Once she wanted to be a fashion designer, but now she wants to be an engineer. Queen Esther, a young girl in Nigeria, is reconsidering her career aspirations after attending a Bring Your Daughter to Work Day at her father’s place of work, an electric distribution company.  

To build interest in the energy sector among youth -- and especially girls, a number of power utilities in Africa are hosting events designed to recruit the next generation of engineers. The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) in Nigeria held a Bring Your Daughter to Work Day event in July, and the Kenya Power and Light Company (KPLC) held a similar event in August. Some utilities are also forming Energy Clubs in primary and secondary schools.

The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) in Nigeria held a Bring Your Daughter to Work Day event in July.

Courtesy of EKEDC

Both events were supported by Power Africa through USAID’s Engendering Utilities program. Gender integration within the African energy sector not only creates immediate opportunities for women, but also strengthens a sector that supports better health care, education and entrepreneurism -- all of which positively impact the lives of women and girls. Power Africa’s approach to gender integration involves meeting the energy needs of the underserved, while creating opportunities for women throughout the energy value chain.

Efforts to interest youth -- and especially girls -- are paying off. Queen Esther, whose father is an engineer and manager at EKEDC in Nigeria, said after observing what her father does, she now wants to be an engineer, too, because “being an engineer is cool.” 

She was one of 35 girls between the ages of 7 and 13 who attended the power utility’s inaugural event. The day focused on showing the girls the value of education, encouraging them to dream without gender limitations and to expose them to the many career options that are possible in electric distribution. 

For the first time, these girls thought to add engineer to the list of their potential future careers.

“Promoting gender equality is fundamental to our company,” said Engineer Amoda, general manager and CEO of EKEDP in Nigeria. “Already, women hold four out of our company’s six top management positions.”

Amoda provided the girls with an overview of the energy sector in Nigeria, energy conservation and how electricity is created. He emphasized the importance of promoting gender equality and improving the wellbeing of women in the company. In a country where women are disadvantaged in most aspects of livelihood and well-being, including employment, income and health, EKEDP sets a positive example to follow.

Nigeria’s energy sector and electricity generation sparked the girls’ interest, as they learned from a three-dimensional dam prototype how energy is generated through hydropower, and then transmitted and distributed to light city streets. The model itself was created by five Nigerian architecture students who built it as an interactive learning tool.

When asked if they had just one item to power at home, what would it be, the girls unanimously said “computer.” With a computer, they could watch their shows, play games and learn, while their parents could charge their cell phones, they explained. 

The girls also learned about different types of lighting and energy conservation by feeling the heat produced by different types of bulbs and seeing the amount of energy consumed measured on working meters. After the event, many parents said their daughters checked the light bulbs at home to be sure they were using energy-saving bulbs and turned off unnecessary lights. Some also inspected their homes for safe wiring.

The Kenya Power and Light Company (KPLC) held a Bring Your Daughter to Work Day event in August.

Courtesy of KPLC

At KPLC in Kenya, 55 girls between the ages 10 and 17 attended a Bring Your Daughter to Work Day event on Aug. 26 at the invitation of the utility’s Managing Director and CEO Dr. Ben Chumo.

“It is a special day that employees will bring their daughters to work as a way of introducing girls to the energy sector at an early age with the aim of increasing future participation of women in the workforce,” he said.

Many parents said their daughters were always asking, “What do you do there?” and “Can I come and see?”

The Bring Your Daughter to Work Day was a win for everyone. Parents had the opportunity to satisfy their daughters’ curiosity about the workplace, girls learned about a new career and perhaps KPLC started recruiting its future workforce.