Promoting the inclusion of more African women in science

Friday, February 14, 2020

In Côte d'Ivoire significant gains have been made in improving education outcomes. However, there are still high illiteracy levels among women. In Malawi, women are under-represented in research with less than 1 in 5 researchers being women. Socio-cultural barriers have contributed to the under-representation of females in science-related careers. Across Africa, despite improvements in gender equality in scientific training, women remain severely underrepresented in scientific leadership in African and global settings. Stories such as these reverberate across the continent hindering 50% of the population, women, to participate in research and development. The African Academy of Sciences’ (AAS) Community and Public Engagement (CPE) programme provides seed funding to researcher to understand and improve on diversity and inclusion in research.

Recently, seven African scientists received funding to promote the inclusion of women in science in Africa. According to UNESCO, only 30% of the world’s researchers are women. In Africa, this has meant the dearth of gendered and diverse perspectives to address Africa’s developmental challenges and the burden of infectious diseases, which often disproportionately affects women.

The seven grantees received US$387,951 from the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and her partners – DFID and Wellcome - through the Developing Excellence, Leadership and Training in Africa in Science (DELTAS Africa) (CPE) Seed Fund on Gender Equity in Science. This fund aims to:

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