The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) has advocated for a gender-inclusive curricula to boost girls’ participation in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
A former APWEN President, Dr Felicia Agubata, made the call on Sunday while delivering a keynote speech at the hybrid APWEN Insight Series in Ibadan.
The series is titled, “Women and Girls in Science and Engineering: Building the Future Pipeline”.
The event, which commemorated the 2026 International Day for Women and Girls in Science, is aimed to advocate for strong policy, regulation, and leadership accountability for improved education access.
Agubata, therefore, emphasised the need for policies that would create structural foundations for equity, fund scholarships, girls’ STEM camps, and teacher training to combat stereotypes early.
According to her, implementing anti-discrimination laws will strengthen penalties for workplace harassment, bias in hiring, and promotion gaps against women.
“We must amend the National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy to include gender quotas in STEM grants.
“There is also an urgent need for the passage of a STEM Equity Act requiring universities and tech firms to report gender data annually”.
Agubata, a Fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), highlighted the need for a revamped STEM education at the foundational level, adding that many Nigerian students lacked access to quality STEM education, especially in rural areas.
She emphasised the importance of equipping schools with modern science laboratories, digital tools, and internet access to bridge the digital divide.
“As a professional body, we need to introduce hands-on, project-based learning in primary and secondary schools to make STEM subjects engaging and practical.
“The government must also equip schools with modern science labs, digital tools, and internet access,” she said.
Agubata called for increased partnerships between tech companies, NGOs, and APWEN to provide mentorship programmes, STEM clubs, and extracurricular activities.
She lamented that Nigeria’s STEM research and development ecosystem is suffering from underfunding, inadequate infrastructure, and limited collaboration between academia, industry, and government.
She also called for grant programmes and scholarships for students and researchers to pursue STEM fields, especially in underrepresented areas.
According to Agubata, women and girls are significantly underrepresented in STEM fields in Nigeria due to cultural biases, lack of role models, and limited support systems.
She called for nationwide campaigns to challenge stereotypes and encourage girls to pursue STEM careers.
“Senior women engineers have a unique opportunity and responsibility to mentor and sponsor the next generation by sharing their knowledge, opening doors, and advocating for inclusivity, transforming the engineering field into a more diverse, equitable, and innovative space.
“Entry, retention, and leadership are co-important in ensuring a sustainable STEM conveyor belt for the girl-child. Retention is a critical success factor.
“We must encourage STEM enthusiasts to stick with the profession and make good their training instead of migrating to other areas in search of opportunities,” Agubata.
Earlier, the APWEN President, Chinyere Igwegbe, while declaring the event open, said that it would require a conceptualised sustainable plan to build the future population of the STEM filed.
She said: “Building the future pipeline – goes beyond enrollment numbers, involving conceptualizing a sustainable conveyor belt that would populate the STEM field, ultimately the engineering field.
“It starts with enrollment, retention, and nurturing impactful leadership”.
