Marginalisation in Science: Women in Africa

KentOnline / KMTV

We travel to Ghana to speak to those in science who are creating opportunities for diverse talent in the field.

Transcript

00:00Not for me, not for you, not for us, as we were told growing up.

00:25Defined by our gender, it was not our place.

00:28Whatever will it be, they said, and are still saying, even as the world evolves.

00:35My name's Jennifer Lee, and a lot of my research is around marginalisation in science.

00:40And this film is about raising the visibility of black women in chemistry, in science, and

00:45in science communication.

00:46There still needs to be an awful lot of change in research culture to get rid of the discrimination

00:50that marginalised groups feel in science.

00:52Even though they're early career, or whether they're from the global south, or whether

00:55they're from the UK, wherever they are, there is a place for them and room for them within

00:59the chemistry and within the scientific community.

01:02In late 2019, a group of supramolecular chemists and I launched WISC, the International Women

01:07in Supramolecular Chemistry Network.

01:09WISC take an intersectional approach, which involves not just looking at gender, but including

01:14all aspects of people's intersecting identities, and making sure that all their voices are

01:19heard.

01:20We embed expertise from EDI, that's equity or equality, diversity and inclusion practices,

01:26and use a creative and reflective approach to build community and raise awareness of

01:30the lived experiences of marginalised groups.

01:32And through sharing our stories and discussing things, we managed to push each other forwards.

01:37And then more and more people wanted to get involved when they heard about what we were

01:40doing.

01:41Things like how to form networks, how to manage your social media profile, how to find mentors.

01:48Trying, in my view, to solve all problems of marginalisation within chemistry or within

01:55STEM is far too big a task for one individual to do all by themselves.

02:02We heard about EFEMS, Empowering Female Minds in STEM, and their founder, Dr Anna Ampour,

02:07who wanted to support women studying and working in science across Africa.

02:12We reached out to see if the model that we'd developed within WISC could help Anna and

02:16raise the visibility of black women in science and science communication.

02:19WISC has been very, very helpful with the development of EFEMS.

02:23After one meeting, they were very, very supportive to the point where they helped us with funding.

02:29We teamed up with them to do an ambassador programme, where we took an applicant so that

02:33we could send them to the University of Kent to get more training in science communication

02:39and also in the science lab.

02:41So I think that was really great to give two African women the opportunity to gain more

02:45experience under the supervision of a woman PI and also to gain mentorship.

02:49Ewerisi Manful from Ghana is studying her Master's in Molecular Biology, and Pinky

02:54Mokwana from South Africa is a radio broadcaster who's studying Environmental Chemistry.

02:58They're both already conducting exciting research, looking at the functions of different

03:03drugs and improving the quality of water that's making people sick.

03:06The Royal Society of Chemistry and the University of Kent funded these two WISC EFEMS ambassadors

03:11to visit the university and spend time in the labs and network.

03:15I think the networks have been great on both a personal and a professional level, but getting

03:21to endorse each other and say, hey, you're right, being reviewed by your peers who are

03:25from different contexts amplifies the value of the work and its contribution to society

03:31globally.

03:32They also took part in a live panel event hosted by the TV station, KMTV, and talked

03:38about their experiences in science as women in Africa and to highlight the need for visibility

03:43and representation in science communication and outreach.

03:46My name is Mariam and I'm joined by Pinky Mokwana and Ewerisi Manful who have joined

03:51us here in the UK today and will be sharing some of their stories.

03:54I believe anybody at all can do science.

03:57It's just you knowing that this is where you're going and you need to stay focused, work hard

04:02and get there.

04:03Because if people are doing so well, why can't I do the same?

04:07And I think those of us that are already in the system can maybe create content, content

04:13like how a typical day of a scientist looks like, how to even study science as a subject

04:17and the likes.

04:19And I believe in doing so, we sort of encourage people more or attract people to science.

04:25I remember being in high school and some of the teachers, our maths teacher was a man

04:31who was big and burly and he would always say, women should not be in science because

04:36you guys fall pregnant and have babies and abandon the work.

04:39And so there was initially, I think that was the first struggle that I encountered personally

04:45and I was like, what?

04:46But my other teacher, my physical science teacher said I should do this and she's a

04:49woman.

04:50And so already it started first with the gender disparities in science in school, how he would

04:57invest a lot in the boys.

05:00The KMTV team and I then travelled with Pinky and Iwirisi to the University of Ghana in

05:09the capital city of Accra, so we could support EFEMS as they led their first in-person boot

05:14camp and support the ambassadors to share their experiences and lead a creative workshop

05:19for all of the participants.

05:20Partnering with WISC, the main heart and mind behind it was, men, how do we decentralise

05:26the exclusivity of science?

05:28We have gathered women that are in different STEM fields and we're teaching them professional

05:32development workshops that would benefit them in their careers.

05:36It's been really great to see African women in STEM come together and support each other

05:40and also network and build this family and sisterhood so that they can encourage each

05:45other.

