1. Page
1
of
10
EDUCATION
AND
CAPACITY
BUILDING:
WOMEN,
GIRL
CHILD
AND
SCIENCE
EDUCATION
Stella
Williams,
Joyce
Cacho,
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema,
Viola
Williams
and
Olabukunola
Williams1
Abstract
Issues
of
education
and
capacity
building
are
critical
to
every
girl
child
realizing
her
full
potential
globally,
even
more
so
in
Africa.
Although
the
saying
“Knowledge
is
Power”
is
widely
accepted,
in
the
context
of
the
girl
child,
the
power
in
knowledge
is
essential
for
her
to
thrive,
compete
and
create
spaces
for
herself
and
others
in
social
and
business
communities.
Available
data
and
studies
show
the
multiplier,
inter-­‐
generational
impact
of
educated
women
and
girls
in
household
welfare
and
in
improving
the
welfare
of
the
community.
Building
strong
families,
resilient
communities
and
innovative
industries
rests
on
the
foundation
laid
by
informal
and
formal
education
opportunities
for
the
girl
child
throughout
her
life.
Education
is
a
pivotal
need
and
human
right
of
every
child,
especially
the
girl
child.
Empowering
African
girls
and
women,
specifically
in
the
fields
of
Science,
Technology,
Engineering
and
Mathematics
(STEM)
is
crucial
to
achieving
MDGs
for
all.
Many
women
are
discouraged
from
STEM
professions,
starting
even
before
the
early
years
of
high
school.
In
most
African
countries,
women
make
up
close
to
70%
of
the
labor
force
in
agricultural
production,
which
is
characterized
by
a
low
level
of
mechanization.
Yet,
in
African
Academies
of
Science,
African
Agricultural
Economics
Association,
African
Accounting
profession,
African
Societies
of
Engineering
and
in
African
universities
and
technical
colleges,
women
are
noticeably
underrepresented.
Closing
this
skills
gap
is
essential
to
Africa
maximizing
its
natural
endowments
of
agricultural
production
assets
to
feed
itself
and
many
others
in
the
world.
Beyond
eradicating
hunger,
empowered
women
with
STEM
education
can
unleash
a
level
of
creativity
in
multiple-­‐objective
innovation
for
sustainable
development,
including
adaptation
processes
and
tools
to
dampen
the
impact
of
Climate
Change
in
Africa,
and
in
other
emerging
market/developing
regions
of
the
world,
and
developed
market
economies.
The
African
Women
in
Agricultural
Research
and
Development
(AWARD)
Program2
is
intervening
to
change
the
gender
ratio
in
STEM
professions
in
universities,
the
public
sector,
and
industry.
AWARD
grants
fellowships
of
mentoring
and
financial
support
to
female
Agricultural
Research
Scientists
–
in
physical
science,
animal
science,
and
social
science
–
at
every
stage
in
their
careers
to
advance
goals
related
to
improving
the
livelihood
of
women
farmers
and
their
communities.
To
lead
in
taking
this
program
of
empowering
African
women
scientists
to
the
next
level,
the
Nigerian
AWARD
Fellow
community
formed
an
alumni
organization,
Nigerian
Women
in
Agricultural
Research
for
Development
(NiWARD),
as
a
platform
to
apply
their
research
to
transforming
the
lives
of
rural
women
farmers
and
their
communities,
while
serving
as
a
beacon
to
encourage
more
women
to
respond
to
Africa’s
need
for
dynamic
science
and
technology
innovation
along
agriculture
based
value
chains.
Country-­‐level
ownership
of
programs
such
as
NiWARD,
and
the
strengthening
of
the
STEM
talent
pipeline,
to
bring
gender
equality,
as
an
instrumental
link
in
all
dimensions
of
African
agriculture
to
transformative
economic
impact,
is
critical.
1
Stella
Williams,
Ph.D.
is
a
retired
Professor
of
Agricultural
Economics
and
Initiator
of
NiWARD,
www.niward.org
;
Joyce
Cacho,
Ph.D.
advises
the
Department
of
Rural
Economy
and
Agriculture
(DREA)
of
the
African
Union
Commission
(AUC)
in
Addis
Ababa
(www.linkedin.com/joycecacho/);
Dr.
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema
is
the
Acting
Director
of
the
Centre
for
Gender
in
Science
and
Technology
(CEGIST)
at
the
Federal
University
of
Technology,
Akure
(FUTA),
Ondo
State,
Nigeria,
www.niward.org;
Viola
Williams
is
the
Program
Manager
of
PANAFSTRAG,
www.panafstrag.org;
and,
Olabukunola
Williams
is
the
Program
Manager
of
NiWARD,
www.niward.org.
2
Initially,
the
AWARD
Program
was
funded
by
the
Bill
and
Melinda
Gates
Foundation
(BMGF)
and
the
United
States
Agency
for
International
Development
(USAID),
offering
fellowships
to
candidates
English-­‐speaking
Africa.
AWARD,
in
partnership
with
the
West
and
Central
African
Council
for
Agricultural
Research
and
Development
(CORAF/WECARD)
in
Dakar,
Senegal,
and
Agropolis
Fondation
in
Montpellier,
France,
are
collaborating
to
expand
AWARD’s
successful
career-­‐development
program
to
five
francophone
African
countries.

2. Education
And
Capacity
Building:
Women,
Girl
Child
And
Science
Education
Page
2
of
10
Authors:
Stella
Williams,
Joyce
Cacho,
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema,
Viola
Williams
and
Olabukunola
Williams
Presented
at:
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW58)
side
event
Planetary
Emergency:
African
Women
and
STEM
I.
Introduction
Innovation
is
a
basic
dimension
to
African
countries
rising,
especially
in
the
context
of
agriculture
continuing
to
dominate
the
economies
of
the
majority
of
continent.
Therefore,
agricultural
sector
growth
is
a
necessity
in
the
context
of
increasing
demands.
Achieving
economic
growth
targets
through
integrative
development
policies
and
investment
with
agriculture
at
the
center
is
the
unavoidable,
pressing
focus
of
political,
social,
and
industry
discussions
–
domestically
and
internationally.
This
is
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
tied.
We
now
know
that
“improving
the
education
of
women
and
thus,
their
economic
opportunities,
not
only
can
make
a
substantial
contribution
to
a
country’s
economic
growth,
it
is
also
the
single
most
important
determinant
of
food
security.”3
Thus,
the
saying
that
“when
you
educate
a
woman
or
the
girl
child,
you
are
educating
a
nation.”
not
only
holds
true
today,
it
is
at
the
center
of
current
strategy
formulation
discussions
about
eradicating
hunger
and
achieving
economic
growth
rates
for
increasing
populations
worldwide.
In
his
2014
State
of
Union
speech,
United
States
President
Barack
Obama
described
this
notion
in
the
context
of
raising
the
minimum
wage
across
the
nation,
as
“when
women
succeed,
America
succeeds.”
II.
Science,
Innovation
and
Agricultural
Development
The
late
Norman
Borlaug4
demonstrated
through
his
research
in
Mexico,
that
investment
in
agriculture
anchors
food
security
and
economic
growth.
Even
today,
the
agriculture
sector
is
the
largest
employer
of
labor
in
most
African
countries;
where
close
to
70%
of
women
in
these
countries
are
the
drivers
of
agriculture
production
that
is
at
the
center
of
rural
communities.
The
documented
under-­‐representation
of
women
in
African
Academies
of
Science,
African
Agricultural
Economics
Association,
African
Accounting
profession,
African
Societies
of
Engineering
and
in
African
universities
and
technical
colleges,
led
to
the
creation
of
the
African
Women
in
Agricultural
Research
and
3
Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olive De Schutter – Women’s rights and the right to food.
4
Dr.
Norman
Borlaug
was
an
American
biologist,
humanitarian
and
Nobel
laureate.
He
passed
away
in
2009,
at
the
age
of
95
years
old.

