The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful was on Wednesday (8th March) honoured at the Females in Tech (FEMITECH) conference, for her outstanding leadership in tech and women empowerment.
FEMITECH is an annual conference organised to commemorate International Women’s Day to honour females in technology space while highlighting opportunities in ICT that are readily available for women.
The event, which was organised by the Ghana India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT(GI-KACE) brought together accomplished women in the tech space. Director General of Ghana India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT(GI-KACE). It was under the theme “Advocating for Gender equality through ICT”.
Other individuals awarded for their role in promoting technology also included Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann Dean of school of Engineering Sciences, University of Ghana and the quiz mistress for the National Maths and Science Quiz. Dr. Lucy Agyepong, Dean of Engineering, Academic City University College.
Others include Winfred Kobin, Chief Operations Officer and Co-Founder of Super fluids Labs, Regina Homu, CEO of Soronko Academy and Nana Yaa Konadu of Peace FM.
Dr Collins Yeboah Afari, in his welcome remarks, said the event was also aimed at connecting and inspiring collective efforts for a more inclusive, sustainable and innovative ICT ecosystem.
He said as society acknowledges the challenges women face in the tech space, it was important to support them against discrimination and bias while celebrating the unique perspective, skills and talent women brought to the table.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful in her presentation applauded (GI-KACE) for providing a forum for women of diverse backgrounds to share their knowledge in technology. An industry that will not only help raise a generation to take up the mantle in the tech space but offer opportunity for women to thrive. She said “women make up small percentage of the ICT workforce”.
The Minister also cited a UN report where Maths, Science and Technology would constitute a major component of work by 2050. She stated that in a world where technology has become an integral part of life, more initiatives need to be taken to encourage women to pursue careers in technology, to ensure the country has diverse and inclusive team that can create products and services to cater for several needs.
Present at the event were Director General of NITA, Richard Okyere Fosu, Suzanne Diop, Head of Nestle Business Services and Fatomaumatou, MD, VLISCO.
Other participants include some notable individuals, representatives from various institutions and SHS students.
