A new generation of young women engineers in the East African country of Tanzania is challenging the deeply rooted male-dominated engineering profession by pursuing careers in what was once a no-go area for undergraduate girls, APA reports citing Anadolu Agency.
A group of engineers is being taught on a rolling basis to challenge men's dominance in the technical area as part of the women-only Structured Engineering Apprenticeship Program, which is co-funded by the governments of Tanzania and Norway.
The initiative, which began in 2003, served as a stepping stone for graduates and has helped to increase the number of women engineers, as well as inspire schoolgirls to follow in their footsteps when the time comes.
For decades, the country's engineering profession was perceived as a man's arena, discouraging women from entering. According to the government's statistics, Tanzania had only 2,595 professional engineers in 2010, with only 96, or 3.7% of them being women.
Gender imbalance is a serious problem that affects every sphere of human activity. While some countries have taken a big step to quash it, others, such as Tanzania, are still grappling with balancing the pendulum.
In a bid to address the challenge, the Engineering Registration Board, which is responsible for regulating engineering practice, sought financial support from the Norwegian government to train women graduates and help increase their number registered as professional engineers.
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