Egenco employs 16% female engineers, decries low numbers
The Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) has bemoaned continued low representation of women in engineering and has since partnered stakeholders to promote girls’ participation in science subjects.
Egenco acting gender and social inclusion manager Ethel Atupele Bvalani said this on Wednesday when 130 secondary school girls toured Nkula Hydro Power Station on a trip Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must) organised to inspire them to study engineering.
She said the workforce at Egenco is male-dominated to the extent that females only account for 16 percent.
“We are trying to increase the female human resource pool,” said Bvalani.
The trip was part of this year’s Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics (Steam) camp, an initiative Must undertakes annually to bring together girls and encourage them to study sciences.
Must Steam project coordinator Triphornia Komwa said the initiative is attracting interest from relevant sectors since it was introduced in 2016.
“Engineering is a field that is male-dominated because girls are not exposed to it,” she said.
In her remarks, one of the students from Dzaleka Community Day Secondary School in Dowa, Robekai Bula said the camp helped her to develop confidence in pursuing engineering.
