Increasing Sense of Belonging Among Women Students at Ashesi
Measuring Our Impact  /  SDG 5

Ashesi offers STEM programs in Engineering, Computer Science, Management Information Systems and Business Administration with a strong emphasis on Math, Finance, Accounting, and Investment

Programs Supporting Female Students’ Academic Success and Persistence:

  1. Mentoring by Female Faculty
  2. Mentoring in the Profession
  3. Women Empowerment Associations
  4. Research on Female Students
  5. Career Services Mentorship Program
  6. Academic Mentorship Program
  7. Female Scholarships at Ashesi
  8. Course inclusion of Female Protagonists
Female Students Support Program
1. Mentoring by Female Faculty Dr. Elena Rosca (BioEngineer) and Dr. Ayorkor Korsah (Robotics, Computer Science) started a "Women in Engineering and Computer Science (Women in Tech)" group. The purpose is to provide a space where women in science-related fields can discuss real problems they face in their fields, and be guided to find work-arounds.
2. Mentoring in the Profession Female engineers Mentoring Female engineering students Lucy Quist, engineer and the first and second Ghanaian female Chief Technology Officers in a telcos assisted in mentoring in 2019.
Their Terms of Reference included:
  1. Female engineers modeling, mentoring, and engaging engineering students, in particular female engineering students
  2. Conversations on Moving from theory to practice in engineering
  3. Engineers serving as visiting short term professors, webinar instructors, adjuncts, guest speakers, etc.
  4. Mentors Reaching out to members of IET in Ghana and the UK to serve as visiting instructors forming a continuous pipeline source for Ashesi
Currently, there is an Engineering Speaker once a month who tells their engineering life story and answers questions posed by the students.
3. Women Empowerment Associations YAAW (yielding accomplished african women) currently has some female faculty at Ashesi mentoring one or two young entrepreneurs from their premier cohort post event. YAAW is the LARGEST TALENT ACCELERATOR for women in technology and finance on the continent. They've partnered with firms like Google, IBM, KPMG, Microsoft and Amazon and--guess what?!!--In attendance tomorrow, we will have the amazing Diana Wilson, CEO and Founder of YAAW and a marketing strategist at Google! The program starts at 3:00 pm GMT on Zoom and ends at 4. There are many prizes to be won, and fun games to be played!
We look forward to seeing you there! A calendar invite will be sent out shortly with the Zoom details.
If you haven't already, please do sign up to join the sisterhood! Fill this form here, or enter this link into your browser: https://forms.office.com/r/aVE0SW3tph YAAw Launch
4. Research on Female Students In 2016/2017 and 2019/2020, the Computer Science faculty conducted focus groups with female CS majors to better understand the experience of the female majors as part of a process of trying to increase the percentage of females in the CS major.
5. Career Services Mentorship Program The university's commitment to empowering female students in their professional endeavors is reflected in its Career Mentorship Program. Additionally, the university's focus on providing practical job shadowing opportunities for young women has yielded promising results, with 53.8% of the 79 mentees in 2022 being female, exemplifying Ashesi's commitment to equipping women with valuable hands-on experiences in their respective fields.
Ashesi University's relentless pursuit of gender equality and women's empowerment through its mentorship initiatives serves as a testament to its enduring commitment to fostering a more inclusive and equitable society. By providing a platform for women to thrive and succeed in both academic and professional realms, the university not only paves the way for individual growth but also contributes significantly to the realization of SDG 5's overarching vision of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, thereby fostering a brighter and more promising future for all.
See below a few testimonials from some female students:
6. Academic Mentorship Program 26% of the participants in the University’s Academic Mentorship program in 2022 were female students.
7. Female Scholarships at Ashesi These include, but are not limited to:
  1. The Mary E. Sherman scholarship
  2. Women in Engineering Scholarships
  3. Female Reglious Based Scholarships
  4. Jim Ovia Foundation Leaders Scholarship
  5. MasterCard Foundation Scholarship

When Ida Cole (of the Mary E. Sherman scholarship) was asked what inspired her to invest in women in engineering at Ashesi, she replied:

“My sister, Mary Sherman, was an engineer with multiple degrees in physics, electrical engineering, and business. It was a grand passion of hers to encourage young girls and women to enter technological fields, and she spoke to groups of girls/women throughout her distinguished career. To celebrate her 70th birthday, I created the Mary E. Sherman scholarship for girls interested in earning a degree in engineering.”

Ida Cole, through the Mary E. Sherman scholarship have donated $30,000.00+ in schlarships to support women in Engineering.

8. Courses In our Leadership series, which every student has to take over 3-4 years, there is a focus in the first and second series on the value of women.
Week 9 Lesson Plan in SOAN 111 – Leadership Seminar I
A Leader’s Styles and Methods: Women in Leadership

Read: This Child Will Be Great (excerpts), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Prologue, Chapters 9–17 (120 pages)

Watch: Sirleaf, E. J. (2011). A voice for freedom! [Video]. Nobel Prize.
Resource URL Link: Resource URL Link (19 minutes)

Leadership Seminar I: Example of Teaching Slides for Gender/Women’s Rights
Week 10 Lesson Plan in SOAN 211 – Leadership Seminar II
Genders, Minorities, and Oppressed Groups

Read: Appiagyei-Atua, K. (2012). Minority rights, democracy, and development: The African experience. African Human Rights Law Journal, 12, 69–88. (19 pages) Pailey, R. N. (2020). Women, equality, and citizenship in Africa. In Oxford encyclopedia of African politics (pp. 1834–1856). Oxford University Press. URL (22 pages)

For Friday Discussion Watch: Ethics Unwrapped Series: http://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/series/giving-voice-to-values
  • Pillar 3: Normalization
 Giving Voice to Values Journal 4: Self-Knowledge and Sense of Purpose Due Saturday by 11:59 p.m.
Leadership Seminar II: Example of Teaching Slides for Gender/Women’s Rights