Guest Article
That is why I found the mission and purpose of the NCWM Women in Weights and Measures Subcommittee particularly meaningful. Its mission is to empower women to develop their natural abilities, reach their fullest potential and excel as leaders in weights and measures. Its purpose also includes raising awareness of the value women bring to the profession and providing training and opportunities for leadership advancement. I immediately saw a connection with what we had started in Nigeria. The Nigerian Women in Metrology group may have started on WhatsApp, but the idea behind it is much larger: women should not have to navigate their professional journeys alone. One thing my first NCWM experience made clear to me is that we need to have more intentional conversations about careers in metrology. Not only about technical competence. Not only about getting the next qualification. Not only about doing our jobs well. We also need to talk about leadership. How does she find mentors? How does she gain international exposure? How does she build the confidence to contribute to technical discussions when she may be the only woman in the room? Considering women from developing countries, there is another layer to the conversation. Access matters. Access to training. Access to professional networks. Access to emerging technologies. Access to international conferences. Access to mentors. Access to information about fellowships, scholarships, technical programmes and leadership opportunities. Talent is distributed everywhere, but opportunities are not. That is why global professional communities such as the NCWM Women in Weights and Measures Subcommittee have such an important role to play. I would love to see more deliberate pathways through which women in developing countries can participate in technical training, exchange programmes, mentorship initiatives, standards development discussions and leadership opportunities in weights and measures. The goal should not simply be to bring women into the room. It should be to ensure that they are equipped to contribute meaningfully once they get there. This is also where my other passion comes in. In Nigeria, I founded the Know Your Measurement Series, an initiative I use to communicate measurement concepts to the public in a simple, relatable and engaging way through social media, particularly on Instagram and TikTok as @knowmetrology. I started the series because I believe that metrology should not remain a conversation only among metrologists. A consumer buying food in a market, a motorist purchasing fuel, a patient whose blood pressure is being measured, a manufacturer producing goods for export, or a trader weighing commodities is already participating in a measurement system. They may simply not know it.
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