Women in Male Dominated Roles

The Women in Male Dominated Roles initiative’s purpose is to help women gain employment and alleviate poverty. The solution proposes to bridge the gender gap in occupations such as engineering, technology, professional driving etc. It also seeks to improve the provision of active labour market programmes through the integrated provision of vocational and job search assistance, training and work placement for unemployed women. 

It pushes back on societal restraints that limit economic opportunities for women and will further prove that women can perform exceptionally well in any field.

The solution that will train women on relevant skills such as driving to enable them compete favourably with their male counterparts in that sector. 

Globally women only make 77 cents for every dollar men earn.  (Women at Work: ILO, 2016). The Solution will help bridge the income gap between genders by placing women in sectors that are considered more financially rewarding.

In sub‐Saharan Africa, 46 per cent of married women earned any cash labour income in the past 12 months, compared to 75 per cent of married men (UNSD, 2015).

In Nigeria, the average percentage of women employed in State Civil service from 2010 to 2015 was 38.16 per cent, while it was 68.84 per cent for men. (NBS, 2018). The UNDP (2009) indicates that gender pay gap in Nigeria is one of the highest in the world and females are under-represented in the higher paid, more powerful positions. 

One of the numerous reasons for this pay gap stems from labour policies and socio-cultural beliefs that women's work is house and care work which is not mentally and physically extraneous and it is also not economically beneficial,and as a consequence, should not receive higher remuneration in comparison to the male dominated occupations.

The solution is designed to bridge the gender gap in occupations starting with sectors such as engineering, science and technology, professional driving, etc which have very low representation of women in Nigeria. through the integrated provision of vocational and job search assistance, training and work placement for unemployed women, they will be enabled compete favourably in the labour market.

The Women in Male Dominated Roles Initiative is a program designed to help women gain employment opportunities in gender-stereotyped sector and alleviate poverty. It pushes back on societal restraints that limit economic opportunities for women and will further prove that women can perform exceptionally well in any field.

Women will possess relevant training and skills necessary to kickstart their careers. All interested women are welcomed to participate in the program and a process will be established to ensure that those who are selected will make the best fit for initiative.

We will create awareness via our social media platforms, government ministries and other partner individuals, institutions and organizations. The work environment will be designed such that other roles women play in the home and in their personal lives will be considered and provisions will be made to accommodate those.  

All participants will be required to: Undergo adequate training and preparation. They will be trained on work ethics and standards, and required to commit to live by prescribed code of conduct 

After receiving all relevant training, women will be connected to employment opportunities in their selected industries. 

The solution is designed for women living below standard economic conditions or that are passionate about participating in the project.  

We have carried out interview sessions with women of low income status and most of them are convinced that occupations that are male dominated offer more financial returns. A number of them were also ready to branch out and take up jobs in these occupations if the opportunity presents itself and with relevant training. 

We are currently working with two women who were trained and have been employed by a truck driving agency in Nigeria, and their feedback was positive. They reported that their living conditions have greatly improved with the increase in income. 

The solution will Increase the number of employed women earning at least the minimum wage. It will also increase the number of women participating in male dominated sectors therefore reducing the gender gap therein.

The solution aims to pilot with about 150 women.

The Women in Male Dominated Roles Initiative is in line with the Learning for Women and Children and aims to strengthen competencies, particularly in STEM and digital literacy, for girls and young women to effectively transition from education to employment

We create scholarship opportunities for women who are willing to go into these fields and internship opportunities for them to get relevant practical experience to have a strong footing in their respective fields.

The solution aims to pilot with about 150 women and by subsequent batches, a considerable number will be trained to a professional standard. 

The Women in Male Dominated Roles is innovative because it is a solution that for the first time caters for the mass participation of women in gender stereotyped sectors in Nigeria.

The Nigerian labour market is saturated with occupations that are male dominated, and most of these occupations usually have high financial returns as opposed those considered "female jobs in the same industry".

The Women in Male Dominated Roles solution creates awareness and job opportunities in gender-stereotyped for women, a population demographic that were otherwise believed to not have the biological capacities for such jobs.

To remove stereotypes, we have established partnerships with organizations and individuals who provide training in these male dominated fields to train women at a subsidized fee. 

The solution is powered by computers,such as laptops, desktops, projectors, etc for efficient training for these women on software development, ethical hacking, mobile application development, etc. 

In addition, the solution will rely on human technology for the transfer of technical knowledge. 

The Women in Male Dominated Roles is powered by automobile technology. Women will also be taught how to drive these automobiles in order to prepare them for a career in professional driving. 

The use of computers like laptops, desktops,etc are very common. It is used in classrooms for learning computer programming, software engineering and other digital learning processes. 

The use of automobiles is also wide spread, what is not wide spread however, is the demographic that makes use to this technology. Automobiles are used in Nigeria as a commercial tools by drivers. People rely largely on them to get to work and other places. The revenue from the transport industry in Nigeria is huge, but it is largely dominated by the male gender.

Getting women engaged in STEM course will bridge the gender gap and will result in more women earning above the minimum wage rate. 

Women will learn skills that are in high demand in the job market and will be set in internship positions to enable them get experience in the field. 

This will mean more women emerging out of poverty and menial labour. 

It is currently serving 5 women who have gainful employment and earning above the minimum in a truck driving agency called Jhaki. 

In the next year, it will serve 150 women from low income backgrounds. 

In five years, it is projected to serve 1000 women of low income backgrounds.

Our goal is to get more women to register for the Initiative. To do that, we are putting out adverts on sites and printing fliers to let people know about the initiative. 

Our goal is to also reach out to at least 70 companies in the different industries of engineering, science, technology and transportation who are willing and able to take on the women as interns and trainees. 

In the next five years, our goal is to train and provide employment for at least 1000 women in Nigeria. 

One of the barriers we are currently facing is the financial implications of training each of these women including the cost of purchase of technological equipment, payment of trainers, cost of publishing advertising materials and logistics. This challenge can be overcome by applying for grants and aids such as these as the financial aid can go a long way to train these women.

- We did not anticipate the prejudice these women may face from family and society who still hold on to the traditional beliefs of gender roles. This challenge can be overcome by holding sensitization programs in the communities of these women to educate them on the need for gender equality.

- There is also the challenge of women facing challenges with acceptance in their jobs by their co workers who are males. To solve this, sensitization can be held in workplaces in the form of seminars to teach colleagues appropriate workplace behavior and the importance of treating women with respect and as equals.

- We did not anticipate the difficulty with getting employment placements for these women. Most organizations want women who are already skilled in driving and have working experiences. This challenge can be overcome by training more women to be skilled in driving by signing them up for  driving schools.

The financial support from this grant will help us train the women in driving. Learning driving means enrolling the women in a driving school which has financial implications.

 It will also help us gain worldwide visibility which will in turn help us gain more partners and sponsors to launch the idea on a larger scale

Engaging with other groups will provide us more insight and knowledge on the issues of gender inequality as it affects women and girls 

and how best to tackle it.

6 full time workers

6 Volunteer staff

My team is experienced in handling projects. 

More than that, we are a team of dedicated individuals, passionate about gender equality and improving the plight of women in society. We work together to help women st up small and medium scale enterprises through projects such as the Tarkwa Bay community project, Courage Events and Decoration project, Lagos Women Run Project and many more. 

We have also worked together to pilot the Women in Male Dominated Roles solution to the point it is now. Because of our passion, we work hard towards ensuring the project is a success and it is scaled up.

Truss Empowerment Foundation currently has two partners for this initiative. 

• Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) - State Government Ministry. WAPA is the state government ministry, is charged with the responsibility to plan, devise and implement the state policies on Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in Lagos, our pilot state.The purpose of the partnership with WAPA is to get support from a credible government body as well as to get a platform to access more women for the solution.

• Jhaki - Logistics Company-   Jhaki is a platform that connects shippers with carriers.The purpose of the partnership is to get employment opportunities for the women we train. They currently employ two of our female drivers. 

At Truss Empowerment Foundation, our key customers and beneficiaries are women. We provide them with skill acquisition, mentorship and job placements in male dominated industries. We provide these services through interviews, and connecting with these women through communities. 

We identify and engage with these women individually, via our website, social media platforms and dedicated emails and call lines. 

Our key partners include government, private organizations, and entrepreneurs.

• Featured women donate - We are currently running a campaign that will allow women we have featured in male dominated roles to donate a certain sum to help us train more girls. It will be a sustained funding channel for the initiative. 

• Donations from government and organizations - This is a second option for financial sustainability. Grants and donations from governments and private organizations.

• We also serve as a market intermediary to organizations. We will serve as a channel through which they execute their Corporate Social Responsibilities. We will provide their target audience and help them impact as much lives as possible. 

• Access to funds - We are applying to Solve to overcome the financial barriers we are currently facing with training each of these women. The funding from Solve will help us resolve the cost of purchase of technological equipment, payment of trainers, cost of publishing advertising materials and logistics. 
• We are also applying to solve to enable us be part of a community of experts, peers and funders to help us improve on the Women in Male Dominated Roles  solution. 
• We hope to also receive mentorship and strategic advice from solve for our solution. 

We hope to get partners that will assist in providing more technology for our solution, like personal computers, automobiles for training professional drivers, access to softwares for training students in IT and also access to experts who are able to teach these young women in the areas of Science, Technology, Supply Chain, Automobile Engineering and Entrepreneurship. 

We would also need a funding and revenue model for a smooth execution of the solution. 

Access to Board members, advisors and and support with Legal and regulatory matters will enable us make smart decisions for running the solution. 

Marketing media and exposure will enable us get more women to sign up for our solution and in addition enable us get more partners that are willing to employ these women after the period of training. 

We would like to partner with Andela and IBM to get internship opportunities for the young girls we train in Engineering and Technology. 

We would also love to partner with Procter and Gamble for internship opportunities for young girls in Supply Chain and Entrepreneurship. 

We would also like to partner with Multichoice Nigeria, BellaNaija, Channels, Daily Trust, LindaIkeji and other prominent media houses in Nigeria for publicity for the solution. 

We would also like to partner with Aluko and Oyebode, law firms in Nigeria for legal services. 

Our solution, Women in Male Dominated Roles aim to improve the participation of women in technology. It offers women an opportunity for learning in male dominated industries. The purpose of our solution is to increase the number of women earning above the minimum wage. The solution will bridge the gender income gap and will give women a seat at the table and a voice. 

We aim at breaking the glass ceiling and consequently promote gender equality through the economic empowerment of women. 

Our team will use the funding from Innovation for Women Prize to purchase learning equipment for the women. We will buy laptops, software, get experts to teach these women, get a teaching venue and also provide stipends for transportation for these women from low income backgrounds. 

The Innovation for Women Prize will also enable us scale the solution. We will increase our target population and area to different states across Nigeria, and subsequently other parts of Africa. 

Our solution, Women in Male Dominated Roles aim to improve the participation of women in technology. It offers women an opportunity for learning in male dominated industries such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Supply Chain, and Entrepreneurship in high risk industries. The purpose of our solution is to increase the number of women earning above the minimum wage. The solution will bridge the gender income gap and will give women a seat at the table and a voice. 

We aim at breaking the glass ceiling and consequently promote gender equality through the economic empowerment of women. 

Our team will use the funding from The GM Prize on Learning for Girls and Women to train women in STEM areas. The funding will enable us purchase learning equipment for the women. We will buy laptops, software, get experts in science fields, engineering fields, technology, supply chain, mathematics etc to teach these women, get a teaching venue and also provide stipends for transportation for these women from low income backgrounds. 

The Innovation for Women Prize will also enable us scale the solution. We will increase our target population and area to different states across Nigeria, and subsequently other parts of Africa.