"You can't be what you can't see." - Marian Wright Edelman
Did you know that the first lady engineer in Kenya graduated in 1975 from the University of Nairobi? Since then, 40 years later, the numbers have only grown to 672 women. Simply put, we have on average been adding only 17 female engineers to the workforce every year. That includes ALL registered graduate, professional and consulting female engineers. Statistics show that out of the registered engineers in the country, only 7% are women, despite having 40 approved engineering programmes in Kenya, today! In a country where majority of the 50 million population are women, these numbers are simply unacceptable. (For more of these heart-breaking statistics, check out the Engineers Board of Kenya website.)
It's important to note that there’s probably a significant number of undocumented engineers particularly in the diaspora. However, including them will likely not move that statistic above 10% at best. The obvious benefit to being a member of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) fraternity is with the support of an umbrella body that contributes towards developing the policy framework, we can agitate in a more structured way for inclusion. I would urge all to consider being at least graduate members of this body.
It's important to note that there’s probably a significant number of undocumented engineers particularly in the diaspora. However, including them will likely not move that statistic above 10% at best. The obvious benefit to being a member of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) fraternity is with the support of an umbrella body that contributes towards developing the policy framework, we can agitate in a more structured way for inclusion. I would urge all to consider being at least graduate members of this body.
A recurrent problem in the profession has been a lack of visible role models who have been successful in the sector to encourage others to engage. I find value in exposing children to female engineers early, as early as upper primary and secondary school, to slowly start changing their perception of who we are and what we do. We must deliberately provide avenues for them to recognize that this is an option for everyone just like any other career and freely answer questions on how we got to where we are. We must never underestimate the power of mentorship in shaping a young person’s career and ultimately life. As my parents say, “Mere outrage is simply not enough to make a difference. You must take action to correct that which you deem to be unjust.” I’m glad to note that the challenges of networking and increasing awareness on the sector opportunities are slowly being addressed by the IEK Women Engineer Chapter, launched early this year.
Queengineers is a publication that seeks to engage, entertain, inform and inspire young African girls interested in engineering. We intend to increase the visibility of the much talked about ‘absent’ role models but also provide a voice and community for the 7% already in the sector. We opted to publish online because social movements are currently thriving on the internet as the community of users tends to be wider and more diverse. It is here where we can use our own personal experiences, at a considerably low cost I must add, to start dialogues that can enact change. To be fair, this isn’t simply a Kenyan or even African problem, as evidenced by the motivation behind the famous hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer. As a part of our mission, we hope to grow a large enough community of African women engineers, to run annual conferences and forums and collaborate with all the other amazing groups already working to increase the number of women participating in this field.
Queengineers is a publication that seeks to engage, entertain, inform and inspire young African girls interested in engineering. We intend to increase the visibility of the much talked about ‘absent’ role models but also provide a voice and community for the 7% already in the sector. We opted to publish online because social movements are currently thriving on the internet as the community of users tends to be wider and more diverse. It is here where we can use our own personal experiences, at a considerably low cost I must add, to start dialogues that can enact change. To be fair, this isn’t simply a Kenyan or even African problem, as evidenced by the motivation behind the famous hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer. As a part of our mission, we hope to grow a large enough community of African women engineers, to run annual conferences and forums and collaborate with all the other amazing groups already working to increase the number of women participating in this field.
2016 was certainly the year of moving from words to action. I salute all who are deliberately taking action, however small to improve the representation of women. Whenever we witness an instance of exclusion such as all-male panels or manels as we refer to them in Kenya, it is our responsibility to flag for people that they missed a step, and that whether or not it was on purpose, that’s a problem. No one will simply hand over their platform or position of privilege to a woman because she is a woman. Not even a woman would do that. We must bring tangible value to the table. Then we must continue to point out LOUDLY the fact that we do, indeed, add value and therefore must be recognized for it! I choose to make my contribution by using my voice, influence and platforms to tell our stories. I invite you to help spread the word and help us redefine “what an engineer should look like”. Feel free to circulate it within your circles, print out and donate a copy to a secondary school near you, or use it as a mentorship tool! Welcome to the world of Queengineers!
Martha Wakoli is an electrical engineer, founder and curator of this blog and the owner of the crazy idea behind Queengineers.
Martha Wakoli is an electrical engineer, founder and curator of this blog and the owner of the crazy idea behind Queengineers.