Session

412 - AFRICA Track - Engaging Intergenerational African Women in STEM Outreach [1:00-1:30pm WAT]

Thursday, June 24th • 5:00am — 5:30am PDT

• Tosin Arowojolu, P.E., Network Advocate, WITI Bahrain
• Sicelo Dube, Director & Founder, Elevate Trust
• Winifred Ereyi, Head, WITI Africa
• Hajara Kabeer Abdulfatah, Founder, Girl in STEM Initiative / Northern Nigeria
• Oreoluwa Lesi, Founder & Executive Director, W.TEC
• Olu Maduka, Chair & Founding Board Member, Women in Energy, Oil & Gas

Africa lags way behind on addressing the "leaky" tech talent pipeline for women. Presently, women account for just 30% of sub-Saharan Africa's STEM professionals.This implies that the continent is not on target to meet the global aspiration of gender equality to empower all women and girls (#5 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals). UN Women has created a new, groundbreaking, multigenerational campaign: "Generation Equality: Realizing women's rights for an equal future." The campaign demands equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end to sexual harassment and all forms of violence against women and girls, healthcare services that respond to their needs, and their equal participation in political life and decision-making in all areas of life. This panel will discuss the contribution of different generations of female STEM professionals in bridging the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).