The Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwesimintsim, Dr Prince Hamid Armah, has bemoaned the under-representation of women in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field.
According to him, the imbalance in professional and academic endeavours, especially in the sciences, could pose a major risk to the future of the country.
“We are currently in the midst of a technological revolution that has made science integral to our personal lives and our national destinies. We cannot afford to leave women behind. We will be unable to move forward without them,” he said.
He made this statement in commemoration of the International Day for Women and Girls in Science marked on February 11, every year.
Women in Ghana, according to the Global Education Monitoring Team in 2018, accounted for less than a quarter of all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degree holders.
Evidence from the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in 2018 also showed that, out of a total of 5,573 researchers in public research institutions, only 1,452 representing 26.1% were females.
Dr Armah indicated that women were routinely shut out of many mainstream activities, including the right to formal education, adding, “this created a self-perpetuating myth about the supposed abilities of women, which in turn led to further discrimination and exclusion.”
He stated that the country cannot continue to shut out the greater proportion of its population from contributing to such a significant endeavour, insisting, “we deprive ourselves of talents and potentially world-changing innovations”.
Dr Armah, who is also an advocate for inclusive education, admitted that attempts have been made in the past to reduce the gaping disparity between men and women in the pursuit of STEM education and career prospects but a lot more needs to be done.
“I believe, we will need to do is to tackle the inequity in STEM education about gender stereotypes, deprivation, rurality, and disability in STEM education and careers, particularly in districts that are under-served by STEM learning and other science engagement activities.
Explaining why it is important to have increased participation of women in STEM, Dr Armah said, “the education of females in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is imperative from three perspectives based on empirical studies on gender and STEM. The first perspective is that of human rights — the need for all to be educated and be given equal opportunities. The second perspective is scientific — women boost scientific outcomes in terms of diversity, creativity, bias reduction, and promotion of robust knowledge and solutions. The third perspective is developmental — that is, the ability of men and women to acquire knowledge in and benefit from STEM opportunities. STEM fields have been shown by research to be prerequisites to societal and individual advancement.”
Among the interventions needed to change the narrative, Dr Armah said “we have to expose our daughters to STEM and related career options as early as possible. We can do this through our natural interactions as parents, guardians and teachers…We can go back to the Girls in Science programmes or create new programmes with similar missions. We can set up STEM centres with a focus on women and girls. The important thing is to allow girls a chance to learn about science, interact with mentors and where possible, acquire basic skills in the field. This is what we did in Kwesimintsim when we organized a “Women in ICT” programme to equip young women with basic ICT skills. Women and girls have every potential they need to succeed in science, they simply need our support to start the journey.”
The Kwesiminstim MP, who is the immediate past Director-General of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) said the role of women in science and related fields must be highlighted across the country to encourage young women.
“Around the country, we have many sterling women who are playing exceptional roles in the sciences, including in the ongoing global battle against Covid-19. We need to show young women and girls that they are just as able as their male counterparts,” he stated.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri