The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Nigeria says women and girls empowerment is essential to expand economic growth and promote social development.
Mrs Bolanle Olumeko, the Knowledge Management Assistant at UNIC, Nigeria, made this known on Tuesday at a boot camp programme organised for girls by the Women Technology Empowerment Centre (WTEC) in Lagos.
Olumeko said that women’s empowerment was all about equipping and allowing women to make life-determining decisions through different problems in society.
“Women and girls represent half of the world’s population, and also half of its potential. Currently, gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates social progress.
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“Gender equality is a fundamental human right and advancing it is critical to all areas of a healthy society.
“Equality will reduce poverty, promote health education, protection and wellbeing of both girls and boys,” she said.
Olumeko said that women and girls’ economic empowerment boosts productivity, increases economic diversification and income equality in addition to other positive development outcomes.
She said that empowering women to participate equally in the global economy would make a tremendous impact on the nation’s GDP.
Olumeko said that parents should invest more in girl-child education instead of giving them up for marriage at an early age.
“The female child should be encouraged to stay in school so that in future they can contribute to the growth of the country.
“As of 2014, 143 countries have guaranteed equality between men and women in their constitution, but 52 other countries have yet to take this step,” Olumeko said.
She urged girls and women to be innovative by thinking outside the box so that they could solve life situation problems.
Also, Mrs Oreoluwa Lesi, the Chief Executive Officer, W.TEC, said that the company was established in 2008 as an NGO to bridge the gender inequality gap between boys and girls.
Lesi said that the organisation had since inception trained girls on STEM-related courses, to boost their technological skills.
“We have trained over 27,000 girls and women through our tech camps, after school classes and other programmes.
“Through the training we give them, they were able to apply the digital skills learnt to boost businesses.
“They have also shown enhanced leadership skills, creativity, problem-solving and communication abilities as a result of attending our camp and after school programmes,” she said.
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