The Women in Energy Network (WIEN) has called for urgent structural reforms in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry to remove systemic barriers limiting women’s participation across workforce, leadership, and enterprise ownership.
The group made the call during a policy engagement with the Senior Special Adviser (SA) to the President where they presented a sectoral data driven documents highlighting persistent gaps.
WIEN led by its president, Eyono fatai-williams during the presentation declared that women as it stands today only account for 18.2% of Nigeria’s energy workforce and 25.6% of leadership roles, noting that Despite over 35,000 companies active on the JQS platform, less than 2% are women-owned.
The advocacy group also disclosed that Women represent only 17% of current STEM enrolments, a development they said could potentially signal a constrained future for technical pipeline.
The Network further noted that a US$40 million Women in Energy Fund, supported through the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), remains underutilized — not due to lack of capable women-owned businesses, but due to limited access to bankable contract opportunities, explaining also that the current procurement structure effectively requires companies to demonstrate asset ownership and technical capacity before accessing contracts — creating a circular constraint for emerging firms:
No asset → No contract → No financing → No asset.
“This is not a social issue. It is a structural and strategic issue,” the Network emphasized. “Nigeria cannot achieve its energy security objectives while half of its population remains underutilized.”
On the way forward, WIEN highlighted the need for stronger representation of women at board level, noting that governance diversity improves capital allocation, risk oversight, and long-term sector resilience.
In addition, the Network stressed the urgency of strengthening the STEM pipeline for young women through targeted internships, mentorship programs, and industry-backed exposure initiatives.
On her part, the Senior Special Adviser acknowledged the challenges presented and expressed commitment to promoting policies that ensure women are not structurally locked out of economic opportunities in the oil and gas industry before they are given a fair opportunity to grow.
WIEN reaffirmed that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Nigeria’s energy sector is not tokenism or entitlement, but a strategic imperative tied to capital formation, competitiveness, and long-term energy security.