3. Education
And
Capacity
Building:
Women,
Girl
Child
And
Science
Education
Page
3
of
10
Authors:
Stella
Williams,
Joyce
Cacho,
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema,
Viola
Williams
and
Olabukunola
Williams
Presented
at:
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW58)
side
event
Planetary
Emergency:
African
Women
and
STEM
Development
(AWARD)
Fellowship
Program
in
2008
.
Through
this
career-­‐development
program,
top
women
agricultural
scientists
across
sub-­‐Saharan
Africa
are
equipped
to
accelerate
agricultural
gains
by
strengthening
their
research
and
leadership
skills,
through
tailored
fellowships.
Initially
funded
by
the
Bill
and
Melinda
Gates
Foundation
(BMGF)
and
the
United
States
Agency
for
International
Development
(USAID),
fellowships
were
offered
to
candidates
from
English-­‐speaking
Africa.
More
recently,
AWARD,
in
partnership
with
the
West
and
Central
African
Council
for
Agricultural
Research
and
Development
(CORAF/WECARD)
in
Dakar,
Senegal,
and
Agropolis
Fondation
in
Montpellier,
France,
joined
forces
to
expand
AWARD’s
successful
career-­‐
development
program
to
five
francophone
African
countries.
Additionally,
AWARD
has
attracted
support
from
a
few
private
sector
partners.
These
female
scientists/
AWARD
Fellows,
are
charged
to
return
to
their
home
countries
and
assist
with
responding
to
the
daily
challenges
rural
female
farmers
face,
by
focusing
on
crops,
livestock
and
fisheries
that
are
essential
to
household
nutrition
and
community
trade,
innovating
processes
to
improve
access
to
market
and
agricultural
extension
information,
and
reducing
the
drudgery
of
value
addition
in
their
farming
enterprises.
Increasing
the
number
of
African
women
in
Science,
Technology,
Engineering
and
Mathematics
(STEM)
is
pivotal
to
Africa
achieving
the
goals
of
hunger
eradication
and
poverty
reduction.
Although
historically,
if
women
were
explicitly
considered,
it
was
with
a
single
focus
on
agricultural
production,
it
is
clear
that
women
in
Africa
are
essential
in
primary
processing,
post
harvest
loss
management,
and
marketing
roles
in
transforming
agricultural
commodities
to
consumer
ready
items
–
for
national,
regional,
continental
and
off-­‐continent
markets.
In
today’s
consumer
demand
driven
agriculture,
overlooking
these
additional
roles
of
African
women
translates
into
missed
innovation
opportunities.
Fortunately,
the
visibility
of
women
in
agriculture
is
increasing
and
the
value
they
add
to
the
sector
is
being
recognized
and
researched.
This
recognition
that
began
in
the
1970s
and
is
steadily
increasing,
coincides
with
the
much-­‐needed
push
to
bring
gender
equality
to
STEM
professions
and
the
talent
pipeline
in
Africa.
The
significant
contributions
by
women
in
leadership
and
integration
of
women
in
STEM,
especially
in
Africa,
are
crucial
to
extracting
the
maximum
contribution
from
agriculture,
while
increasing
economic
welfare,
peace,
prosperity
and
security
in
rural
communities.

4. Education
And
Capacity
Building:
Women,
Girl
Child
And
Science
Education
Page
4
of
10
Authors:
Stella
Williams,
Joyce
Cacho,
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema,
Viola
Williams
and
Olabukunola
Williams
Presented
at:
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW58)
side
event
Planetary
Emergency:
African
Women
and
STEM
III.
Challenges
There
are
many
challenges
on
the
road
to
gender
equality
in
agriculture
in
Africa.
Although
these
challenges
characterize
the
agriculture
sector
in
several
regions
of
the
world,
challenges
of
land
rights,
access
to
market
information,
access
to
extension
services,
access
to
credit,
mechanized
tools
and
equipment,
and
absence
of
robust
intellectual
property
rights,
combine
to
form
a
formidable
wall
for
women
from
diverse
cultures
of
the
African
continent.
Focus
on
increased
access
to
formal
education
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
nutrition,
education
performance,
community
resilience,
household
income,
growing
domestic
consumer
demand
for
food
and
energy,
innovation
and
adaption
processes
and
products
to
respond
to
climate
change.
