Gender Bias Limiting Career Advancement For Women Engineers

The president of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), Engr Adebisi Osim, has raised the alarm over gender bias in workplaces, which she alleged limits career advancement opportunities for women in engineering practice.

Adebisi stated that biases create barriers to entry and success in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

APWEN president raised the alarm during the 5-day 2024 International Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association, which kicked off yesterday in Càlabar.

She decried that APWEN has faced several challenges in promoting women in STEM fields this year.
Osim, who spoke on the theme “Engineering Innovations and Energy Security For Sustainable Future,” states that insufficient funding hinders women-led research and calls for all hands to be on deck to support engineering practice.

“We also faced insufficient funding for women-led research as without adequate resources, women engineers struggle to advance their work and make meaningful contributions to the field,” she maintained.

She enumerated another aspect hindering the number of female engineers in the country, including the migration of female engineers to Europe and America, a development Adebisi said leaves only very few women in engineering practice.

She decried the lack of access to STEM education in rural communities, stressing that bridging the gap is crucial for increasing the pipeline of women entering the engineering profession.