Mawazo Institute Celebrates 5 Years As The Female Future Of Science
Dr. Joy Kiiru, Deputy Board Chair at Mawazo Institute
Author: Fridah Wanjiku
Jan 19, 2022 Nairobi, Kenya- The Mawazo Institute, today, celebrates 5 years of operations since its foundation in December 2016. The theme for the Mawazo at 5 celebration is The Female Future of Science representing the institution’s vision of a future where women, science and research are integral to Africa’s development. In attendance were Mawazo beneficiaries, partners, donors, friends of the organisation, media, and last but not least the Mawazo staff and board.
In video remarks, Rachel Strohm, the co-founder, told the story of the founding of the organisation when her and the other founder Dr. Rose M. Mutiso were both studying and working in the USA. The lack of representation of women in areas of research and higher education in Africa gave impetus to Rose and Rachel to establish Mawazo Institute, an organisation that supports early-career women researchers as they work to find solutions to local and global development challenges.
“We found that the three major challenges women were facing as they started out their careers were training, access to research funding and lastly, recognition for their work. These things tend to build on each other”. We therefore focused on providing solutions to these challenges.” Rachel Strohm
Empirical evidence shows that, globally, women remain underrepresented in the research field. Within Sub-Saharan Africa, women only account for about 31% of scientists, as stated in the latest UNESCO Institute of Statistics database. As a result, women remain locked out of policy and decision-making processes on paramount developmental issues affecting the continent and their lives. To circumvent this issue of under-representation, Mawazo Institute’s programmes are designed to encourage more women in academia and research.
In attendance was also the acting CEO and Director of Programmes , Dr. Fiona Moejes, who spoke about the organisation’s strategic plan for the next 5 years in tackling the barriers faced by women in research including the areas in which the organisation is looking to expand.
“I feel very honored to be part of Mawazo as it turns 5. We are at a time at Mawazo where we are not only going to support African women in science but also working towards changing the ecosystem in which they navigate in. We will be working towards changing all the prejudices around being an African woman in science. We want to create a world where these women can strive and that comes with changing the ecosystem.”- Dr.Fiona Moejes
Mawazo’s accomplishments in its first five years would not have been possible if it was not for the generous support of their donors and partners. Networks and funding established in the five years of operations have helped the organisation scale up. The first Mawazo programme, the PhD Scholars Programme, came to an end having graduated a successful cohort of 10 Scholars from Kenya. The PhD Scholars Programme has since evolved into the Mawazo Learning Exchange (MLEx) Fellowship Programme with a current cohort of 41 PhD beneficiaries from 8 African countries. Through this platform, Mawazo is providing an online learning community where beneficiaries are developing their professional skills, while linking a broader community of early-career academics to relevant opportunities.
Mawazo has always been keen on the structural barriers faced by women working in research on the continent. As the organization looks back at its five year milestone, it is renewing its commitment to the vision that led to its founding five years ago; continuing to support African women scientists with training and resources that can help them transform the continent.
ABOUT MAWAZO INSTITUTE
The Mawazo Institute is a women-led African organization supporting early-career women researchers as they work to find local solutions to global development challenges. At Mawazo, we seek to support the next generation and uptake of homegrown and evidence-based solutions to pressing development needs.
Mawazo targets individuals as important agents of change in our ailing knowledge ecosystems. We focus on young women, who are significantly underrepresented in academia and research, and who can contribute important knowledge and perspectives to issues affecting African development. We work to unlock their potential by equipping them with the skills and networks to conduct high-quality research.
We also provide training and platforms to support their public writing and policy influence, which fills gaps left by many local higher education institutions. We aim to prepare them to be future thought leaders and public scholars who have impact and visibility both within and outside the academy.
Our vision is a world in which the voices and ideas of early-career African women shape the future of the continent and the world.
Our mission is to support early-career female scholars and thought leaders in Africa to strengthen their research, policy influence and public engagement.