W.TEC, YiSHDA Urges Young Girls to Bridge Gender Divide Through STEM
By Mustapha Salisu
A non-profit organization, Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) in collaboration with Youth Initiative for Sustainable Human Development in Africa (YiSHDA), has called on young girls and women in Kano State to embrace Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) as a pathway to bridging the gender digital divide in Nigeria’s engineering sector.
This call was made on Thursday while commemorating the 2025 International Day of Women and Girls in Science at New Girls Science and Technical College, Kano.
Speaking to Journalists at the event, Mr. Moses Agbara, Director of Programs at the Youth Initiative for Sustainable Human Development in Africa (YiSHDA), emphasized that the initiative aims to promote gender balance in STEM participation among young girls and women.
This year’s theme, “Charting Her Path: Exploring Exciting Careers in STEM,” attracted 100 girls from New GSTC. As Mr. Agbara highlighted that the theme seeks to inspire young girls to recognize that STEM is not an exclusive field and that they, too, can excel in it.
“STEM is not meant for one gender (male) alone. We need female engineers to ensure gender inclusivity in the engineering and technology sectors, including technological product design and advancement,”
“We are here today to inspire the next generation of female engineers, assuring them of our support to succeed in this field” Agbara stated.
Also speaking, Mr. Lesley Tarabina, Curriculum Development Coordinator at W.TEC, noted that his organization is committed to empowering young girls and women in STEM, encouraging them to consider it as a future career path.
“We know that not everyone will study STEM academically, but at the very least, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics can be used to advance their businesses and careers,”
“We need more girls in this category to bridge the gender gap in STEM” he said.
Speaking earlier, the Director of New Girls Science and Technical College, Kano, Malama Sadika Abdullahi, expressed her delight and appreciation to both organizations for hosting the event at her school.
She noted that such initiatives motivate students to engage in science and technology subjects, addressing male dominance in these fields.
“I am pleased to see more girls participating in science and technology-related fields such as medicine, engineering, and mathematics. Something that was not common before,” she added.
The event featured a hands-on training session where students, grouped in teams of ten, built rechargeable lamps using plates, plastic, wires, and LED lights, followed by a creative showcase in which first-place winners received wireless headphones each, second-place winners were awarded branded school bags each, and the school management was presented with Arduino kits, flasks and other items as a token of appreciation from W.TEC.
