As a woman in tech, people glide over you and assume you aren’t technical or bold enough. You’re expected to be a sort of caretaker, not the person making the bold moves. Getting a masters degree didn’t stop these things from happening to me. Although, I noticed that when people know I have an advanced degree, they tend to take me more seriously. 

    Lami, Product Designer 

    Pointless.

    I would have described it as toxic but that’s too strong. some of the major challenges I face are my male peers not taking me seriously. There’s also inferiority complex, confidence issues and sexism. Plus a lack of a strong support system has made it challenging.  I am trying to cope by reminding myself that I love what I do and I am doing my best.

    Chioma, Full Stack Developer

    Confusing.

    The tech space is a mix of big talkers who barely know their stuff, people who do but are barely known, downright nasty people, people who are out to scam you, people who belittle you because you are a woman, people who magnify every mistake you make because, again, you are a woman, people who genuinely want to see you grow. It’s hard to know who is who.

    I worked in a place two years ago where my bosses ignored me (they were supposed to train me) and instead put me in charge of looking after the kids who came for summer coding camp because I was a babe. Another outstanding one is the way male designers I worked with, talked down to me all the time.

    Names were changed to protect the identity of the subject.

    Recommended: What She Said: It’s A Man’s World

    One year ago, we left Nigeria for an 80-day adventure across West Africa. Something is coming. Unshared stories. New perspectives. Limited series. 10 episodes.

    Eris Ekanem

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