A leading Ghanaian consultant, Dr Genevieve Pearl Duncan Obuobi and the former President of Mauritius, Dr.Ameenah Garib-Fakim have won the Justina Mutale Foundation’s prestigious Iconic Female Leadership Awards at the just-ended three-day summit in Philadelphia in the United States (U.S).
They along with other female leaders were awarded for their exemplary leadership and for being role models to the youth. The summit was organised by the Justina Mutale Foundation to commemorate the United Nations International Day of the Girl.
It brought together over 200 leaders and youth from over 16 different countries and several dignitaries including Dr Gurib-Fakim, first female President of Mauritius; H.E Movita Johnson-Harrell, UN Ambassador to Geneva; Rep Joanna E.McClinton, Pennsylvania Speaker of the House; H.E Dr Justina Mutale, Africa Woman of the Year Emeritus & Global Envoy for Gender Equality; Convenor for World Summit on Women and Girls, Dr Palmer, Founder Blacks People’s University, Philadelphia.
Dr Duncan Obuobi who is the Lead Consultant of Tarragon Edge, an Accra-based SME System and implementation Company in a presentation, called her fellow female leaders to be intentional about encouraging girls to not just study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), but pursue it to higher levels.
“For women, we have a lot that life brings to us on our journey so often than not, we tend to let go of our dreams and focus on other equal areas of interest. However, I believe we can prioritise and integrate all and with intentionality, we can get to the pinnacle of our STEM career path”.
Dr Duncan Obuobi challenged the girls and the female gender to live beyond the stereotype by venturing into the field of STEM and its related activities.
Emphasising: “These days, once you have the passion and brains for a particular career choice, go for it! Here, we all need to have a great support system from our parents, teachers, cheerleaders, coaches, mentors and all the support that can encourage us to go for gold”.
Dr Duncan Obuobi who shared the podium with other powerful female speakers did not mince words when stated categorically: “We need to get critical thinking and problem-solving skills embedded in our curriculum”.
According to her, this artificial intelligence (AI) world requires more curiosity, creativity, and design thinking, hence as leaders and policymakers, they need to be aware and futuristic by redefining the way the youth are learning and applying knowledge.
“We need to be able to lead STEM projects at community levels, individual, and corporate levels”. In her view, everyone can play a role in doing his or her bit in supporting the governments to get the STEM agenda especially for girls to realize their full potential.
She advocated for more women in tech leadership doing great to mentor more girls and let them know that it is doable, despite the challenges and let’s get into action.
This could be done by sponsoring and intentionally ensuring great succession planning so more women interested in tech can get to the leadership and decision-making level.
Dr Duncan Obuobi was quick to give credit to some wonderful Ghanaian women in tech such as Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh, Ing. Patricia Obo-Nai, Regina Honu, Winifred Kotin and her mentee Miriam Ocloo.
Diversity makes it beautiful, and the future of the digital economy can be even better if we have both perspectives, and the gap is a bit closed as currently women in tech are said to be 28%.
She was excited to have shared her knowledge and learning from leaders across the globe from diverse industries at the World Summit on Women and Girls in Philadelphia Town Hall, Mayor’s office, U.S.
Instructively, the Justina Mutale Foundation is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with offices in Lusaka, Zambia.
The Foundation which was launched at the House of Lords at Westminster Houses of Parliament in London in 2016, advocates for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in political leadership and economic empowerment by providing leadership and entrepreneurship training, mentorship, and coaching.
It also advocates for quality education and the retention and completion of tertiary education for young women and girls from rural disadvantaged communities in Africa by providing them with university scholarships to access tertiary education around the world.
