๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด-๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ฎ% ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป?
Women account for just 28% of engineering graduates and 40% of computer science graduates, a mere 11% are women in the National Council on Health in Nigeria. Women constitute 70% of the global health workforce, yet they hold only 25% of leadership roles in the health sector (Nigeria Health Watch 2020; Women in Global Health [WGH], 2023).
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๐ง๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐, ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ช๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ (๐๐๐ช๐๐ฆ), ๐๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ . ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐๐ฏ๐๐ท๐ฎ, ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ณ๐๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฟ๐น๐. As we join the world in marking the 10th anniversary of IDWGS, ๐น๐ฒ๐โ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ผ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐, ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ปโ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ .
This yearโs IDWGS theme, โ๐จ๐ป๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐: ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฉ๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ,โ calls for action to break stereotypes, promote role models, and ensure inclusive environments through policies that champion inclusion, diversity, and equity. As UN Secretary-General Antรณnio Guterres aptly stated, โ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ช๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ช๐๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ช๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ก๐ก.โ Yet, systemic barriers persist.
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๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐, ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ , ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ. We call on governments, institutions, and industries to create environments that empower women and girls in science, ensuring a future driven by diversity, innovation, and progress.