From
early
childhood
education,
to
integrating
mobile
telephone
technology
and
smart
phone
technology
to
deliver
efficient
and
effective
extension
service
and
improving
access
to
credit,
education
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.
It
is
not
surprising
that
there
is
a
strong
correlation
between
countries
with
a
high
gender
gap
and
countries
struggling
with
high
levels
of
hunger5.
Additionally,
“wages,
agricultural
income
and
productivity
–
all
critical
for
reducing
poverty
–
are
higher
where
women
involved
in
agriculture
receive
a
better
education.”6
Closing
the
gender
gap
in
agriculture
through
education
will
catalyze
countries
to
achieve
the
MDGs
goals,
especially
in
addressing
hunger
and
sustainability.
5
United
Nations
International
Fund
for
Agricultural
Development
(IFAD),
Salzburg
Global
Seminar,
Belgian
Fund
for
Food
Security;
(13-­‐17
November
2011);
‘Transforming
agricultural
development
and
production
in
Africa:
Closing
gender
gaps
and
empowering
rural
women
in
policy
and
practice’;
http://www.ifad.org/gender/pub/salzburg.pdf.
6
UNESCO
et
al.
(2013);
Framework
And
Plan
Of
Action
for
the
Global
Alliance
for
Partnerships
on
Media
and
Information
Literacy
(GAPMIL):
Promoting
Media
and
Information
Literacy
(MIL)
as
a
Means
to
Open
and
Inclusive
Development;
www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/Events/gapmil_framework_and_plan_of_action.pdf;
accessed
11
March
2013.

5. Education
And
Capacity
Building:
Women,
Girl
Child
And
Science
Education
Page
5
of
10
Authors:
Stella
Williams,
Joyce
Cacho,
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema,
Viola
Williams
and
Olabukunola
Williams
Presented
at:
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW58)
side
event
Planetary
Emergency:
African
Women
and
STEM
IV.
Women,
Girl
Child
and
Science
Education
Women
and
girls
can
excel
in
the
fields
of
science
and
technology
yet
the
numbers
do
not
reflect
this
reality.
Half
of
the
world’s
population
is
women
and
girls
and
yet
data
shows
that
almost
half
of
the
worlds’
out-­‐of-­‐schools
girls,
are
in
sub-­‐
Saharan
Africa.
Therefore,
in
terms
of
basic
literacy,
the
noticeably
large
gap
between
girls
and
boys
persists.
The
MDGs
forced
many
African
nations
to
increase
education
funding,
which
is
linked
to
a
subtle
narrowing
of
the
literacy
gap
between
African
girls
and
boys.
However,
the
challenges
are
not
going
away
at
a
rate
to
make
the
much
needed,
dramatic
difference
in
eradicating
hunger
and
reducing
poverty,
not
even
in
the
next
15-­‐20
years.
The
gaps
are
most
stark
and
prominent
in
STEM
education,
especially
in
rural
areas.
These
areas
require
our
focus
and
commitment
to
turn
the
tide.
Interventions
to
promote
education,
gender
equality
and
food
security
must
include
rural
women
and
rural
communities.
It
has
been
shown
that
“empowering
rural
women
increases
agricultural
production
and
food
security.”
There
are
various
initiatives
and
programs
targeted
at
addressing
gender
equality
and
agriculture
from
all
angles.
To
build
on
international
grant
programs,
such
as
the
AWARD
Fellowship
Program,
AWARD
Fellows
and
Mentors
in
Nigeria
came
together
to
create
the
Nigerian
Women
in
Agricultural
Research
for
Development
(NiWARD)
program
V.
Case
Study
on
Ownership
and
Leadership
at
the
Country
Level
The
NiWARD
concept
exists
because
of
the
more
than
6
years
of
history
that
the
AWARD
Program
created.
AWARD’s
direct
focus
on
fostering
leadership
skills
in
African
women
for
institutional
development
and
supporting
research
directly
related
to
the
roles
of
women
in
African
agriculture
production,
processing,
marketing,
and
post
harvest
loss
management
was
timely.
