UK supports Girls in Science in Ghana

The UK High Commission in Ghana steps up its support for Women in Science. The

British High Commissioner in Ghana, Harriet Thompson, through a social media post, was optimistic about students changing the world with Science.

She wrote, "Starting the weekend with a big smile on my face: the students of African Science Academy will change our world!".

"Congrats on Phase 2 expansion, now onward to Phase 3, and an army of brilliant, committed, collaborative, confident women leading our future," she noted.

Another project aimed at addressing systemic institutional issues about gender and leadership disparities in STEM through a cross-country landscape analysis of women in STEM in academia and industry, which has Dr. Dzidzo Yirenya-Tawiah as the project Principal Investigator (PI), revealed that there is an under-representation of women in STEM and leadership positions in Africa with only 30% of science professionals being women according to a 2021 UNESCO Science Report.

In Ghana, out of the 3,000 ranked best scientists, only 285, representing 9.5% are female. According to Dr. Yirenya-Tawiah, "sustainable development and economic growth cannot be achieved unless women are empowered to contribute their quota to development."