- Women in the energy sector faced barriers to employment, leadership and others, and breaking the barrier of inequality would be ineffective without the government’s active participation in promoting policy initiatives.
- Women own 20 per cent of the industry; and are just about seven percent at the leadership level.
Sen. Margery Okadigbo, Board Chairman, Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has emphasised the need to promote gender equality in the energy sector, given its vast benefits. She made this known on Wednesday in Abuja at the commemoration of International Women’s Day by the Women in Energy, Oil and Gas (WEOG) in Nigeria with the theme “The Limitless Woman: Leveraging Innovation and Technology”.
The event in collaboration with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Women Commission, Kaduna Zone, was hosted by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF). She said aggressive capacity building for women who specialised in technical skills, especially in view of the energy transition, should be a priority to change the narrative. Okadigbo stated that globally, women in the energy sector faced barriers to employment, leadership and others, and breaking the barrier of inequality would be ineffective without active government participation in promoting policy initiatives.
Dr Oladunni Owo, National President, WEOG, said March had been designated the month to celebrate womanhood. Hence, its celebration aligned with the tenets of the United Nations women. Owo said it organised the event to advance women’s empowerment and recognise their contribution to the oil and gas industry in commemorating Women’s Day globally. She noted, “According to statistics, currently, women own 20 per cent of the industry, and at the leadership level, we are just about seven percent, which is one of the reasons why we had to form the association five years ago. It aims at mainstreaming women into the industry both as employees and as business owners to cut across the value chain of the energy oil and gas space”. She said that based on its urge to have the voice of women in the Nigeria local content space, it was collaborating with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on an advocacy document, which entailed formulating a sectorial working group. She also commended the PTDF on its reach out for scholarships for qualified Nigerians in master’s and doctorate degrees.
She added, “And I know that PTDF strongly concentrates on women. After this event, we would find a way to strengthen that relationship to take it to the next level, especially from the grassroots.”