What does it mean to build feminist movements for women in research and science? What do these movements mean, and what do they look like? Do they create safe spaces for women to do research, for example? What are the safe spaces for women in research, and what does it mean to create enabling and conducive ecosystems that help these women-led feminist movements, and thrive within different spaces of innovation.
To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the Mawazo Institute hosted a webinar on February 13th, and invited women in our network of African researchers to begin a conversation around these questions. The webinar, entitled “Women in Science: The Next Big Idea”, was hosted by CEO Dr. Fiona Moejes with guest speakers Mawazo Alumni Margaret Muriuki and Cynthia Umuhire, and had participation from more than 40 women. Rarely has there been a space for African women researchers to share some of the systemic challenges so honestly, as some of the women remarked during the session.
"Society tells some narratives repeatedly and this makes us believe in them, which eventually deter us from pursuing certain opportunities because we don't fit in," said Sally Musungu, 2021 Mawazo Fellowship Alumna.
She urged women researchers to ignore these narratives and focus on being themselves. The participants unanimously agreed that women researchers should be involved in African feminist movement building.
"We can only do this by creating more spaces where we have such candid conversations with women in science and research, especially those in mentorship positions" Irene Magara, from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
In addition, women must allow their voices to be heard. They need to stand up, speak up and act. "I've seen women who have managed to get into positions of influence in the past have a "survivor" mentality - they had a hard time getting "to the top", having to constantly fight for their voices to be heard, so they often adopt the mentality that since they had a difficult time, nobody else should have it easier." Dr. Isabella Mandl.
The conclusion of the webinar evolved into intentional networking, and a willingness to move the conversation forward, outside of this space and into academia and beyond. Watch this space for more on how the conversation unfolds and moves into impact.
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