Categories: Business

Oil & gas: Women took meagre 10,400 of over 57,000 employments in 3yrs —Report

Published by

3 years ago

Despite various calls for gender parity, especially the 35 percent affirmative action for women in leadership positions, data has shown that women are still underrepresented in key sectors especially in the energy industry. ADETOLA BADEMOSI, in this piece, used data to reveal the level of disparity among other causal factors.

OUT of 57,388 employments in the oil and gas sector between 2018 and 2020, a report by industry transparency watcher showed that women took only 10,448, representing 18 percent of total recruitments in the period.

This brings concerns about gender inclusiveness and parity in the sector.

A three-year oil and gas audit report of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) revealed that in 2018, 2019 and 2020, 19,820, 18,856 and 18,712 persons were hired, respectively.

Further breakdown shows that in 2018, women took 3,595 of the total employment at various levels, while 16,225 went to men. In 2019, only 3,407 women were employed compared to 15,449 men. Also, in 2020, a total of 3,446 females were engaged while their male counterparts had 15,266.

A look at the three years trend revealed that only 18 percent employment space was given to women for each of the years under review as indicated in the NEITI report.

Again, findings showed that out of 10,448 female recruitment in the years being reviewed, only 2,276 women clinched top level positions.

This speaks to the persistently low representation of women in the oil and gas sector, a situation experts blame on factors such as bias, social norms and expectations that influence quality of education they receive, and the disparity between men and women in STEM education, among others.

With women constantly struggling to achieve ample representation in the densely male-dominated industry, making headway in the especially technical aspect of the industry despite their (women) potentials has remained a herculean task.

FG appointments fail gender parity test

Like Malala Yousafzai would say, “…we cannot succeed when half of us are held back,” data independently gathered, showed that women hardly take up top positions in the sector fueling pay gaps among their male counterparts.

Apart from the private sector, findings showed that even in the public sector, women are rarely appointed as head of the sector’s Ministry, Departments and Agencies in over two decades. For instance, since inception, only one female – Mrs Deziani Alison-Madueke – has ever been a Minister for Petroleum Resources. Madueke had served between 2010 and 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Other key agencies such as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) (formerly DPR), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have all been headed by men, except for the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA), now Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), that once had Mrs Sotonye Oyoyo as its acting Executive Secretary between 2016 and 2018.

A look at Group Managing Director (GMD) appointments in NNPCL showed that from 1999 till date, a total of 11 persons have headed the Corporation (now company). They were all male.

Jackson Gaius Obaseki headed the agency between 1999 and 2003 after which he was succeeded by Funsho Kupolokun who also led the Corporation for another four years (2003 to 2007).

Mr Abubakar Yar’adua took over from Kupolokun in 2007 and served till 2009, when he was succeeded by Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo (late Secretary General of OPEC) who only headed the agency for about a year.

Also, Shehu Ladan took over the mantle of leadership and served shortly as the Corporation’s Group Managing Director (GMD) between April 2010 and May 2010, while Austine Oniwon took over from 2010 to 2012.

Andrew Yakubu and Joseph Dawha served from 2012 to 2014 and 2014 to 2015, respectively and in 2015, Ibe Kachikwu took over and led the NNPC until 2016.

Kachikwu was succeeded by Maikanti Baru who served between 2016 and 2019 until Mele Kyari, the current GMD, now GCEO, took over.

That said, a similar look at the DPR’s (now NUPRC) Directors also revealed that since the tenure of Ben Osuno, in the 80’s, no woman has ever headed the commission.

Looking at the appointments in the last 30 years, Osuno, Jibril Oyekan, Dublin Green, Peter Achebe, Mac Ofurhie, Tony Chukwueke, Aliyu Sanbonbimi, Billy Agha, Andrew Obaje, Osten Olorunshola, George Osahon, Mordecai Ladan, Ahmad Shakur, Sarki Auwalu had led the agency in the past, while Gbenga Komolafe is the current Chief Executive.

These findings, however, cast shadows on the prerequisites used by successive governments in appointments into top positions in the industry.

