Over the years
strides have been made
to bridge the gender gap in education
and female participation in higher education has increased
in many African countries and the trend keeps on increasing.
This has been made possible through several measures
at both the global and national levels.
There have been several educational reforms and initiatives
to enhance the education of girls in particular
and improved national average gross enrolment rate
at all levels of education.
In the case of Ghana for instance
this has addressed some of the structural inequalities to bridge the gender-gaps
including the quota systems to all halls of residence in public tertiary institutions
so as to provide females more access to tertiary education.
Indeed, at the end of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015
there had been a marked improvement in education at all levels and especially in Africa.
Whilst progress has been made over the years to improve female enrollment in higher educational institutions
there are still gaps in teaching and research staff and in leadership positions within our institutions.
A major challenge is getting more females into higher professorial levels in higher institutions in Africa.
A study conducted by UNESCO in 2019 notes that only 24% of academic staff are female across sub-Saharan Africa.
And a recent study on higher education staff and academics in Ghana
by Association of African Universities and Education in sub-Saharan Africa
reveal that only 8% of professors at public universities in Ghana are women.
There are similar trends in many universities in Africa I believe.
For many women academics and administrators, it is quite challenging to move ahead in their academic careers
because of the multiple roles that women play
and the structural and sometimes subtle inequalities that exist.
One way of addressing the challenge is the continuous empowerment of females
particularly early career females
since the argument has been that gender inequalities create inefficiencies and hamper growth.
Before I move on to use one classic example
of how young African female academics are being supported and empowered
to aspire to higher heights in their careers
To empower a woman means building the capacity of that woman
to increase her self-reliance and internal strength.
In other words, I’m drawing attention to the agency of that individual.
That individual, which is a woman
must have the ability to define her goals in life including believing in herself
and trusting that she is able to achieve her goals.
This also includes to the ability to be able to effectively make decisions and choices in life.
One thing that we should bear in mind is that empowering women is a continuous process
and it happens at all levels including higher educational institutions.
That is why it is important to continue to encourage and empower the young female academics
to aspire to higher levels in their careers
and this is exactly what the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa - MIASA - is doing
to support early career female academics through its Female Academic Scholarship program.
The Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa, MIASA for short, was established in September 2018
after its approval by the University of Ghana Council.
It is a consortium of 4 Germany institutions
that is, University of Freiburg
the Goethe University Frankfurt 53
the German Institute for Global and Area Studies GIGA
and the German Historical Institute in Paris
in collaboration with the University of Ghana.
Funding is from the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research
whilst local staffing, administrative and operational costs
are borne by the University of Ghana.
It is an institute for advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences
through the provision of fellowships to both senior scholars and early career researchers
from Ghana and Germany, as well as from Africa and other parts of the world.
The overall goal and vision of MIASA is to create a hub for collaborative research:
across disciplines, career stages, linguistic and scholarly traditions;
establish sustainable scholarly networks and increase the role of African scholars
in formulating research agendas whilst ensuring greater visibility of African scholarly work.
One key area that the Institute is committed to
is strengthening female scholarship especially African female scholarship
between established and early career researchers
with an objective of encouraging intellectual exchanges across existing boundaries
between disciplines and amongst different countries and cultures.
The German Historical Institute in Paris is responsible
for organising the annual MIASA Female Academic Careers in Africa Workshop.
The workshop targets early female career academics from both anglophone and francophone Africa
and organise mentorship and coaching sessions such as: tips on writing scientific publications;
how to write and apply for successful research grant
roundtable discussions on the challenges of women’s academic careers with researchers
including work-life balance conflicts and how to deal with the multiple roles of African women.
Facilitators are often advanced career female academics
who share their personal academic career experiences
their challenges and ways of navigating these challenges.
These are all aimed at motivating and inspiring the early career female scholars
to aspire to higher heights in the academic ladder.
Experience sharing in these workshops is intended to hinge on the agency of the young female scholars
so as to create the ability to define their own goals and act upon them.
In other words, it creates the opportunity for the young female scholars
to perceive themselves as able and entitled to make decisions and effectively make choices.
In addition, MIASA organizes writing schools
aimed at strengthening the academic writing skills of African early career scholars
with particular attention to women scholars.
Such workshops transform draft papers into publishable ones in notable journals.
It is my expectation and hope
that more of such programs would be organized so as to continue the process
of empowering young African female scholars in order to bridge gender gaps
and contribute to a better management of our universities and the African society as a whole.
Thank you very much.