Science+Innovation+Education+Girlchild+Women Leaders CSW58 UN Women

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EDUCATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING: WOMEN, GIRL CHILD

AND SCIENCE EDUCATION

Stella Williams, Joyce Cacho, Mojisola Olayinka Edema, Viola Williams and Olabukunola Williams

Authors*:

P A R A L L E L S E S S I O N

Sponsored by

In partnership with

African women tackle the urgency for access and

participation of women and girls to education in the broad areas

of science, technology, engineering and mathematics

(STEM)

10:30 am

Saturday, 15 March 2013

777 United NaMons Plaza New York City, NY

*For follow-‐up: [email protected]

EDUCATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING: WOMEN, GIRL CHILD AND SCIENCE EDUCATION

I.   IntroducMon

II.   Science, InnovaMon and Agricultural Development

III.   Challenges IV.   Women, Girl Child and Science EducaMon

V.   Case Study on Ownership and Leadership at the Country Level

VI.   Conclusion 2

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I.   IntroducMon





I.   IntroducMon

•  Innova)on is a basic dimension to African countries rising.

•  Agriculture con)nues to dominate the economies of the majority of con)nent.

•  Achieving economic growth targets through integra)ve development policies and investment with agriculture at the center, is unavoidable – pressing focus of poli)cal, social, and industry discussions

– domes)cally and interna)onally.

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I.   IntroducMon

•  Especially true in assessing strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Post 2015 Development goals –  where gender equality, sustainable development and food security are closely linked

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Thus, the saying that “when you educate a woman or the girl child, you are educa6ng a na6on” not only holds true today, it is at the

center of current strategy formula)on discussions about eradica)ng hunger and achieving economic growth rates for increasing

popula)ons worldwide.


I.   IntroducMon





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II. Science, InnovaMon and Agricultural Development

•  The agriculture sector con)nues to be the largest employer of labor in most African countries.

•  Close to 70% of women in Africa are the drivers of agriculture produc)on – Agriculture is at the center of rural communiSes.

•  Under-‐representa)on of women in: –  African Academies of Science

–  African Agricultural Economics Associa)on –  African Accoun)ng profession –  African Socie)es of Engineering –  African universi)es and technical colleges

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African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Fellowship Program


•  Career-‐development program to accelerate agricultural gains by strengthening their research and leadership skills, through tailored fellowships

•  Top women agricultural scien)sts across sub-‐Saharan Africa

•  Ini)ally funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda)on (BMGF) and the United States Agency for Interna)onal Development (USAID) –  Focus on: Candidates from English-‐speaking Africa

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(AWARD) Fellowship Program

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•  Expanded to 5 francophone African countries by partnering with CORAF/WECARD, Senegal, and Agropolis Fonda)on, France

•  Private sector partners provide a commercial perspec)ve on STEM careers

•  These female scien)sts/ AWARD Fellows charged to: –  return to their home countries –  assist with solu)ons to the daily challenges of rural female farmers –  focus on crops, livestock and fisheries

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BASIS OF household nutriSon + community

trade


•  Addi)onally, AWARD Fellows are to innovate processes to: –  improve access to markets –  improve access to agricultural extension informa)on

–  reduce the drudgery of value addi)on in farming

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Increasing the number of African women in Science, Technology, Engineering and MathemaMcs (STEM) is pivotal

to Africa achieving the goals of hunger eradicaMon and poverty reducMon.

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•  Historically, IF women were explicitly considered ! only in agricultural produc6on

•  It is clear that women are also the force in Africa in value-‐chains beyond the farmgate, such as in: –  primary processing –  post harvest loss management, – marke)ng of agricultural commodi)es to consumer ready items

–  for na)onal, regional, con)nental and off-‐con)nent markets

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•  In today’s consumer demand driven agriculture, overlooking these addi)onal roles of African women translates into missed innova)on opportuni)es

•  Visibility of women in agriculture is increasing and the value women add to the sector, is being researched and recognized –  coinciding with the much-‐needed push to bring gender

equality to STEM professions and Africa’s talent pipeline.

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Women in leadership and integraMon of women in STEM, are crucial to realizing the potenMal of the agricultural

sector to increase economic welfare, peace, prosperity and

security in rural communiMes and naMons.


