Techy girl calls for inclusion of more women in ICT

Ms. Eyitayo Alimi, a lady who has chosen a career in a mainly male dominated profession of Information Technology, IT, has relived how she was able to break into the profession and has called out for more women to venture into the profession NEWSVERGE presents her amazing story;

Eyitayo Alimi

For a long time now, women’s inclusion in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) has been a mirage given that most parents want their female children to be Medical Doctors even resorting to forcing and bullying the children.

With this trend, how is it possible to get young girls to study STEM related subjects? Alimi explained how she was able to achieve her dream

‘When I was a child, I wanted to be a Medical Doctor; a surgeon at that, this is the dream of every young child that most parents would love to support, my parents were not excluded, so they prepared the ground for me to be what I wanted to be.

To water my interest, I watched educational Sci-fi (Science Fiction) and Sci-tech documentaries, cartoons and programs.

‘Then one morning, out of the blues; I stopped wanting to be a surgeon’ she said.

Tracing how the journey into the world of engineering began she revealed how she broke the news to her dad who incidentally was an Electrical/Civil Engineer.

“Daddy, I want to be an Engineer; a Computer Engineer and he was like oh really?

My parents gave me all their full support, just like they did to my other siblings. My mum (An educationist) made sure I read extra hours- thanks to the “no friend to visit” area I grew up in. So when I was not watching ”tee-vee” I was either studying or you got served! My Dad, on his part exposed me to more Engineering manuals from his office and more Sci-Engine audio-visual.

Speaking on how her parents supported her dreams, she revealed that their focus on her was on her extra-curricular activities.

‘I get a reward for constructing something new from primary science, to intro tech, then to physics and chemistry. I get accolades for formulating “improvising formulas” I could remember in primary school I invented a local polish, hair cream, scouring powder and a couple of home supplies. Right there at home without external sources’

I also indulged myself in scattering and “pulling down” the house to build up my workshops and office complexes (Made from the chairs and tables meant for visitors at the court yard), started braiding my hair myself, and weird stuffs like that and lest I forget, I asked too many questions. Sometimes too many for answers and often times too much for my age, at least than an adult could bear, this must have been responsible for the “questioneering” attitude that earned me the most inquisitive as one of my awards from my undergraduate days.

Fast forward, now a Graduate of Computer Engineering (and please don’t ask me, the class of degree but be sure it’s not first) with a hand full of certificates, I am grateful to God Almighty who granted me the opportunity to study a course I wanted , not a course someone else wanted. I am also happy because my mini and main school projects (Bio medical Engineering and Biometrics security/Identification) ended up in medicine; my first love.

I have been doing ICT for over eight years and worked in different places where I have been the only Lady in the I.T department up until when I was the deputy team lead and when I rose to the position of Head of IT / Digital Media department, the only Lady I still am. That was when I got pregnant!

Speaking on the challenges she faced in the course of doing what she loves; ‘It could be quite challenging especially when my team members are married men and some old enough to be my Uncle but, I still have to manage the team anyways. My job must be done by no one but me. My bosses at each point of my career have showed great love, support and bolster my courage to forge ahead in my chosen career.

From words of encouragement to recommendations for higher things and absolute trust in my sense of judgement even in issues that had nothing to do with work, my bosses have been supportive and I am so honoured to have them all the way.

‘Back to the present; neither with virtual nor augmented reality; those are projects I am researching and working on at the moment.

You will agree that my love for technology did not begin now neither did I just become Tech Woman overnight, I gradually grew from a TECHY GIRL at age 5 to studying STEM subjects in elementary school up until college years and as a teenager who ended up studying a STEM Course at the tertiary level, do not forget that my polish inventions, the “sci-fi , sci-engine and sci-tech” audio visuals, the office complexes and workshop, the  Engineer magazines from my Dad’s office and all the wired stuvs are symptoms (in my own case) of a TECHYGIRL.

Offering her advice to parents, she said parents should neither discourage them when they do some ‘weird stuffs’

‘Remember, I did weird or wild things including turning the furniture at the Court Yard to my office complexes and workshops, those are nothing compared to the ”weird atrocities” committed at home, in the making of this techy girl.

‘Please don’t stop your weird children, understudy and encourage them. Show them love and support. You may think they’ve got a hype- it’s okay because my parents thought so too, until the Doctor told them I was okay. You may have the greatest inventor of this generation in your home. On a lighter note; you can also send them over to me for mentoring’ she concluded.