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