Given
the
size
of
the
gender
equality
challenge
in
STEM
in
Africa
and
the
strong
appetite
for
Africa’s
markets
that
grew
at
an
average
annual
rate
of
more
than
8
percent,
despite
the
precipitous
drop
in
global
economy
performance,
the
AWARD
program
was
a
strategic
outgrowth
of
a
pilot
project
by
the

6. Education
And
Capacity
Building:
Women,
Girl
Child
And
Science
Education
Page
6
of
10
Authors:
Stella
Williams,
Joyce
Cacho,
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema,
Viola
Williams
and
Olabukunola
Williams
Presented
at:
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW58)
side
event
Planetary
Emergency:
African
Women
and
STEM
Gender
and
Development
Program
of
the
Consultative
Group
in
International
Agriculture
Research7
(CGIAR).
NiWARD
takes
the
AWARD
Program
goals
of
building
connections
and
networks
to
continue
to
focus
on
achieving
food
secure
countries
through
empowering
women
and
mainstreaming
gender.8
A
study
undertaken
by
AWARD
and
Agricultural
Science
and
Technology
Indicators
(ASTI)
on
“Female
Participation
in
African
Agricultural
Research
and
Higher
Education:
New
Insights”
found
that
only
1
in
4
researchers
were
women
and
at
the
leadership
level,
only
1
in
7
women
held
management
positions.
The
results
of
the
study
show
that
programs
like
AWARD
are
necessary
to
reduce
the
gender
gap
in
agriculture.
In
countries
with
available
comparative
data,
the
percentage
of
women
working
in
agricultural
research
and
institutions
of
higher
learning
range
from
as
low
as
6%
in
Ethiopia
to
41%
in
Botswana,
which
ranked
highest
in
the
survey.
Although,
the
survey
results
indicated
a
small
increase
in
the
overall
number
of
women
participating
in
agricultural
research,
the
increase
occurred
mostly
in
the
fields
of
life
and
social
sciences.
In
the
most
critical
sciences
-­‐-­‐
basic
science
which
has
been
historically
overwhelmingly
dominated
by
men
-­‐-­‐
that
have
huge
implications
for
transformational
innovation
in
agriculture
and
the
related
fields
of
water
management,
soil
quality
management,
and
nutrition
for
example,
the
participation
rate
of
women
is
flat
or
declining.
When
examining
the
career
trajectory
of
the
increasing
women
graduates
in
agriculture,
women
show
a
low
preference
for
pursuing
agricultural
research
as
a
profession.
This
pattern
of
declining
proportion
of
women
in
agricultural
7
The
Consultative
Group
in
International
Agriculture
Research
(CGIAR),
is
a
global
partnership
that
unites
organizations
engaged
in
research
for
a
food
secure
future.
CGIAR
research
is
dedicated
to
reducing
rural
poverty,
increasing
food
security,
improving
human
health
and
nutrition,
and
ensuring
more
sustainable
management
of
natural
resources.
It
is
carried
out
by
15
Centers
that
are
members
of
the
CGIAR
Consortium,
in
close
collaboration
with
hundreds
of
partner
organizations,
including
national
and
regional
research
institutes,
civil
society
organizations,
academia,
and
the
private
sector.
Members
provide
funding
to
the
CGIAR
and
includes
country
governments,
institutions,
and
philanthropic
foundations
including
the
USA,
Canada,
the
UK,
Germany,
Switzerland,
and
Japan,
the
Ford
Foundation,
the
Food
and
Agriculture
Organization
of
the
United
Nations
(FAO),
the
International
Fund
for
Agricultural
Development
(IFAD),
the
United
Nations
Development
Programme
(UNDP),
the
World
Bank,
the
European
Commission,
the
Asian
Development
Bank,
the
African
Development
Bank,
and
the
Fund
of
the
Organization
of
the
Petroleum
Exporting
Countries
(OPEC
Fund).
The
15
Research
Centers
generate
and
disseminate
knowledge,
technologies,
and
policies
for
agricultural
development
through
the
CGIAR
Research
Programs.