Even at the management level, the representation of women is most times within the ratio 2:10 as the case may be.

An example is the constitution of the board of NNPCL which was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2022. Although Margret Chuba-Okadigbo is appointed Board Chairman, she is joined with Constance Harry Marshal as a member to make just two females on the board.

This, however is commendable but like always, the appointment showed that women were given only 25 per cent representation on the board.

Women seek flexible work policies

“There is an incorrect perspective that women can’t play in those areas, but they can and do,” says Tengi George-Okoli, Senior Officer, Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI).

Apart from the need to ramp up women skills in the technical aspects of jobs in the sector, George-Okoli also called for flexible work policies to allow them contribute meaningfully to work.

“Society penalises women for the reproductive roles they play in the home. Instead of penalising women, flexible work policies should be put in place to allow women contribute meaningfully in those periods. COVID-19 introduced flexible ways of working that can be adopted,”she added.

On her part, Mrs Faith Nwadishi, convener, Women in Extractives, blamed the menace on culture and tradition which has affected the choice of study for women.

“Society has categorised some sectors as hard sectors while others are soft sectors. Those who did the categorisation feel that it is not a vocation women should go into.

“That is not to say we don’t have women who are qualified, but when it comes to the employment market, you go out for an interview for those courses but they want to choose men over women,” she noted.

However, Nwadishi said to ensure adequate representation of women in the extractive sector, women should be encouraged to take up the “hard courses.”

“Give women the challenge, give them the responsibility and see if we would not deliver,” she stressed.

This story was produced under Dataphyte Data and Development Reporting Fellowship 2022

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

The PDP spokesman recalled how the opposition party had on various occasions alerted that the APC government had ceded sovereignty over a large portion of our country to terrorists, “many of whom were imported into our country by the APC.”

He further stated: “From the video, in a brazen manner, terrorists as non-state actors boldly showed their faces, boasting, admitting and confirming their participation in the Kuje Prison break, some of whom were former prison inmates who were either jailed or awaiting trial for their previous terrorism act against our country.

“Nigerians can equally recall the confession by the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai that the APC government knows the plans and whereabouts of the terrorists but failed to act.

According to Ologunagba, about 18,000 Nigerians have been killed by terrorists between 2020 and 2022 “as the criminals continue to be emboldened by the failures and obvious complicity of the APC and to which the PDP had always drawn attention.”

“This is not politics; this is about humanity and leadership, which leadership sadly and unfortunately is missing in our country at this time,” he said.

The PDP added that it is appalled by “the lame response by the apparently helpless, clueless and deflated Buhari Presidency, wherein it told an agonizing nation that President Buhari “has done all and even more than what was expected of him as Commander in Chief by way of morale, material and equipment support to the military…”

“This is a direct admission of incapacity and failure by the Buhari Presidency and the APC. At such a time, in other climes, the President directly leads the charge and takes drastic measures to rescue and protect his citizens.

“In time of adversity, the President transmutes into Consoler-in-Chief to give hope and succour to the citizens. Painfully, Nigeria does not have a President who cares and can stand as Consoler-in-Chief to the citizens.

“It has now become very imperative for Nigerians to take note and realize that the only solution to this unfortunate situation is to hold the APC government accountable. We must come together as a people, irrespective of our political, ethnic and religious affiliations to resist the fascist-leaning tendencies of the APC administration.

Ologunagba called for an urgent meeting of the National Council of State to advise on the way to go over the nation’s worsening insecurity.

“Our nation must not fall. The resilient Nigerian spirit and ‘can-do- attitude’ must be rekindled by all to prevail on the President to immediately and without further delay, accede to the demand by the PDP and other well-meaning Nigerians to convene a special session of the National Council of State to find a lasting solution since the President has, in his own admission, come to his wit’s end,” the PDP spokesman declared.

Osun Husband Killer Commits Suicide

Latest terrorist video: Presidency has admitted Buhari’s failure ― PDP

Essential Documents You Need When Applying To Study Abroad On Scholarship

Latest terrorist video: Presidency has admitted Buhari’s failure ― PDP