Namibian Society of Engineers celebrates women

NAMIBIA has made major strides in engineering, but should be cognisant of the inequalities female engineering students, graduates and professionals grapple with.

This was said by deputy minister of industrialisation, trade and SME development Lucia Iipumbu at the Namibian Society of Engineers’ Women’s Day event in Windhoek on Friday.

The event, held during International Women’s Month, was attended by female qualified engineers, graduates, students and school pupils.

Iipumbu said by 2015, only around 25% of registered students in the engineering departments of the University of Namibia (Unam) and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) were female.

In 2015, 71 female and 224 male students were registered for engineering studies at Unam.

At Nust, there were 277 female engineering students in comparison to 850 males.

“We can see that the percentage of registration of engineering students is almost the same [across the institutions] and the trend is also similar at NamPower, a validation of high inequality within the engineering industry,” Iipumbu said.

In 2015, NamPower had nine female engineers, forming 25% of the total number of engineers at the company.

“Last year, Dr Francis Smita became the first female president of the Engineering Council of Namibia. This was commendable news and was celebrated by many Namibians as it was another validation that women can take up positions that are usually perceived to be for men,” the deputy minister said.

Iipumbu in conclusion said female engineering graduates would not be “wheelbarrowed” into positions of power for gender balance consideration. Instead, they should be competent enough to take up positions based on merit. – Nampa