Abuja, Nigeria – Mediaage NG News – Leadership and Life Coach, Winifred Okafor at the weekend revealed that challenges female engineers face in an environment where many feel ladies are meant to be bankrolled by men, was an extra push that drove her to ensure that others don’t experience such.
She said the experience made her know that to excel in a male dominated profession, she had to be female engineer “with a difference”.
The Civil Engineer graduate from the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, disclosed that uniqueness is what makes a business person different from the rest and how to be unique stems from the willingness of the mind to prioritize the interest of clients, as opposed to what to draw from them.
“In life, challenges are what make life interesting but, overcoming them is what makes it meaningful, she said.
I was able to overcome the challenges that come with being a female engineer in an environment dominated by males. I was able to identify what I wanted because of the experiences I’ve had in life. I knew that I have to be a female engineer with a difference.
“It was difficult penetrating because, I’m a female engineer. Some clients come that they need houses but, within, it’s you that they are looking for. I thought about it and chose to be unique in what I do”, the founder of Winnie Homes said.
In aiming to be unique in what she does, the Enugu State born business mogul chose to make use of professionals in every of her business dealings.
“My clients come, they meet me with my professionals at the same time to answer every of their questions. The only thing I do is to instruct them when the work commences because, I’m the certified engineer. The architect brings out the design and I make sure it becomes a reality.
“It is easy to go to school and be an engineer but, what makes you different from others, that’s what we are doing well for our clients at Winnie Homes. We not only develop a house, we go as far as decorating the home, suiting the taste of our clients. We build, design, decorate, redefine a home. That’s the uniqueness I’m talking about.
“Through this, we don’t just carry the mindset of just building a home for clients, we help them monetise it. Some persons don’t like staying in a hotel. So, when foreign bodies come into the country, our houses will be conducive for them as well”, she said.
On the impacts she’s had on the society, Wini said housing as a catalyst for job creation, has empowered her to impact the society through job creating opportunities for artisans and professionals.
“We’ve empowered younger engineers coming up, especially the females who find it hard to get jobs because most employers want something else from them. From what I passed through previously, I don’t want others to experience such.
“That’s one of the reasons I became an employer of labour. When I embark on a project, I have about thirty to forty artisans working on site”, she said.