{"id":71971,"date":"2016-06-23T02:47:42","date_gmt":"2016-06-23T00:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/how-africa-can-empower-more-women-to-become-leaders-in-science-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2016-06-23T02:47:42","modified_gmt":"2016-06-23T00:47:42","slug":"how-africa-can-empower-more-women-to-become-leaders-in-science-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/how-africa-can-empower-more-women-to-become-leaders-in-science-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"How Africa can empower more women to become leaders in science | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

How Africa can empower more women to become leaders in science<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Professor Amivi Kafui Tete-Benissan (left) teaches cell biology and biochemistry at the University of Lom\u00e9, in the capital of Togo.<\/span> Stephan Gladieu\/World Bank\/Flickr<\/span>, CC BY-NC-ND<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A woman\u2019s place is in the home. Her \u201cjob\u201d is to marry and to raise children. This thinking still prevails in most parts of the world \u2013 and it is one of the major reasons that only about 30% of women in sub-Saharan Africa are working in research and development.<\/p>\n

The good news is that several African countries are creating an environment that allows women to pursue their passion for scientific research and development. These initiatives offer valuable insights into how more women can be drawn into science and work their way up the ladder to become leaders in science, technology, mathematics and engineering. This process involves many parts of a society: governments, educational systems, universities, civil society organisations, women themselves and, crucially, men.<\/p>\n

From scholarships and science fairs, to policy changes and high-profile appointments, these countries \u2013 Morocco, Egypt, Angola, Nigeria and Mauritius \u2013 are leading the way to create room for women scientists.<\/p>\n

Social and cultural barriers<\/h2>\n

To understand what\u2019s currently holding women back from becoming scientists, we examined the Gender, Institutions and Development Database that\u2019s been established by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development\u2019s Development Centre to find some answers.<\/p>\n

For starters, girls simply aren\u2019t receiving as much formal education as boys. Girls all over the continent are far less likely to complete primary school than boys are. This is one of the major failings of the Millennium Development Goals, which aimed to achieve universal primary education by 2015.<\/p>\n

One of the problems is that girls\u2019 education is often not considered important. Social and cultural norms dictate that women should fulfil the traditional roles of wife and mother rather than concentrate on school work and further education. A 2013 study found that families very rarely encourage their daughters\u2019 interest in science. Most African women who decide to study science after school cite personal interest as their major motivation. Only 1% of the study\u2019s respondents said their parents had been their major motivator in this regard.<\/p>\n

Even when girls do make it to university to study science, they struggle to remain in their field after graduation or to become science leaders. In Morocco, for instance, the number of women graduating from science programmes is high. But only 25% of teaching staff in the country\u2019s universities are women and women deans are rare in the sciences. Only about 32% of Angola\u2019s active researchers are women and research projects headed by women are almost non-existent.<\/p>\n

Shining examples<\/h2>\n

There are a few African countries that are working actively to buck these trends. Egypt has long been a trendsetter, starting with Queen Nefertari thousands of years ago. She was hailed for her intellect and was highly educated.<\/p>\n

Today, Egyptian women are well represented in universities\u2019 science departments and faculties. This has long been the case. In lead author Professor Bassioni\u2019s family, for instance, her mother headed the National Heart Institute\u2019s department of anaesthesia for more than 20 years; today Professor Bassioni is head of the faculty\u2019s chemistry division. Her current boss and the previous dean of the faculty of engineering are also women.<\/p>\n