NGO advocates mining career for young girls in Nigeria

A non-governmental organization, “Women in Mining, Nigeria, WIMIN said, it was working on the young generation of Nigerian girls to motivate and dispel myths surrounding mining which is a male dominated sector.

The NGO comprise of individuals from diverse backgrounds with women as majority, while men folk are about 2%.

As part of its activities, several steps have been taken by the NGO to schools across 24 States of the Federation as part of implementation of projects which was funded by the Ford Foundation in order for the Nigerian girls to pursue career in mining.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the President of the Women in Mining, Nigeria, Engr. Janet Adeyemi noted that “Girl for Mining”, was launched in order to attract them to the sector.

The programme, she disclosed, was well embraced as six States and over 50 Secondary Schools keyed into it after it was launched on March 8, 2022 with the former Minister of Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development as Chairman.

Engr. Adeyemi revealed that the current membership of WIMIN stood at 4,000 in 24 States with a significant number hailing from the economically disadvantaged backgrounds drawn to the mining sector as a means to escape poverty.

She said:. “Establishing a Women in Mining Association in a male-dominated country with abundant petroleum resources can help promote gender diversity and inclusion, raise awareness about the pivotal role of women in the industry and strive towards achieving gender equality.

“The girls for mining club, G4M, operates within women in mining and promotes knowledge, role models and mentorship to encourage young girls to pursue career in mining.

As part gender mainstreaming in the sector, the Women in Mining Training Institute was also established in 2021 to address knowledge gap in the sector.