It is estimated that less than 10 percent of engineering posts are occupied by women in Africa, states the Royal Academy of Engineering.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Academy Thursday to commemorate the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Engineering Day 2021.
It also noted in the statement that as part of its goal to promote the use of renewable energy, it awarded the sum of £3.5 million to 13 countries in Africa.
One such recipient of the fund is the University of Abuja’s Engineering department through a project titled, ‘Renewable energy utilization: Accelerating diffusion of solar power systems’.
A new awardee of the HEPSSA programme, the University of Abuja, in a project titled “Renewable energy utilization: Accelerating diffusion of solar power systems”, seeks to address the problem of access to affordable and clean energy with a view to enable accelerated diffusion solar power systems.”
The goal, according to a member of the Academy, Nigerian-born Engineer Yewande Akinola MBE, is to create a framework that will bring about “lasting change”.
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She said, “While we see immediate improvements in skills and innovation through these programmes, the real win is establishing a framework for lasting change. This will equip communities in Africa to anticipate and plan for the challenges posed by climate change, urbanisation and economic development. The continent is transforming rapidly, and those engineering its future need the skills to think on their feet.
“By developing strong alliances between local partners in sub-Saharan Africa and the UK, we can enable learning, collaboration and sharing of best practice, which in turn will build skills to boost innovation. But there is much more to be done, which needs the continued support of investors and partners.
“It is estimated that fewer than 10% of engineering posts in Africa are currently occupied by women. GCRF Africa Catalyst has worked with Women in Engineering (WomEng) to promote gender diversity across a wide spectrum of professional experience.
“WomEng’s work with Eswatini’s Registration Council for Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Allied Professionals has resulted in seven registered female members where they initially had none. A HEP SSA project with the Institute of Engineers Rwanda also helped to increase the number of female internship applicants from 5% to 2018 to 25% in 2019.”
