By Godwin Oritse

The push for urgent and transformative actions to dismantle barriers and reshape outdated norms around gender equality in the workplace has reached a critical intensity.

A 2024 World Bank report reveals that numerous countries still restrict women from working in specific industries, including construction and manufacturing.

Some nations classify certain jobs as “too dangerous” for women, while others impose restrictions on nighttime employment for female workers. Clearly, the call for change is stronger than ever.

In Nigeria’s maritime industry, APM Terminals Apapa has been at the forefront of breaking these barriers and offering women equal opportunities at work.

In 2019, the terminal was the first in Nigeria to employ women as female equipment operators, allow them to work the night shift alongside their male colleagues.

Following the success of this initiative, the terminal has moved their gender equality campaign to the Asset Management field, by actively pursuing the opportunity for women to work as technicians.

Omolara Olatunbosun, Senior People Business Partner, APM Terminals Apapa

Speaking on the IWD theme Accelerate Action, APM Terminals Nigeria, Head of People Function, Uzoma Ngozi Ben-Ude, described it as a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies, resources, and activity that positively impact women’s advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation.

“Early this year, we signed a collaboration with Lady Mechanic, a nongovernmental organisation focused on the empowerment of vulnerable girls/women with mechanical and technical skills. As a responsible corporate citizen, APM Terminals Apapa recognizes the importance of diversity and inclusion, promoting women’s empowerment and challenging gender stereotypes in a male dominated industry.

We were enthralled by Lady Mechanic’s pioneering efforts as the first female mechanic in Nigeria and her commitment to training and mentoring underprivileged young women in the auto mechanics’ trade. This partnership aligns with our values and goals, enabling us to contribute to the socio-economic development of our host community, Apapa through empowerment initiatives,” Uzoma said.

She described the collaboration with Lady Mechanic as two-fold. Firstly, to empower young women living in the Apapa community with mechanical and technical skills via skill acquisition training. Young ladies with an interest in this field but are unable to afford the training can now do so with APM Terminals Apapa covering the cost of the training with Lady Mechanic. The women will be trained as mechanics, diagnostic technicians, spray painters etc depending on the area of interest. The goal is to open this field to more women.

“The second part of the collaboration involves having Lady Mechanic as a resource center from which we recruit skilled female technicians in equipment maintenance and repair. Already we have recruited three female technicians into our all-male Asset Management team. We envision this collaboration as a long-term partnership, to create a lasting impact on the lives of underprivileged young women in Apapa. Through this partnership, we aim to empower less privileged females interested in auto mechanics, electrical mechanics, and related trades. By providing training, mentorship, and internship opportunities, we hope to break down barriers to their growth and education. This collaboration is a testament to our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Uzoma added.

Uzoma Ngozi Ben-Ude, Head of People Function, APM Terminals Nigeria

APM Terminals Apapa, known for its pioneering efforts in creating opportunities for women, also proudly stands as the first in the country to appoint a female Shift Manager.

Terminal Manager, Steen Knudsen said, “Accelerate Action on gender equality is about creating safe spaces at work for women to grow and thrive. Every employee irrespective of gender, has something to contribute to the workplace. Alienating the contributions of female employees will only slow down the growth of an organisation. At APM Terminals Apapa, we are taking conscious and decisive steps to ensure women are fairly represented in all functions of the business as long as they are interested in making a career in that field. With the introduction of a female shift manager in our operations, it is our goal that more women will be encouraged to apply for these positions and remove any limitations to their abilities.”

Lady Comrade Sandra Aguebor, MFR, the first Lady Mechanic and the President of the Lady Mechanic Association of Nigeria, praised the collaboration with APM Terminals Apapa.

She said, “The collaboration with APM Terminals Apapa enables the terminal give back to the Apapa community, through training and skill acquisition for young ladies and women. We are also a resource center to the terminal as regards the recruitment of skilled women in maintenance and repair. The equipment being used by APM Terminals Apapa are all technical, they require technicians and mechanics to be recruited to fix their trucks, cranes, forklift and work on their equipment for greater efficiency.”

APM Terminals RTG Mechanic, Vera Chidera, the only female RTG Mechanic in the team, is ecstatic about following her passion. She described her journey as female mechanic as one filled with challenges.

“Although I was encouraged by my family, it was not an easy journey as a female mechanic. There were lots of discouragement from customers who on meeting me at the automobile workshop would resist my working on the repair of their vehicles. This is simply because there are very few women in this field. However, with my family’s support and that from my mentor, Lady Mechanic, I kept pushing through.”

Experienced in car maintenance and repair since 2018, Vera describes herself as a specialist in Japanese and German car repair.

She said, “I am skilled in engine suspension, brake, shaft and hydraulic repair. Working in APM Terminals has expanded my experience. Although RTGs are specialised equipment, I don’t see the RTG equipment as any different from the cars I am used to. The reason being it is still the same technical skills that is needed to work on them. For example, car engines have oil specifications, same way cranes have oil specifications but a much higher one.

“Working at APM Terminals has been an awesome experience. My male colleagues are like mentors, helping me acclimatise as I am the only female in the RTG mechanic team.”

Vera added that there were lots of vulnerable young women and even older women who were in need to technical skills to help generate an income.

Senior People Business Partner, APM Terminals Apapa, Omolara Olatunbosun described the female mechanics recruited by the terminal, as part of the Lady Mechanic Initiative program. She highlighted the collaboration as enabling the terminal to tap into the talents of these remarkable women, who are now valuable members of the team.

“Three female mechanics were employed by APM Terminals Apapa to intern with us. Their training and development were facilitated by our Asset Maintenance training team. Notably, these three ladies already possessed certifications and a few years of experience as automotive mechanics, bringing valuable skills to our team. We were able to leverage their existing expertise to seamlessly integrate them into our Asset Maintenance team, where they acquired new skills in operating heavy equipment relevant to our terminal operations,” Omolara said.

Omolara also shed more light on the terminal’s plans to increase women’s participation in career roles dominated by men which included riding on existing mentorship programs to pair female employees with experienced colleagues to provide guidance and support.

“With our first female Shift Manager on board, we’re committed to continuing to increase women’s participation in traditionally male-dominated roles. Some of the plans include implementing targeted recruitment strategies to attract more female candidates for technical and leadership positions, offering development opportunities to help women build capacity and confidence in male-dominated fields, and partnering with organizations promoting women’s empowerment and diversity in the industry,” Omolara said.