I.   IntroducMon





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III.   Challenges

" Absence or complicated land rights " Low access to market informa)on

" Low access to extension services " Low access to credit, " Low focus on mechanized tools and equipment " Absence of robust intellectual property rights …Combine to form a formidable wall for women

from diverse cultures

of the African conSnent

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III.   Challenges

Focus on increased access to formal educa)on in every dimension, and at every life stage – especially of girl children – is the factor that will best equip Africans with the tools and understanding of the integrated links between: " nutri)on " educa)on performance " community resilience " household income "  Increasing demand for food and energy

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"  innova)on of adap)on processes and products related to climate change

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III.   Challenges

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•  Educa)on is at the heart of empowering and transforming the lives of African women and girls*, opening the aperture for each member of the community – including men and boys – to contribute to increasing the prosperity of the community

•  Closing the gender gap in agriculture through educa)on will catalyze countries to achieve the MDGs goals, especially in addressing hunger and sustainability

* References in paper: Strong correlaMon between countries with a high gender gap and countries struggling with high levels of hunger. AddiMonally, wages, agricultural income and producMvity – all criMcal for reducing poverty – are higher where women involved in agriculture receive a be\er educaMon.


I.   IntroducMon





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IV.  Women, Girl Child and Science EducaMon

•  Half of the world’s popula)on is women and girls

•  Data shows that almost half of the worlds’ out-‐of-‐school girls are in sub-‐Saharan Africa

– Therefore, even in terms of basic literacy, the no6ceably large gap between girls and boys persists

•  The MDGs forced many African na)ons to increase educa)on funding, which is linked to a subtle narrowing of the literacy gap between African girls and boys

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•  However, the challenges are not going away at a rate to make the much needed, drama6c difference in eradica)ng hunger and reducing poverty, not even in the next 15-‐20 years

•  The gaps are most stark and prominent in STEM educa)on, especially in rural areas

•  These areas require our focus and commitment to turn the )de

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•  Interven)ons to promote educa)on, gender equality and food security must include rural women and rural communi)es

•  It has been shown that “empowering rural women increases agricultural produc)on and food security.”

•  To build on interna)onal grant programs, such as the AWARD Fellowship Program, AWARD Fellows and Mentors in Nigeria came together to create…

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Nigerian Women in Agricultural Research for Development (NiWARD)

Program

niward.org


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I.   IntroducMon






•  The NiWARD concept exists because of the more than 6 years of history that the AWARD Program created

•  Given the size of the gender equality challenge in STEM in Africa and the strong appe)te for Africa’s markets that grew at an average annual rate of more than 8 percent*, the AWARD program was a strategic outgrowth of a pilot project by the Gender and Development Program, (CGIAR)

24 , * At the same Mme that the global economy experienced a precipitous drop in performance.

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•  NiWARD takes the AWARD Program goals of building connec)ons and networks to con)nue to focus on achieving food secure countries through empowering women and mainstreaming gender

•  Study* showed that: –  only 1 in 4 researchers were women and at the leadership level, only 1 in 7 women held management posi)ons

–  programs like AWARD are necessary to reduce the gender gap in agriculture.

25 * Study undertaken by AWARD and Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) on “Female ParMcipaMon in African Agricultural Research and Higher EducaMon: New Insights”.


•  Of the countries with available compara)ve data, the percentage of women working in agricultural research and ins)tu)ons of higher learning range from as low as 6% in Ethiopia to 41% in Botswana, which ranked highest in the survey.

•  Survey* results indicated that in the most cri)cal science -‐-‐ the basic sciences -‐-‐ the par)cipa)on rate of women is flat or declining

26 * Study undertaken by AWARD and Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) on “Female ParMcipaMon in African Agricultural Research and Higher EducaMon: New Insights”.

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•  Basic sciences are: -  historically overwhelmingly dominated by men -  have huge implica)ons for transforma)onal innova)on in

agriculture and the related fields -  water management, soil quality management, nutri)on

•  Women graduates in agriculture show a low preference for pursuing agricultural research as a profession

•  Is the research work environment supporSve of career advancement of women?

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•  NiWARD will address this challenge directly by: -  drawing on the network strength of AWARD fellow and

mentor alumni of women and men to promote capacity building through training in scien)fic research and outreach to rural communi)es na)onally

-  Partnering with the Federal and State government to help local women -‐-‐ at the grass roots level -‐-‐ to increase their income and farm produc)vity through improved access to technology and finance.

•  NiWARD is building a porkolio of impackul interven)ons

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"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -‐ Old African proverb.

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•  NiWARD, as a Na)onal program, will ensure the visibility of empowered Nigerian women scien)sts through their involvement in the na)on’s Agricultural Transforma)on Agenda (ATA), a program that is directed by the President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan

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•  Demonstra)ng leadership and ownership by Nigerian women scien)sts, builds on skills honed as AWARD Program Fellows…raises the profile of agricultural research careers to women and girls in rural communi)es, academic ins)tu)ons, government administra)on, and more broadly State and Federal legisla)ve bodies, and the private sector

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•  The incep)on of NiWARD was supported by: – Dr. Akin Adesina, Minister of Agriculture, Nigeria –  Professor Adebiyi Daramola, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, Nigeria

–  Professor Baba Yusuf Abubakar •  The collec)ve efforts of Federal and State level support led to NiWARD establishing a base at the Centre for Gender in Science and Technology (CEGIST) at FUTA

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I.   IntroducMon





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VI.  Conclusion

•  The AWARD Program took the first step – by inves)ng in the African women scien)sts mainstream resilience for rural, per-‐urban, or urban areas communi)es.