The
CGIAR
Fund
provides
reliable
and
predictable
multi-­‐year
funding
to
enable
research
planning
over
the
long
term,
resource
allocation
based
on
agreed
priorities,
and
the
timely
and
predictable
disbursement
of
funds.
The
multi-­‐
donor
trust
fund
finances
research
carried
out
by
the
Centers
through
the
CGIAR
Research
Programs.
8
“28
Outstanding
Scientists
Win
AWARD
Advanced
Science
Training
Competition”;
www.awardfellowships.org/news-­‐and-­‐events/award-­‐news.html;
accessed
11
March
2014.

7. Education
And
Capacity
Building:
Women,
Girl
Child
And
Science
Education
Page
7
of
10
Authors:
Stella
Williams,
Joyce
Cacho,
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema,
Viola
Williams
and
Olabukunola
Williams
Presented
at:
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW58)
side
event
Planetary
Emergency:
African
Women
and
STEM
research
profession
may
indicate
deficiencies
in
the
research
work
environment
when
it
comes
to
supporting
the
career
advancement
of
women.
NiWARD
seeks
to
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
scientific
research
and
outreach
to
rural
communities
nationally.
By
partnering
with
the
Federal
and
State
government
to
help
local
women,
at
the
grass
roots
level,
to
increase
their
income
and
farm
productivity
through
improved
access
to
technology
and
finance,
NiWARD
is
building
a
portfolio
of
impactful
interventions.
NiWARD,
as
a
National
program,
will
ensure
the
visibility
of
empowered
Nigerian
women
scientists
through
their
involvement
in
the
nation’s
Agricultural
Transformation
Agenda
(ATA),
a
program
that
is
directed
by
the
President
of
Nigeria,
Dr.
Goodluck
Jonathan.
Demonstrating
leadership
and
ownership
by
Nigerian
women
scientists,
builds
on
skills
honed
as
AWARD
Program
Fellows
and
is
the
basis
for
raising
the
profile
of
agricultural
research
careers
to
women
and
girls
in
rural
communities,
academic
institutions,
government
administration,
and
more
broadly
State
and
Federal
legislative
bodies,
and
the
private
sector.
In
the
spirit
of
an
old
African
proverb
that
says
"If
you
want
to
go
quickly,
go
alone.
If
you
want
to
go
far,
go
together.",
it
is
important
to
note
that
the
inception
of
NiWARD
experienced
support
from
Dr.
Akin
Adesina,
Minister
of
Agriculture,
Nigeria;
Professor
Adebiyi
Daramola,
Vice
Chancellor
of
the
Federal
University
of
Technology,
Akure
(FUTA),
Ondo
State,
Nigeria
and
Professor
Baba
Yusuf
Abubakar.
“Going
far”
speaks
to
unwavering
commitment
and
institution
building.
The
collective
efforts
of
Federal
and
State
level
support
led
to
NiWARD
establishing
a
base
at
the
Centre
for
Gender
in
Science
and
Technology9
(CEGIST)
at
FUTA.
VI.
Conclusion
The
AWARD
Program
took
the
first
step
by
investing
in
the
African
women
scientist,
determined
from
the
lab
bench,
to
create
a
resilient
tomorrow,
where
more
9
The
Centre
for
Gender
Issues
in
Science
and
Technology
(CEGIST)
of
the
Federal
University
of
Technology,
Akure
was
established
in
January
2009,
following
a
directive
of
the
Nigerian
Universities
Commission
to
set
up
Entrepreneurship
Study
Centres
in
all
Nigerian
universities.
The
Centre
which
started
as
an
entrepreneurship
and
gender
issues
Centre,
now
focuses
on
gender
issues
only
with
a
restructured
mandate
to
promote
gender
equity
and
entrepreneurship
empowerment
towards
the
reduction
of
poverty
and
creation
of
wealth
in
the
context
of
gender
mainstreaming.
www.futa.edu.ng/futacms/page_images/cegist/CEGIST_Factsheet.pdf;
accessed
11
March
2014.

