Women in engineering education and careers in Benin and Ghana
Programs and partnerships
Lead institution(s)
Summary
In Ghana and Benin, several policies and programs have contributed to closing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers.Read more
In Ghana and Benin, several policies and programs have contributed to closing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. However, while women’s participation in fields such as health sciences has markedly improved over the years, the gap in engineering is still very wide. For example, at Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), female enrolment in the College of Engineering was 7.4% in 2014–2015. In Benin, 25% of students enrolled in various engineering courses are women and 10% of the engineering lecturers are women. There is also evidence that people from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds face additional barriers to participating in STEM fields.
This project focuses on key training and professional institutions in Ghana and Benin, such as KNUST, the Ghana Institution of Engineers, and engineering departments at the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin. Questionnaires and interviews will help to improve understanding of the career trajectories of women and men in engineering. By focusing on existing policies at these institutions, the project will identify specific factors that continue to impede progress towards gender equality in engineering.
The overall objective is to help bridge the gender gap in engineering in Ghana and Benin using original research and policy recommendations. The project specifically aims to assess the trends in women’s enrolment and participation in engineering courses and careers over the past three decades; identify systemic barriers that limit participation; and propose recommendations that can be developed by the institutions under study.
This project was selected for funding as part of IDRC’s call for proposals ”Breaking systemic barriers to women’s participation in science”.
Research outputs
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The main objective of the project is to contribute to bridging the gender gap in engineering in Ghana and Bénin through original research and policy recommendations. Specifically, the project seeks to provide strong evidence of trends in female participation in engineering education and careers over the past decades, provide insights into the impacts of policies and practices, and identify recommendations for closing the gender gap in engineering and STEM in general. This fact sheet highlights the key findings of the Ghana study.
The purpose of the dissemination workshop was to share the findings of the project to stakeholders for inputs, especially on recommendations. The dissemination workshop brought together relevant public institutions, academia, researchers, students, professional associations and the private sector participants in the field of engineering. The workshop adopted a participatory approach where both participants and project team engaged equally. The project team started presentations on a background of the project; national policy environment for women in engineering education and careers in Ghana; female participation in engineering education and careers: the trends and enablers; barriers to engineering careers; barriers in higher education: teaching and learning; barriers in engineering education in Ghana and presentation of key recommendations. In the breakout session, participants were put into six groups which include, basic and SHS teachers, academia, researchers, other engineering practitioners, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and students. The groups later presented the outcome of their group discussions in a plenary.
