CITAD Celebrates Inter’nal girls-in-ICT Day, says gender gap unacceptable

In commemoration of 2023 girls inInternational Girls-in-ICT Day, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), on Tuesday organized a sensitization lecture on the Importance of ICT Skills In Girl-child for Development.

Observed in more than 166 countries across the globe, the Day, is an initiative of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the International Girls-in-ICT Day was backed by all ITU members.

The Day is aimed at creating a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

Speaking at the event held at Kano, the Center’s Executive Director, represented by Malam Ibrahim Nuhu, said CITAD exposes participants to the various career opportunities available in the ICT sector, in addition to encouraging them to explore the vast opportunities in the ICT sector.

Nuhu told the participants who were drawn from different communities in Kano that the world now revolved around ICT and that the future holds countless promises for them should they go into the ICT sector.

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In her presentation, CITAD Gender Officer Zainab Aminu, said significant progress has been achieved with increasing the participation of girls in ICT, adding that the gender gap in ICT remains unacceptable with representation continuing to be disproportionately higher for males than their female counterparts according to the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS).

Zainab, expressed concern that the gap was even wider in Nigeria, relative to countries like Ghana and South Africa. She reaffirmed that investment in early ICT education, affirmative action on the hiring of women in STEM, and reorientation to change the sociocultural beliefs and practices that deter women’s participation in STEM, as approaches that should be explored to reduce this gap.

Participants expressed their appreciation for CITAD for its continuous support for the Girls in ICT initiative and commended the sensitization lecture which will provide an opportunity for them to gain a first-hand experience of working in the ICT sector.