Though a good number of Gambian women are defying the odds and venturing into male dominated fields, there is still a huge gap, and the stereotype remains the same. There seems to be an unspoken agreement among Gambians that certain professions are not for women. Awa Gomez, 23, is among the few women in The Gambia working towards changing this narrative. She took the bold step of doing what most people consider to be a masculine job—carpentry, interior design and metal work. In recent times, interior design has been common among women, but all over the world, carpentry and mental work is dominated done by men. After completing high school, Awa started to work at Yoba Carpentry as an apprentice for months, while studying architecture at Insight Trading Institute, but like most students at the time, she too could not complete her studies due to the Covid19 pandemic. She eventually went to Senegal with the intention of studying architecture, but the French language became a barrier for her, so she had to learn the language first.
Ms. Gomez explained that her biggest motivation is her mom, who inspired her to venture into skill work. When she was little, her mother would buy imported equipment from stores and would have her to do creative work while guiding her through the process. Her mother would also advise her to watch and follow creatives on YouTube and learn how to make masterpieces in painting and modern carpentry. After overcoming so many challenges, Awa successfully established her own carpentry workshop at Jabang three months ago with eight young employees. Her brand is called Posh Art. Like most young entrepreneurs, Awa, too, is leveraging social media to sell her brand. She said most of her customers are from TikTok and Instagram. She added that she takes criticism from her customers as a learning point which motivates her to work harder.
Ms. Gomez lamented that finance is part of the challenges that she is facing in her business, and that most of the equipment that she uses for her work are not available in The Gambia. ‘‘As a female entrepreneur, I face a lot of harassment from men, and that is why I do not go for marketing. I post my work on my social media platforms”, she explained. The young entrepreneur envisages her business growing and having many branches in The Gambia as well as selling internationally. She calls on young people, especially women to venture into skill work, adding ‘‘skill work is very important and rewarding’’.
