GMES and Africa: Women and Girls in Science - the Programme's Commitments

Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. During its Phase 2 GMES and Africa will implement several activities to accelerate the inclusion of Women and Girls in the African EO sector.  

Women and Girls in Science are Agents of Change. In order to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, the United Nations General Assembly declared 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in 2015.

Currently, women are underrepresented in the field of Earth observation in Africa, while at the same time, empowering women in Earth observation science and technology, from fundamental theory to applications and service delivery, to management of Earth observation projects, is essential to support the development of this sector in Africa, provide substantial room for growth, and ultimately contribute to the development of the continent. 

In the next 4 years: 

GMES and Africa will develop and implement a gender-sensitive training strategy

This Gender-sensitive  training strategy is meant to support empowerment of women with the relevant knowledge, skills and values on EO matters that allow them to contribute to the effective implementation of the programme in generating and applying EO-based information in natural & water resources and marine & coastal areas management. It will 

• Evaluate the GMES & Africa programs achievements with respect to gender perspective;
• Develop the methodology or approach to increase the number of women in GMES & Africa implementation as well as monitoring the progress made for the involvement of women in the GMES & Africa programme;
• Insert/include gender-sensitive consideration in the GMES & Africa training activities in collaboration with EUMETSAT, JRC, ESA, Consortia, academia, private sector and other stakeholders (Empowering women in earth observation science and technology from fundamental and theory to applications and services delivery, Earth Observation project management).

GMES and Africa will develop and implement a gender-sensitive communication strategy

This strategy aims to establish a coherent, innovative, and harmonized set of communication tools and activities building on experiences from GMES & Africa 1. It will insert/include gender-sensitive consideration in the GMES & Africa outreach, uptake and dissemination activities in collaboration with EUMETSAT, JRC, ESA, Consortia, academia, private sector and other stakeholders.

GMES and Africa will create and animate a group called “Women in GMES & Africa” 

GMES and Africa is basically promoting the use of Copernicus data and products in Africa. Taking benefit of “Women in Copernicus” expertise, GMES and Africa aims of bringing together women for sharing knowledge and best practices for their full involvement not only in GMES & Africa programme implementation but in general in earth observation initiatives and projects. 

This working group will gather all the women from different EO background who are contributing to/benefiting from the GMES & Africa services (including training and other aspects). The objective of this working group is to give the room and opportunity to women to express themselves and to highlight their needs in terms of EO science, Technology, Education and employment. It will be also the room for them to showcase the challenges or advances or achievements in terms of reaching gender balance goals in the field of EO (at least at the level of GMES & Africa Program).

Last, the performance of the GMES and Africa Program itself will be gender sensitive, assess gender equality and implementation of rights-based approach principles (participation, non-discrimination, accountability, and transparency). 

More

• The Africa Union Agenda 2063 encapsulates not only Africa’s Aspirations for the Future but also identifies key Flagship Programmes which can boost Africa’s economic growth and development and lead to the rapid transformation of the continent. https://au.int/en/agenda2063/overview
• From AUDA-NEPAD, Continent Performance by All Aspirations, https://www.nepad.org/agenda-dashboard
• From the United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day
• From Women in Copernicus, https://womenincopernicus.eu/ - Answer the survey 2.0 !
• The Initiative WOMEN IN TECH. In November 2021 a symposium was organized by the leader of the GMES Marine Consortium in West Africa, for the benefit of young girls, https://twitter.com/ug_gmes 

Contacts

• Dr. Tidiane OUATTARA, GMES and Africa Coordinator, OuattaraT[at]africa-union.org
• Adiatou Fatty, GMES and Africa Communication Officer, Fattya[at]africa-union.org
• Meshack Kinua Ndiritu, GMES and Africa Training Officer, NdirituM[at]africa-union.org