The group said it observed that a 36 per cent ICT gap exists between boys and girls in the country and thus called on governments at all levels to bridge the gap.
Speaking at an event organised for students in Abuja on Friday, the group’s Research and Influencing Manager, Tunde Aremu said there is a need to secure safer spaces for girls to have access to technology, and digital education in the fulfilment of their dreams.
He said, “The huge margin to cultural assumptions that some types of facilities are better suited for boys compared to girls must change through deliberate interventions by the government.
“The cultural bottlenecks needed to be attacked and modified for access to technology for the girl child. What research has shown is that in terms of access to digital facilities between men and women, in terms of GSM technology and digital access, there’s that wide margin of about 36 per cent between boys and girls, men and women in the country.
“We feel that some of these are often occasioned by cultural prescriptions and assumptions that some type of facilities and professions are better suited to the male child, the belief that some men sit better in some professions than women.
“Conscious efforts of demands in those driving the affairs of the country to consciously invest in it, then it’s a major challenge. Beyond investment, we must consciously step out and create safer spaces where these girls can have access to technology and make use of them,” the group stressed.
In her address, the Project lead, Project Female Experts Source Guide Development, Adesola Ayo-Aderele urged the students to take advantage of opportunities which abound in technology.
She advised the students to shun the negative exposure attached to technology.
Ayo-Aderele said, “There are many scholarship opportunities that technology has created of which you can take part. I advise you to shun the negative exposure that comes with technology. I encourage you to shore up your skills and convert them to technological use. There is no one with knowledge of ICT and its certifications that ever stays jobless,” she disclosed.
