FG Moves to Address Gender Imbalance in ICT Career

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> The federal government, through the Ministry of Communications Technology, has concluded arrangements to launch three initiatives that will empower Nigerian women and girls to pursue career in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the country.

> The minister, who lamented the low participation of women and girls in ICT, said the initiative was specifically designed to bridge the gap between male and female participation in ICT.

> Speaking on the planned launch of the initiatives in Abuja, Johnson said less than 23 per cent of women had skills in ICT, and that by 2015, 90 per cent of formal employment must have ICT skills, according to global projection. She therefore insisted that Nigerian women and girls must be encouraged to show interest in ICT and develop skills in the sector, so as to be part of the global workforce by 2015.

> According to Johnson, five Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government have signed a memorandum of understanding to drive and fund the initiative, in collaboration with some selected partners like Huawei, Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN), Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC), and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Finance.

> The MDAs include the Ministry of Communications Technology, Agriculture, Water Resources, Health and Works.

> Aware of various global reports that reveal the growing digital between men and women in the adoption of ICTs, which are critical for empowering and impacting positively on the lives of all women and girls, Johnson said: "The ministry is set to launch three different initiatives that will empower women and girls in Nigeria."

> The initiatives are the Smart Woman Nigeria initiative, Training of 1000 Girls in ICT and the ICT Girls Club.

> The initiatives will be launched in phases, beginning with the launch of the first two initiatives on November 4, 2013 in Lagos, and the third initiative in January, 2014, aimed at promoting and sustaining the inclusion of women and girls in ICT.

> The objectives of the Smart Woman Project, according to Johnson, would be to promote the development of women in Nigeria, through ICTs. It will also allow women in Nigeria to connect with one another, share their knowledge and learn from each other to achieve their goals.

> The Smart Woman Project is expected to be delivered in two phases, with the first phase that will build a community of women that will subscribe to the Smart Woman Project services, through their digital device like mobile phones, tablets and personal computers PCs. The women will pay a subscription fee between N160 to N320 per month, to receive content daily on a wide range of issues like career tips, parenting, health, finance, leisure, among others.

> The second phase of the Smart Woman Project will be extended to women that will receive targeted content, via text messages, free of charge. The content will include life skills, money management, legal issue, health, safety and security, among others.

> The of the training of 1000 girls in ICT project, according to the minister, would be to inculcate 1000 girls in ICTs, and select the best 200 for further training and internship with Huawei Technology company.

> The objective of the ICT Girls Club, Johnson said, would be to create an enabling environment in selected schools, to encourage young girls to embrace ICTs.
> The Girls Clubs will teach animation, website development, blogging, software development, graphics design, games, computer programming, Johnson stated.