Sopuruchi Onwuka

Nigeria’s leading gender equity advocate in the energy industry Women In Energy Network (WIEN), has successfully concluded its activities to market the 2025 International Women’s Day (IWD) with a career fair for the girl children pursuing education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

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The Career Fair which was hosted at the Primary School Hall of the Community Secondary School (CSS), Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, is sequel to a similar STEM fair earlier hosted at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Conference Room in Lagos State.

The Port Harcourt Career Fair which took place at CSS, Rumuomasi, also brought together young girls from three secondary schools including CSS Rumuomasi, CSS Olanada, and CSS Abuloma.

At the Port Harcourt event, just like the Lagos Career Fair, prominent industry professionals and role models committed to mentoring and guiding young girls toward fulfilling careers.

The mentorship is conceived by WIEN to inspire and encourage the young women to pursue exciting career opportunities in STEM, aviation, energy, and in traditionally male-dominated industries.

A key highlight of the day was the STEM-focused essay competition, which challenged the girls to explore the role of STEM in societal development and gender equality.

Three outstanding winners were celebrated with cash prizes and textbooks, reinforcing the importance of education in shaping their future

The Oracle Today reports that the Career Fair events were conceived by WIEN to form key part of its full month programme of activities to market the 2025 IWD planned for the month of March.

Executive Secretary of WIEN, Engr Asanimo Omezi, explains that the Port Harcourt events which were themed “Empowering Dreams: Inspiring the Next Generation of Women Leaders” aligns with the global IWD 2025 theme of “Accelerate Action.”

According to her, both themes which aim to highlight the urgent need to take bold and decisive steps necessary to close gender gaps, remove systemic barriers, and create equal opportunities for young girls.

“Through engaging career talks, mentorship, and interactive sessions, the speakers ignited a spark of ambition in many of the girls, providing them with the knowledge and confidence to pursue careers that can drive change.

“WIEN remains committed to empowering women and girls, taking bold steps to accelerate action and ensure that young girls see no limits to their dreams,” she declared.

It would be noted that WIEN  has been driving gender diversity and inclusion in the leadership of the viable sectors of the domestic economy, arguing vehemently that the nation’s female capacity remains critical in assisting the economy pull back from the precipice.

President of WIEN, Mrs Eyono Fatai-Williams, has consistently rebutted the regular refrain that gender gaps in the leadership of technically inclined industries reflect capacity availability across genders. She attributes the gender imbalance in the leadership of industry in the economy on deep rooted biases, traditional stereotypes and religious restrictions.

She notes that the few women in leadership of the industry have performed excellently, pointing of WIEN members who have performed exceptionally well in industry enterprises and government roles.

To contribute in breaking generational traditions and gender stereotypes that limit women from entering technical fields, WIEN has evolved and driven girl-specific STEM education scholarships, career mentorships, internships and sundry grooming programmes to feed the pipeline of skills that would produce future generation of female professionals and guarantee gender balance in government and corporate leadership boards.