•  NiWARD is taking the next step – leadership by example –  to ensure that rural women and communi)es and their pivotal role in eradica)ng hunger and reducing poverty in Africa, is engrained in the dynamic policy and ac)on frameworks.

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VI.  Conclusion

•  Dis)nctly including, and inser)ng women agricultural researchers and rural women farmers in na)onal agricultural investment strategies is the lever to catalyze transforma)on of the structure of Africa’s economies to deliver robust growth for the rapidly increasing, and youthful popula)on.

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The rise of Africa depends on it.

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VI.  Conclusion

•  AWARD and NiWARD are examples of very much needed programs in the increasing investment interest in Africa

•  Cross-‐cuong issue of gender gaps, between opportuni)es for: – women and men –  girls and boys

is shaping decisions to scale-‐up the results of pilot and mul)-‐phase projects

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VI.  Conclusion

•  Coordinated frameworks of Na)onal Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans (NAFSIPs) and donor coordina)on at the na)onal and regional levels are increasingly the vehicles for par)cipa)ng in Africa’s growth

•  Closing the gender gap is an acute challenge* •  Defining targets on a gender disaggregated basis in the Mutual Accountability Framework (MAF) of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), is cri)cal to…

36 * in many parts of the global south, there is a structural deficit in access to educaMon by girl children. Where and when there has been improved access to primary educaMon, there are high a\riMon rates at the age when a girl matures into a woman -‐-‐ typically at the high school age.

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VI.  Conclusion

•  …to aprac)ng the quan)ty and quality of African and off-‐con)nent investment capital to support the NAFSIPs*…in a way that should translate into increased investment to: –  increase access to school, and at at the same )me, –  reduce girl child apri)on rates from school; –  improve women’s access to agricultural input markets and at the same )me, increase the number of women entrepreneurs; and,

–  for the youth – girl and boy children – turnaround the trend of declining interest in agricultural sciences.

37 NAFSIPs – NaMonal Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plan.

VI.  Conclusion

•  The )me is now to close the gender gap in agriculture because, it is: –  the right thing to do; and, –  a major lever to raise the plakorm of economic performance of African na)ons so that they are more resilient and generators of growth for con)nent-‐wide demand, and global market demand.

•  Achieving Africa’s current food and nutri)on security, and poverty reduc)on targets is the basic achievement of mainstreaming gender in educa)on in STEM areas.

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VI.  Conclusion

•  The inter-‐genera6onal impact of robust innova)on systems: –  from cradle to grave; –  from farm to table;

–  from households to communi)es –  near and far

…by linking gender outcomes to the porkolio of investments today, is the bonus achievement when we close the gender gap -‐-‐ today.

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VI.  Conclusion

•  Data based advocacy, public affairs communicaMon and formulaMon of a legislaMve agenda by: – all par)cipants at the CSW58, UN Women

–  the Africa Union Commission’s (AUC’s) Commissioner Rhoda Peace Tumusiime , Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA) – especially in celebra)ng the AUC 2014 Year of Agriculture and Food Security

is very much needed to achieve the goal of… 40

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VI.  Conclusion

..making a structural break with the past by… 1.  Integra)ng – mainstreaming – the girl child and

women into intensifying the iden)fica)on of solu)ons, leading ac)on and defining processes to achieve near term targets, such as the MDGs and CAADP related 5 year and 10 year goals.

2.  Inves)ng in innova)on processes and careers for women in STEM professions in Africa.

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EDUCATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING: WOMEN, GIRL CHILD

AND SCIENCE EDUCATION

Stella Williams, Joyce Cacho, Mojisola Olayinka Edema, Viola Williams and Olabukunola Williams

Authors:

P A R A L L E L S E S S I O N

Sponsored by

In partnership with

African women tackle the urgency for access and

participation of women and girls to education in the broad areas

of science, technology, engineering and mathematics

(STEM) THANK YOU!

አመሰግናለሁ

merci

o ṣeun

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asante obrigado

شكرا

na gode ¡gracias

na-‐ekele unu

mahadsanid

Natotela

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oh-‐yeh-‐rah-‐don may-‐dah-‐say naa goodee

kea leboha dankie tangi

eio

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on jaaraama Enkosi

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Siyabonga

kea leboga

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Science+Innovation+Education+Girlchild+Women Leaders CSW58 UN Women

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