For participation of more women in the oil and gas industry, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has rolled out friendly policies to realise the objective, writes EMEKA UGWUANYI.
Women operators in the oil and gas industry will soon benefit from gender friendly policies on access to funding, award of contracts and support for research and development, courtesy of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
Its Executive Secretary(ES), Simbi Kesiye Wabote, made the pledge at a workshop NCDMB organised for women in the industry in Lagos. He noted that since the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act was enacted to get more Nigerians to participate in the industry, there should also be special initiatives to encourage women participation in the sector.
He quoted a study by the Global Energy Talent Index Report, which indicated that there is a chronic shortage of women in the oil and gas industry.
It said: “It is estimated that women occupy about 50 per cent of non-technical positions at entry level compared to only 15 per cent of technical and field role positions.
“Gender diversity decreases with seniority with only a tiny proportion of women in executive positions. The percentage of women in the industry drops over time from 36 percent to 24 percent between the middle and executive level.”
He said NCDMB will review its strategy on the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund), adding: “Access to finance is very important and we will look at our policy to see how we can support women who are serious to do business.”
Already, two firms managed by women have benefited from the NCI Fund because NCDMB took steps to ensure that, Wabote said.
The ES assured that the Board would work with project promoters in the industry to ensure the award of some contracts to firms owned by women, including the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company, which was set to execute the Train 7 project.
NCDMB would also encourage the study of sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by young girls in secondary schools and drive the collation of data on women who participate in various sectors of the industry, so they can receive support, he promised.
The ES said: “Out of the total number trained by the Board, women constitute about 20 percent of the trainees and we hope to increase the number of women trained to meet up the industry skilled labour demand.”
Delivering the keynote address at the event, the Acting Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan commended the NCDMB ES for organising the workshop irrespective of his gender, stating that Simbi is an epitome of what humanity stands for. She expressed hope that the workshop would catalyse other dialogues to be initiated by the Board and complement other ongoing activities, programmes and policies of government to propel Nigeria to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goals 4, 5 and 10.
She insisted that Nigeria should “go beyond the rhetoric of having a quota for women in decision making or other strategic positions by ensuring that the country maximises the economic potential of its whole labour force by promoting equal rights, access and opportunities for all at all levels”.
She emphasised that effective implementation of gender-related policies was dependent on actions taken by women to acquire the requisite skills for technical positions taking into cognizance that affirmative action is not geared towards jettisoning quality for quantity.
Mrs. Yemi-Esan underscored the need for present and aspiring female industry professionals to pursue technically-inclined disciplines, which will, in turn, expose them to better opportunities in the oil and gas industry.
She assured of the commitment and collaboration of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to facilitate the formulation of gender smart policies as well as supporting relevant Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in gathering reliable women specific data for the industry.
“We will also uphold gender-responsible budgeting through the expansion of gender desks, which are targeted at ensuring the inclusion of women and girls in their respective activities,” she said.
In her goodwill message, the Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala-Usman, charged career women to define themselves around capacity and capability and not just because they are women. “When you get there, you must prove that you are capable,” she said.
She charged persons in authority to mentor young girls and accommodate the needs of young working mums, so they can remain in employment and gain needed experience and competences that will position them for promotion into executive positions years later.
“You need to give a long rope to the mum that doesn’t come to work because her child was vaccinated or has to attend a school function for her child,” she said.
The workshop featured three panel discussions on key success factors for female corporate executives and entrepreneurs in oil and gas industry; partnerships, programmes and structures for women in the oil and gas industry and overcoming barriers to career progression and mentoring the next generation.
Leave a Reply