Ursula Owusu-Ekuful receiving a plaque from Dr. Collins Yeboah-Afari
The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful was on Wednesday honoured by Females in Tech (FEMITECH), for her outstanding leadership in tech and women empowerment.
FEMITECH is an annual conference organised to commemorate International Women’s Day to honour females in the technology space while highlighting opportunities in ICT that are readily available for women.
The event, which was organised by the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (GI-KACE), brought together accomplished women in the tech space.
Director General of Ghana India-Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence (GI-KACE), Dr. Collins Yeboah Afari, in his welcome remarks, said the event was also aimed at connecting and inspiring collective efforts for a more inclusive, sustainable and innovative ICT ecosystem.
He said as society acknowledges the challenges women face in the tech space, it was important to support them against discrimination and bias, while celebrating the unique perspective, skills and talents women brought to the table.
Other individuals awarded for their role in promoting technology also included Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann, Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences, University of Ghana and the quiz mistress for the National Science and Maths Quiz, and Ing. Dr. Lucy Agyepong, Dean of Engineering, Academic City University College.
Others include Winnifred Kotin, Chief Operations Officer and Co-Founder of Superfluids Lab, Regina Hornu, CEO of Soronko Academy and Nana Yaa Konadu of Peace FM.
Delivering the key note address on the theme “Advocating for gender equality through ICT,” Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said the tech space continue to be dominated by men while women were underrepresented despite numerous interventions introduced to support women.
She, therefore, applauded (GI-KACE) and the organisers for providing a forum for women of diverse backgrounds to share their knowledge in the technology industry that would not only help raise a generation of leaders to take up the mantle in the tech space but offer opportunities for women to thrive.
She said “women make up a small percentage of the ICT workforce. It indicates the magnitude of the problem, so a clarion call to action.”
The minister also cited a UN report where Maths, Science and Technology would constitute a major component of work by 2050.
She stated that in a world where technology has become an integral part of life, more initiatives need to be taken to encourage more women to pursue careers in technology, to ensure the country has diverse and inclusive team that can create products and services to cater for several needs.
Present at the event were Director General of NITA, Richard Okyere-Fosu, Suzanne Diop, Head of Nestle Business Services and Fatoumatou Doro, MD, VLISCO.
Other participants include some notable individuals, representatives from various state institutions and some SHS students.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah