Ghanaian engineers, others launch project to bridge gender gap in engineering

The Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI) has collaborated with the Ghana Institution of Engineering to launch the "Women in Engineering Education and Careers in Benin and Ghana" project.

The main objective of the project is to contribute to bridging the gender gap in engineering in Ghana and Benin through original research and policy recommendations.

Also partnered to the project is the College of Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin.

The three-year research project was launched at the Erata Hotel in Accra on October 1, 2020, and will assess trends in female enrolment and participation in engineering courses and careers over the last 40 years and identify systemic barriers that limit the participation of females and underrepresented groups in engineering courses and careers.

Recommendations will be developed into strategies that will facilitate the elimination of the identified barriers.

The Vice-President of the GhIE, Ing. Harold Esseku and the President of Women in Engineering, Ing. Dr Mrs Enyonam Kpekpena, pledged their support and the support of their members to make the project a success.

The principal investigator and project leader, Dr Rose Omari of CSIR-STEPRI and her team presented the strategy for undertaking the study.

She pledged to work closely with the Institution to ensure the GhIE gets the maximum benefit of this project so the percentage of women in the GhIE increases from the current level of 7%.

The enrollment figures for females have doubled between 2016 and 2020 and it is expected to increase further as a result of the study. The project is funded through the International Development Research Center by the Canadian Government.