8. Education
And
Capacity
Building:
Women,
Girl
Child
And
Science
Education
Page
8
of
10
Authors:
Stella
Williams,
Joyce
Cacho,
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema,
Viola
Williams
and
Olabukunola
Williams
Presented
at:
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW58)
side
event
Planetary
Emergency:
African
Women
and
STEM
girl
children
are
empowered
to
live
their
dreams
of
a
better
tomorrow
for
all
communities
–
be
it
in
rural,
per-­‐urban,
or
urban
areas.
From
the
continental
level
AWARD
Program,
NiWARD
is
taking
ownership
and
leading
at
the
country
level
to
ensure
that
rural
women
and
communities
and
their
pivotal
role
in
eradicating
hunger
and
reducing
poverty
in
Africa,
is
engrained
in
the
dynamic
policy
and
action
frameworks.
Through
collaboration,
capacity
building,
and
gender
responsiveness,
Nigerian
AWARD
participants
through
NiWARD
can
transfer
and
share
their
knowledge
with
rural
women
and
continue
to
develop
Nigeria’s
agriculture
research
agenda.
Distinctly
including,
and
inserting
women
agricultural
researchers
and
rural
women
farmers
in
national
agricultural
investment
strategies
is
the
lever
to
catalyze
transformation
of
the
structure
of
Africa’s
economies
to
deliver
robust
growth
for
the
rapidly
increasing,
and
youthful
population.
The
rise
of
Africa
depends
on
it.
Programs
like
AWARD
and
NiWARD
are
examples
of
programs
that
are
needed
in
the
increasing
investment
climate,
where
the
cross-­‐cutting
issue
gender,
and
gaps
between
opportunities
for
women
and
men,
and
girls
and
boys,
is
shaping
decisions
to
scale-­‐up
the
results
from
many
pilot
and
multi-­‐phase
projects,
in
coordinated
frameworks
of
National
Agriculture
and
Food
Security
Investment
Plans
(NAFSIPs)
and
donor
coordination
at
the
national
and
regional
levels
in
Africa.10
This
is
an
acute
challenge
because
“in
many
parts
of
the
global
south,
there
is
a
structural
deficit
in
access
to
education
by
girl
children,
and
where,
when
there
has
been
improved
access
to
primary
education
there
are
high
attrition
rates
at
the
age
when
a
girl
matures
into
a
woman,
typically
at
the
high
school
age.
Defining
targets
on
a
gender
disaggregated
basis
in
the
Mutual
Accountability
Framework
of
the
Comprehensive.
Africa
Agriculture
Development
Programme
(CAADP),
is
critical
to
attracting
the
quantity
and
quality
of
African
and
off-­‐continent
investment
capital
to
support
NAFSIPs
in
a
way
that
should
translate
into
increased
investment
to
increase
access
to
school
and
at
at
the
same
time,
reduce
girl
child
attrition
rates
challenges
of
girls
from
school,
improve
women’s
access
to
agricultural
input
markets
and
at
the
same
time
increase
the
number
of
women
10
Keizire,
B.
(2013);
“Promoting
Mutual
Accountability
through
Strengthened
Agricultural
Joint
Sector
Reviews”;
www.resakss.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Boaz.pdf
;
Accessed
11
March
2014.
E.
Ransom
and
C.
Bain
(2011),
‘Gendering
Agricultural
Aid:
An
Analysis
of
Whether
International
Development
Assistance
Targets
Women
and
Gender’,
Gender
&
Society
25(1):48-­‐74.

9. Education
And
Capacity
Building:
Women,
Girl
Child
And
Science
Education
Page
9
of
10
Authors:
Stella
Williams,
Joyce
Cacho,
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema,
Viola
Williams
and
Olabukunola
Williams
Presented
at:
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW58)
side
event
Planetary
Emergency:
African
Women
and
STEM
entrepreneurs,
and
for
the
youth
–
girl
and
boy
children
–
turnaround
the
trend
of
declining
interest
in
agricultural
sciences.
The
time
is
now
to
close
the
gender
gap
in
agriculture
because,
in
addition
to
being
the
right
thing
to
do,
it
is
a
major
lever
to
raise
the
platform
of
economic
performance
of
African
nations
so
that
they
are
more
resilient
and
generators
of
growth
for
continent-­‐wide
demand,
and
global
market
demand.
Hitting
Africa’s
current
food
and
nutrition
security,
and
poverty
reduction
targets
is
the
basic
achievement
of
mainstreaming
gender
in
education
in
STEM
areas.
The
inter-­‐generational
impact
of
robust
innovation
systems
–
from
cradle
to
grave;
from
farm
to
table;
from
households
to
communities,
near
and
far
–
by
linking
gender
outcomes
with
the
portfolio
of
investments
today,
is
a
worthy
reward
to
seek
–
today.
It
is
through
advocacy
by
all
participants
at
the
58th
Session
of
the
Commission
on
Status
of
Women
(CSW),
UN
Women
and
the
Africa
Union
Commission’s
(AUC’s)
Commissioner
Rhoda
Peace
Tumusiime
,
Department
of
Rural
Economy
and
Agriculture
(DREA)
–
especially
in
celebrating
the
AUC
2014
Year
of
Agriculture
and
Food
Security
–
to
continue
to
support
coordinated
policy
design,
and
data
based
advocacy
across,
so
that
there
is
a
structural
break
with
the
past
and
the
girl
child
and
women
are
integrated
into
identifying
solutions
to
achieve
near
term
targets,
such
as
the
MDGs,
but
also
to
forever
improve
the
innovation
process
and
the
career
environments
for
women
in
STEM
professions
in
Africa.
-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­
###
-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­
Acknowledgements
Our
thanks
goes
to
Pan
African
Strategic
Policy
and
Research
Group,
USA
(PANAFSTRAG)
for
their
invitation
to
participate
in
their
UN
Women,
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW58)
side
event,
Planetary
Emergency,
African
Women
and
STEM.
Specifically
we
thank
Dr.
Iman
Drammeh
Nur,
Executive
Director,
The
Drammeh
Institute;
and,
Viola
Williams,
for
their
vision
to
give
additional
voice
to
these
key
issues.
Tireless
work
by
Vicki
Wilde
over
an
8-­‐year
period
reflects
exemplary
dedication
and
focus.
From
attracting
pilot
project
funding
from
Rockefeller
Foundation–Africa
in
2005,
to
form
a
strong
data
basis
for
the
project
concept
note
that
garnered
initial

10. Education
And
Capacity
Building:
Women,
Girl
Child
And
Science
Education
Page
10
of
10
Authors:
Stella
Williams,
Joyce
Cacho,
Mojisola
Olayinka
Edema,
Viola
Williams
and
Olabukunola
Williams
Presented
at:
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
(CSW58)
side
event
Planetary
Emergency:
African
Women
and
STEM
investment
from
the
Bill
and
Melinda
Gates
Foundation
(BMGF)
and
the
United
States
Agency
for
International
Development
(USAID)
to
scale-­‐up
to
the
AWARD
Program
targeting
women
scientists
in
English-­‐speaking
Africa,
to
attracting
private
sector
partnership,
her
efforts
standout.
The
AWARD
Program
Advisory
Board,
fully
supported
Vicki’s
efforts
to
expand
the
Program
to
African
French-­‐speaking
countries
and
attracting
additive
funding
from
Agropolis
Fondation
in
Montpellier,
France;
and,
additive
partnership
with
the
West
and
Central
African
Council
for
Agricultural
Research
and
Development
(CORAF/WECARD)
in
Dakar,
Senegal.
In
2013,
Vicki
was
appointed
Senior
Program
Officer,
Global
Development,
Agricultural
Development
and
Gender
at
BMGF.
In
her
current
role,
Vicki
will
have
the
opportunity
to
deepen
the
embedding
of
women
in
STEM
education
and
strengthening
career
development
and
leadership,
as
key
levers
to
respond
to
challenges
in
innovation,
food,
agriculture,
nutrition,
and
wealth
creation
at
the
global
level.