Women in Oil and Gas Advocate Inclusion for Economic Growth
As part of the celebration of International Women’s Day, the Women in Energy, Oil and Gas (WEOG) has called for better inclusion of women in the industry to foster growth in the Nigerian economy.
WEOG, during its Strategic Women in Energy, Oil and Gas Leadership Summit and Awards programme held in Lagos, emphasised the need for more support for the female folk.
In her speech, the National President of WEOG, Dr Oladunni Owo stated that investment in women will bring about progress not regress.
Owo said WOEG was birthed to close the gender gap in the sector, the energy poverty gap and the natural resources gap which influences the economy.
She said, “We all know that Energy, Oil and Gas are critical to Nigeria because oil and gas are part of the key resources driving our nation’s economy. We have three major gaps we intend to close— the gender gap, and the energy poverty gap to meet the energy supplied needs once this is fixed, the nation will be 70% fixed as there would be more production. Just like the word– Let there be light. As soon as the light comes, every other thing takes form. It’s our way of fostering lightening up Nigeria.
“Also, we aim at closing the huge gap between the volume of the Natural resources the nation is blessed with vis a vis the economic effects, transformational effects on the people and other resources. We are blessed with so many resources but it is not transforming our human resources. There is a huge economic gap. Other countries maximizing their oil and gas don’t have two heads. We want Nigeria to do better.”
“The theme of this year’s IWD celebration is Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress” with the hashtag, Inspire Inclusion. The objective of the walk is to let people know that when they invest in women, daughter, women in your organisation and across the world, it will bring progress not regress,” the Oil and Gas entrepreneur noted.
On her part, the keynote speaker at the event, Mrs. Uju Ifejika, the chairman of Britiana U Group urged the women in the oil and gas sector to be creative and focused as the industry is a competitive one with much regard for the men.
Ifejika charged the government to create financial capacity for women who have genuine business in mind for the actualisation.
In her words, “When you involve women, poverty will be reduced in the family and nation. Increase funding for women and include them in the digital world.”
However, Mrs. Lucy Onoriode Okeke who is the Chairperson IWD 2024 Southwest and Chapter Secretary WEOG called on the women in the energy sector to take a moment to reflect on the inspiring conversations, insights, and connections made throughout the time of International Women’s Day
According to her ‘’Together, we’ve celebrated the remarkable achievements of women in the energy sector, from breaking barriers to leading innovation. We’ve highlighted the importance of diversity and inclusion in driving industry growth and sustainability.