The coordinator, Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World, Umudike branch, Prof Mabel Onwuka has urged Nigerian women to show resilience and steadfastness in their chosen careers.
Onwuka gave the charge yesterday while speaking at a seminar/quarterly general meeting of the branch in Umudike, Abia State.
She argued that with determination and focus, women have the capacity to make indelible marks in their chosen field of science and still manage their homes effectively.
“Available records indicate that women make up only 34 per cent of the workforce in Science, Technology and Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), while men vastly out-number women in the study of science,” she said.
Onwuka who expressed worry over the ratio, assured that the branch would use everything at its disposal to assist women achieve greatness in all spheres of their lives.
“We will continuously collaborate with relevant bodies and government agencies to address the inequalities impeding women and girls in the study of science.”
In a lecture, the director, Peri-urban Agricultural System of the National Roots Crops Research Institute, Umudike, Dr Helen Anyagbunam decried the exclusion of women and girls in the study of science due to gender biases.
Expressing worry that women and girls lack equal access to education, technologies and leadership positions, she noted that the development had steered many of them away from STEM careers and stalled their progress.
Anyagbunam, however, maintained that despite the setbacks, creative and tenacious women and girls are pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge to seek solutions to everyday global challenges.
Similarly, the national coordinator/chairperson of the organisation, Prof Olayinka Nwachukwu extolled the branch for organising the seminar and implored women to engage a support system to enable them create a work-life balance.
“No woman in the field of science could succeed without a support group. It is either your research work or your home will suffer or even both, and that is why you need such support to excel,” she added.