Women engineers have advocated the need to conserve energy and adhere to a sustainable housing policy to grow the economy.
At the fifth National Conference and 30th anniversary of the association held in Lagos last week, President of the Association of Professional Women Engineers (APWEN), Mrs Olayinka Abdul, said the association has come far from six members 30 years ago to over 1,500 members.
Mrs Abdul said the conference centred on how women can live in sustainable houses and also conserve energy.
She criticised people who leave their bulbs on till late in the afternoons, wasting electricity which is not in the right quantum. Mrs Abdul said APWEN was canvassing proper conservation of energy resources as change agents.
Speaking on the theme Energy conservation and sustainable housing in a growing economy, she called on the government to encourage research on the material usage that will bring down the cost of housing.
The founding president of the association, Mrs Olu Maduka, praised how far the association has gone from what it used be 30 years when she put out the first advertisement in the newspaper asking women engineers to come together and encourage one another.
Mrs Maduka said it was difficult to work as a woman engineer in those days but noted the story is different today as many women engineers are in top positions across the country.
In her contribution, the chairman, conference planning committee, Mrs Patricia Opene-Odili also stressed on the need for people to manage their electricity supply sustainably and decried wasting by those who leave their lights on even when not in use. She said the conference would also explore ways to encourage government to build affordable housing for the majority of the people.
Speaking on The role of women engineers in our society’ Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Mr Ganiyu Abiodun Johnson called for an improvement in opportunities available to women engineers within the nation.
He stated that though there had been a number of women engineers who had held top level position in engineering jobs, there is a general lack of access due to the perception that the engineering profession is gender sensitive.
Johnson disclosed that women generally are under-represented in education especially in science and technology and therefore calls for urgent attention. He attributed this to the fact that women are not well represented in the field of science and technology as a result of lack of interest in the fields due to calculations involved. However, he said that present generation has changed the perception by aggressively taking up challenges in new science and technology.
He disclosed that less than 30 per cent of career women get to the peak due to gender discrimination. He, therefore, urged the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) to rise up with one voice against discrimination with the support of legislation.
Saying that lack of access is not peculiar to Nigerian women engineers, Johnson noted that factors such as societal gender assumptions, objective and organisation of education and practice of science and technology accounts for the situation.
He challenged APWEN to evolve strategies that will improve access for women engineers and also actions that will encourage women engineers in training to effectively challenge them for their rightful place in their profession.
Johnson also suggested role modeling as a possible option for APWEN. He asserted, “Women engineers are a wonderful untapped resource, and by bringing more visibility to them. It will inspire young girls to become engineers.”
The Special Adviser further listed the areas of focus for APWEN’s action to include teachers’ attitude to girls in science, a new guidance and counseling role biased towards girls and science education, public enlightenment and a legislation preventing discrimination in hiring practices.