05:46We've had other women in STEM that have also come and speak at the workshop and they have

05:51been great role models to our students, specifically to show that you can be a woman in STEM and

05:57advance into your career and also have a family.

05:59So that's one take home that we've all learned, that you can do both and there are no limitations.

06:06The women attending the boot camp told us about their experiences within science and

06:10their passion to be visible role models for others.

06:13The barriers we face as women in science are mostly the challenges of being a wife, a mother

06:21and a working parent.

06:23You have to look at this in totality, how to merge the three.

06:27You have to be a good mum, be a good wife, be good at your workplace.

06:31So bridging them all in also has an impact on you as an individual and I wouldn't deny

06:37that it's a big job or a tough one.

06:40One thing I learned here is to be myself.

06:43Being in science has been one of the amazing, even though it has come with its setbacks

06:48and its experiences and all, but I've learned to back all those up and then still move forward

06:54and then also to encourage other people and let them know that they can do everything.

06:59And I'm so happy that EFEMS was able to give me this exposure.

07:03I've really learned a lot from problem solving, how to bridge the gap, how to be able to identify

07:10and meet the needs of the people and also social change as well.

07:17I've also been able to network and be encouraged by a network of growing young women who are

07:24so passionate for STEM.

07:25My take home is that it's possible to do science, be the woman you want to be, make the family

07:31you want to and yes, everything else.

07:36I know coming from an African background, my parents were always very supportive of

07:39what I was doing, but I've heard a lot of stories where some women want to go into STEM

07:45and specifically African women and the people around them are discouraging them or telling

07:51them that if you pursue a graduate school or if you go into medicine, how are you going

07:56to have a family?

07:57I think that that has really been engraved into our minds and so I think one of the main

08:02barriers that we're fighting is just a battle amongst ourselves, a battle amongst the ideology

08:07and the traditions of our culture.

08:09In my research, I've seen these same challenges around being a mother and the lack of representation

08:14within science in the West, but there are also different cultural and societal barriers

08:18for scientists in Africa.

08:20Science can be expensive.

08:22We don't have the kind of support in terms of funding and other resources that are necessary

08:30to do good science around here.

08:33It's very difficult.

08:34Funding opportunities generally go disproportionately to men, right?

08:38And so you can imagine that being in this environment, even if you had a good idea,

08:42to put it down as a proposal, where to even submit it?

08:45So now we need partnerships, you know, we collaborate in order to be able to get proposals

08:51out there, but it's very difficult to get funding for the kind of research that is required.

08:56We need to project the under-representation.

08:59When you look in the crowd and you only see the young men, you don't see the young ladies,

09:04doesn't it bother you?

09:05We have data to show this, are you not aware of it?

09:09And so we need to find ways of exposing what the problem is and explaining to a wider group

09:15of people.

09:16And that is where the work you're doing is important because you are showing what it

09:20really is so that we can now start doing the hard work of making things different.

09:25I'm looking forward to a time where we don't even have to have this kind of conversation.

09:29It's not a big deal because everybody is included.

09:32That is the target.

09:33There are also cultural barriers where we are in a society where I believe that we can

09:37do more to build scientific thinking in our choices and behaviour.

09:41And also in the area of public policy making where we can use evidence-based approaches

09:47to make a difference.

09:48So scientists also have this challenge of reaching policy makers and reaching members

09:52of the public with their research findings.

09:55Encouraging more women in science means that we are tapping more into our human resource

09:59base.

10:00Everybody who is part of the society gets to contribute to our development efforts,

10:05which really has to be driven by science and technology.

10:08So I see that as a way of strategically helping the country to advance.

10:13I mean that's primarily the reason why I support women in STEM activities.

10:17What I didn't really have when I was growing up is having a lot more female influence telling

10:23me yes this is right, you can do this, you can move this way and so on and so forth.

10:28Early on, when you get young girls to believe in themselves and to be confident that the

10:35brain they have doesn't end with childbirth but moves beyond that, they can do anything

10:44that they set their minds to.

10:45I can't tell you how honoured I feel to have in my lifetime the first female Vice-Chancellor

10:53in the University of Ghana.

10:55For me it is absolutely empowering and in the one year that she's been in office, the

11:03amount of things she's done feels like she's been in office for four years.

11:08Letting these young women see other women who have been able to get to where they are

11:14and showing them how they got there.

11:18If there's a will, there's definitely a way.

11:20So we have to let them believe in that will so that they find their own way.

11:25The EFEMS bootcamp was only the beginning of the opportunities and collaboration that

11:29is needed.

11:30Pinky is now even coming to the University of Kent to do a PhD as a direct result of

11:35being a WISC and EFEMS ambassador.

11:38Pinky and Awurisi are two of many women in Africa who are set to have long and successful

11:43scientific careers.

11:50EFEMS

11:53EFEMS

11:56EFEMS

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