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Female engineers in Nigeria are intensifying calls for greater inclusion in leadership roles within the country’s energy and infrastructure sectors, as professional bodies push new strategies aimed at bridging gender gaps and reducing the migration of young technical talent.
The Chairman of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), Victoria Island Chapter, Mrs. Nneamaka Ekechukwu, has unveiled a set of initiatives focused on mentorship, corporate partnerships, and structured talent development to address the persistent underrepresentation of women in senior engineering and project leadership positions.
Speaking during the inauguration of the chapter’s second executive council and a public lecture held in Lagos, with the theme “Global Call to Climate Action,” Ekechukwu noted that although Nigeria produces highly qualified female engineers—including first-class graduates—many are still excluded from high-visibility roles in federal projects and large-scale infrastructure development.
“We need to bring more women to the decision table,” she said, stressing that leadership gaps continue to limit the impact of skilled female professionals in technical sectors.
She attributed part of the challenge to weak professional networks and limited visibility for women in engineering leadership pipelines, calling for a stronger culture of mentorship among female professionals. According to her, experienced engineers must actively support younger colleagues through guidance, advocacy, and career sponsorship.
“We need a ‘pull each other up’ culture,” she said, adding that collaboration rather than competition should define relationships among women in the sector.
Ekechukwu also emphasised the importance of stronger collaboration between male and female engineers, describing male colleagues as “partners in progress” whose support is critical to achieving broader industry transformation. She said inclusive teamwork would help expand opportunities for women to demonstrate competence in technical leadership roles.
A key focus of the association’s new agenda is addressing the growing trend of brain drain among young engineers, many of whom leave Nigeria in search of better opportunities abroad. To counter this, APWEN Victoria Island Chapter is engaging executives of companies operating within Victoria Island and its environs to open entry-level positions for fresh engineering graduates, particularly women.
“We are engaging company executives and telling them we have graduate engineers who are looking for opportunities to showcase their talents,” she said. The initiative, she explained, is aimed at strengthening local talent pipelines that can support national infrastructure development while retaining skilled professionals within the country.
Under her two-year leadership tenure, Ekechukwu said the chapter plans to onboard at least 60 per cent of female engineers working within the Victoria Island axis, many of whom currently operate without strong professional networks despite their expertise. She added that structured mentorship programmes, including outreach sessions in universities such as Pan-Atlantic University, have already shown strong interest from young graduates seeking career guidance.
The association is also aligning its activities with climate change advocacy, recognising its growing impact on engineering design, infrastructure resilience, and long-term sustainability planning. Planned interventions include tree-planting initiatives with local government bodies, reduced paper consumption in operations, and broader environmental awareness campaigns within the engineering community.
Ekechukwu further urged female professionals to adopt more realistic approaches to balancing career and personal responsibilities, noting that success often requires prioritisation rather than attempting to manage all demands simultaneously.
“There is nothing like work-life balance,” she said. “You must take one thing at a time and find time to love yourself.”
Stakeholders say the renewed push by APWEN comes at a critical moment for Nigeria’s energy and construction sectors, where improving gender diversity in leadership and retaining young technical talent are seen as key to enhancing innovation, project delivery, and long-term sectoral growth.
