The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) has called for policies that will bridge gender gaps and create an enabling environment for women engineers to thrive, foster innovation and contribute more effectively to national infrastructure development.

APWEN President, Chinyere Igwegbe, made the call at the maiden Lagos Engineering Summit, inauguration of the 11th chapter’s chairman, a book launch and an award ceremony organised by the association’s Lagos chapter.

Igwegbe said significant gaps persisted in the engineering profession, particularly in the recruitment and retention of women, access to mentorship and funding, and policies to protect and promote women’s participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

“We are declaring that it is time to bridge these divides. This summit provides a conceptual platform to strategise on creating the environment necessary for women engineers, not just to survive, but to thrive,” she said.

Igwegbe said building a legacy involved not only individual career achievements but also creating opportunities for younger engineers to develop their innovations and contribute to the growth of the STEM movement.

She charged the newly inaugurated leaders to work as a team, promote gender diversity in engineering teams, mentor young graduates and support innovative ideas.

She also called for continued support for policies and infrastructure projects that would enable women to participate fully in the engineering profession, adding that APWEN was ready to partner with organisations that shared its vision.

The new Chairman of APWEN Lagos Chapter, Mrs Bosede Oyekunle, said her executive would deepen efforts to “bridge gaps and build legacies” in the engineering profession.

“I count it a great privilege to be on this leadership pipeline, which gives us the room to encourage innovation, creativity and human development and build more pipelines of female engineers. We will institutionalise continuity in growth and development,” she said.

Oyekunle said the chapter would focus on increasing the number of STEM teachers in primary schools and equipping them with better approaches to teaching science. “We’re going back to equipping them on how to better domesticate the teaching of sciences and make it interesting for generations of young children,” she said.

She also urged professional women engineers to pursue career advancement, obtain additional certifications and take up positions in corporate boardrooms and other decision-making platforms.

“For professional women engineers, we’re encouraging them to get to the peak of their careers, get more certifications, be in boardrooms and be part of the stakeholders where decisions, legacies and policies that make an impact for Nigeria to become a sustainable economy are decided,” Oyekunle added.

The keynote speaker and Executive Director of 1st Magnificent Energy Ltd, Rotimi Adefarasin, said Nigeria needed to move beyond an education system focused largely on theory and place greater emphasis on practical applications of knowledge.

He also urged women engineers to develop competence in artificial intelligence, describing AI skills as an area in which they could build capacity and remain competitive.

The founding President of APWEN, Mrs Joana Maduka, urged the new leadership to promote inclusivity across the profession. “When we were starting, women were not allowed to go offshore in the oil industry,” Maduka said.

She noted that the situation had gradually changed, with women now participating in deep-sea operations and other areas of engineering. “We want to encourage more girls to come into engineering fields,” she added.

Earlier, the outgoing Chairman, Dr Atinuke Owolabi, said her administration recorded more than 50 per cent growth in membership and created additional opportunities for women engineers, particularly young professionals, to participate in professional development.

She urged the new leadership to build on the achievements and deepen the vision and mission of APWEN.