Ashesi offers STEM programs in Engineering, Computer Science, Management Information Systems and Business Administration which has a strong emphasis on Math, Finance, Accounting, and Investment. Typically, women are underrepresented in these STEM programs, and so its imperative that Ashesi’s female students are provided with academic and other supporting schemes.
Of 419 students who participated in the 2024 Global Mentorship Initiative, 238 (57%) were females. All of these participants were members of the sophomore and junior (3rd and 4th year) class. Of the 71 participants in the Ashesi Microsoft Engineering Group Mentorship Program, 47 (66%) were females.
At Ashesi, the following are a few programs designed to support female students’ academic success and persistence:
1. The Global Mentorship Initiative (GMI)
2. Ashesi-Microsoft Engineering Group Mentorship Programme
3. Mentoring by Female Faculty
4. Mentoring in the Profession
5. Research on Female Students
6. Women Empowerment Associations
7. Career Services Mentorship Program
8. Female Scholarships at Ashesi
9. Academic Mentorship Program
10. Course inclusion of Female Protagonists
Female Students Support Program
1. The Global Mentorship Initiative
Ashesi collaborates with the Global Mentorship Initiative (GMI) to provide students with structured, one-on-one mentorship designed to enhance their professional development and career readiness. This partnership connects Ashesi students with experienced professionals worldwide, offering guidance and support as they transition from academia to the workforce. GMI’s 14-week structured curriculum, students develop and polish the critical soft skills necessary for a young professional to successfully launch their career.
2. Ashesi-Microsoft Engineering Group Mentorship Programme:
Microsoft’s Engineering, Data Operations, and Tools (EDOT) Group, in collaboration with Ashesi’s Career Services Office, launched a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Pathways mentorship programme for students. The programme was designed to empower STEM talent through mentorship and paired 70 mentors from the EDOT Group with 70 STEM-focused second and third-year students from Ashesi. Mentees had regular conversations with their Microsoft mentors, in addition to structured sessions with suggested topics and themes. Structured session themes included goal setting, exploring STEM careers, and preparing for job search. The programme also provided networking opportunities that connect mentees with industry professionals in their areas of interest.
At the end of the program, out of 57 student respondents 72% were satisfied with the experience overall. 95% indicated their interest in participating in the program again and 84.5% stated they would recommend the program to other students if it runs this year. Overall the program was successful. The Microsoft team hopes to continue to engage the Ashesi community via other routes outside of mentorship. They shared that they would revert with potential alternative pathways to connect with students and support their career success as they transition into the world of work.
3. Mentoring by Female Faculty
Dr. Elena Rosca (BioEngineer) and Dr. Ayorkor Korsah (Robotics and Computer Scienctist) 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 receive guidance to find work-arounds.
4. Mentoring in the Profession
Female engineers Mentoring Female engineering students
Lucy Quist, engineer and the first Ghanaian female Chief Technology Officer in a telecommunications company assisted in mentoring.
In addition, Ashesi’s intentionally selected female guest speakers contribute to mentoring in the profession, e.g., Carlien Bou-Chedid, a Civil and Structural/Earthquake Engineer was the first female in Ghana’s history to become an engineer, a former President of the Ghana Institute of Engineers, and the first female and first Ghanaian to be elected the president of the Federation of African Engineering Organization (FAEO).
Their Terms of Reference included
- Female engineers modeling, mentoring, and engaging engineering students, in particular female engineering students
- Conversations on Moving from theory to practice in engineering
- Engineers serving as visiting short term professors, webinar instructors, adjuncts, guest speakers, etc.
- 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.
5. Research on Female Students
In the academic year’s 2016/2017 and 2019/2020, and subsequently the Computer Science faculty conducts focus groups with female Computer Science 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 major. One outcome was the female mentoring in the sciences.
6. Women Empowerment Associations
Ashesi female faculty and students participate in women empowering associations such as Yaa.W (Yielding Accomplished African Women). The Yaa.W mission is to provide transformative career opportunities to young college women in Africa by providing them with skills in finance or technology, mentorship, and leadership development that will lead them to land internships at top firms in Africa. In 2022, some Ashesi female students participated in Yaa.W’s events and a few female faculty at Ashesi mentored a number of young female entrepreneurs from Yaa.W’s premier cohort. Yaa.W was 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. In 2021, a Yaa.W chapter was launched at Ashesi. See flier below.
7. Females in the 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:
8. Female Scholarships at Ashesi
These include, but are not limited to:
- The Mary E. Sherman scholarship
- Women in Engineering Scholarships
- Female Religious Based Scholarships
- Jim Ovia Foundation Leaders Scholarship
- 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 scholarships to support women in Engineering.
9. Academic Mentorship Program
The Academic Mentorship Program was originally designed for students with a lower than average CGPA of 2.0 however per numerous requests, it is a service provided to students with priority given to applicants with greater academic needs per cohort and any other student interested in improving their academic performance. Faculty and faculty interns serve as mentors dedicated to 5 – 10 hours a week of tutoring 5 or more students per group.
On average, 65% of the participants in the University’s Academic Mentorship program have been female students.
10. Featuring Female Protagonists in Courses
In our Leadership Seminar Series of 3 – 4 years which every student has to take, there is a focus in the first and second series on the value of women as leaders See below excerpts of leadership course syllabi.
| Excerpt 1: 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 (19 minutes) |
| Excerpt 2: Leadership Seminar I: Example of Teaching Slides for Gender/Women’s Rights | |
| Excerpt 3: 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
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Giving Voice to Values Journal 4: Self-Knowledge and Sense of Purpose Due Saturday by 11:59 p.m. |
| Excerpt 4: Leadership Seminar II: Example of Teaching Slides for Gender/Women’s Rights | ||
