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Women have made significant strides in the technology industry in recent years, but there is still a significant gender gap in the field. Studies have shown that women are underrepresented in leadership positions and in technical roles within the industry.

However, there are many women who have broken barriers and achieved success in the tech industry, such as; Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, Reshma Saujani, Founder of Girls Who Code, Tracy Chou, software engineer and diversity advocate, Erica Baker, Principal Engineer at Microsoft and others.

These women, and many others like them, have made significant contributions to the industry and have worked to create more opportunities for other women in technology.

They have been vocal about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the tech industry, and have worked to create more inclusive and equitable workplaces.

In this interview with Newspread, Miss Ebere Eucharia Nomeh and Miss Rebekah Aranuwa both share their thoughts on women’s involvement in the tech industry and their experiences as women in tech.

Question : May we meet you?

EBERE: My name is Ebere Eucharia Nomeh. I am a technical support manager at Tek Experts.
REBEKAH: I am Rebekah Aranuwa and I’m an oracle financial and SCM consultant at Soft Alliance Ltd. I am also an aspiring data analyst.

Question: What is the level of involvement of women in the tech space?

EBERE: Women involvement in the tech space is low. One in ten of tech personnel is female. Currently in a team of 20, I only have two females.
REBEKAH: I also think the level is super low. For me, where I work, I am the only lady in my team. Although, in the bigger team, there are a number of ladies but compared to the ratio of men, the level is very low.

Question: Who are some of the women making impact in that sector?

EBERE: Good thing is we have lots of women making impact in this space. For example, we have Oluwatobi Otokiti, the CEO of ProductDive. She is remarkable. She has shown women that you can be a wife and mother while soaring in your career.
REBEKAH: Well, I can’t name any big names off the top of my head but I have a couple of female friends who are really into tech. One of them, Omotola Olaleye, studied microbiology in the university but at the moment, she is a software tester. Another is Anjola Olakanmi. She was a pharmacist but now, she is a big-time tech sis. I am also aware that there are super amazing ladies who are killing it out there in the tech world.

Question: As a woman in tech, are you happy with your choice of career?

EBERE: I am excited about my career. I don’t see myself being something else
REBEKAH: I am not fully into tech yet, but I love what I do. I like the fact that I can do a whole lot of other things while working as a tech sis, so, yes, I love it.

Question : Do you ever struggle with confidence working in a majorly male-dominated industry?

EBERE: The fact about this space is that whoever has the knowledge rules. Knowledge is not gender biased. I have over fifteen males reporting to me and I have never lost my confidence while relating with them. As far as you are in the role because you know what you are doing, you have the respect of all the genders. Personally, I have flourished even more.
REBEKAH: I have never struggled with confidence and I think I owe this to the kind of person I am. To me, it is not a big deal, although I wish there were more ladies to balance out the ratio to guys, but no, I have never struggled with confidence.

Question: As a sector that is open for exploitation independent of work environment, can we say male chauvinism has been downplayed so far in that space in Nigeria?

EBERE: I would say the sector was “originally a masculine sector” as the clock runs 24hours no pause. No pause for periods, no pause for babies. However, with women who by knowledge gained their place, a lot of changes accommodating women peculiarities have been put in place. Remember that in this space knowledge is king and knowledge is not gender biased.
REBEKAH: In my opinion, I do not think there has ever been chauvinism in the tech industry. I think many ladies are just not interested, because if a lady is interested, no one holds her back. So, I do not think it is a thing.

Question: How do you think women in tech can successfully balance work and life?

EBERE: Balance is determined by what is top priority for you at a time. At the start of a new role, you may have to do extra time to learn and master the role. Some other time you may be leading a time sensitive project and this might be the priority at the time.

The question to self is this, how to you make the most of the time outside of the work or project. The clock runs 24/7. A tech woman must apportion time to work and time to life. My point is this, to have a balance, you must deliberately create time for family, friends, relatives and other things that interest you. Have a chart. Keep a journal, plan to do those other things in your life otherwise, your work becomes everything.
Unfortunately, break ups are common with Tech women because we don’t always have time for our partners. Hence, from the get go define work time and let it be work time. Define family time and let it be family time. You might get opportunities that pay so much but before accepting it, check the flexibility it offers you. Also, introspect and assess how you are going so as to identify when you are off balance.

REBEKAH: The advent of remote jobs since the pandemic has been the best thing ever. The fact that I can take care of my family while working in the comfort of my home. Although not all organizations are open to that, but for the major ones, especially in the tech industry, there is an opportunity for you to work from the comfort of your home. So, work and life balance has been made easier, except in organizations where there is so much work pressure.

Question: What is the future of women in tech in Nigeria and how would more younger women get involved?

EBERE: The future for women in tech is enormous but we must catch them young. Sensitization should start at primary school level. Computer studies should be revised and children should be introduced to coding early enough. They should be taught the automation mindset of building things to do stuffs on your behalf. They have fun doing it and it stimulates their minds.
REBEKAH: I believe there are many platforms opened up for women by so many companies to make them see that there are opportunities out there for women to be fully involved in tech. I think the future of women in tech is super promising as long as women take these opportunities they have and make good use of it. I think it is very promising.

Efforts have been made to address the gender gap in tech, through initiatives like mentorship programs, scholarships, and targeted recruitment efforts. Some companies have also made internal changes to improve the representation of women and other underrepresented groups at all levels of the organization.
It is important to continue these efforts to increase the representation of women in the tech industry and create a more inclusive and equitable environment for all.