IBM, Peace Corps Boost Women Empowerment in West Africa

Breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling may soon become somewhat easier for Africa’s female population.

A recent landmark initiative between global technology company IBM and the US Peace Corps has further boosted ongoing efforts to advance the cause of women’s rights and empowerment in West Africa.

In an innovative and unique example of public-private partnership, the two institutions have teamed up to help the Ghanaian government’s extant efforts to bring women into the mainstream of national development. Neighboring countries in west and central Africa should also benefit from this plan to galvanize sustainable personal and professional opportunities for women, as African governments begin to actualize their economic integration efforts.  

Women’s rights were placed on the global development plate in 2000, when the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325, which recognizes the indispensable role of women in matters of peace and security, and by default in all affairs pertaining to human development.

Indeed, since the passage of UN Resolution 1325, countries and companies have intensified efforts to bring women into the mainstream of business, politics and society. In Asia, a continent like Africa also steeped in trado-cultural norms that often exclude women from the social and economic mainstream, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has introduced “Womenomics”, a set of policies aimed at getting companies to hire more women.

Clearly, Africa’s business and political leaders need to take a cue from the Japanese leader’s example. They would do well to adopt “Womenomics”, as it could be instrumental to the revival of their economies. Historically, women have always been major contributors to the social and economic ecosystem in most parts of Africa, but their contributions are often relegated in national policy formulation, and largely confined to the informal sectors. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), if countries eliminated the gender gap in their labor force, they would see their GDPs rise by a cumulative 12% over the next 15 years.

Last year, US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama launched the US Peace Corps ‘Let Girls Learn’ program, a U.S. government effort that aims to address the range of challenges preventing 62 million adolescent girls from attending and completing school, and from realizing their potential as adults. Bringing this initiative to the heart of Africa, IBM has collaborated with Peace Corps volunteers to support the Peace Corps’ Let Girls Learn program in Ghana.

Last week in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, a team of IBM specialists working with the Peace Corps presented recommendations to Ghanaian authorities on a range of issues aimed at supporting Ghana’s drive for technology utilization, academic development, gender equality and social transformation.

Concluding a month-long, pro bono consulting assignment in Accra, the 12-person IBM team, from eight countries, was the twelfth group since 2010 to provide assistance to Ghana as part of IBM’s Corporate Service Corps, which provides problem-solving support from IBM’s top employees to educational institutions, small businesses, non-governmental organizations, and governmental agencies in emerging markets.

During their assignment in Ghana, they worked on several projects at the country’s Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, and government agencies responsible for national academic programs and curriculum development, female empowerment and mentorship. Designing programs to promote education, training and opportunities for young women and disadvantaged citizens, they also worked with TECHAiDE, a technology-focused social enterprise that addresses girls’ empowerment and citizens’ development needs.

This was the first overseas collaboration between IBM and the Peace Corps since the two agencies launched an innovative public-private partnership to allow highly skilled corporate professionals to serve overseas in short-term, high-impact pro bono consulting assignments through the Peace Corps Response program. The project in Ghana will serve as a model for at least two more overseas collaborations later this year — one in the Philippines that will focus on disaster preparedness and resiliency, and the other in Mexico, focused on environmental issues.  

As one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, Ghana urgently seeks to improve girls’ education, women entrepreneurship and empowerment, and the integration of women into its national development process. Jobs creation, mass literacy and youth empowerment have been identified by the United Nations as crucial to Ghana’s economic and social development agenda.  

“Ghana continues to make very good progress in her quest to foster academic, economic, social and financial inclusion,” said Dr. Stephen Adu, Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service in the Ministry of Education. “Our work with IBM and the Peace Corps will help us solidify ongoing plans to bring women and disadvantaged sections of society in to the mainstream of development efforts.”

IBM presented its recommendations and findings to the following pro bono clients:

The Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection and the Ministry of Education: using analytics to measure the effectiveness of previous social marketing campaigns on girl child education, an IBM team developed an extensive female mentorship strategy supported by a web-based information management system. The team made recommendations for institutional ownership, outreach, and continuous impact analysis, being critical success factors for the proposed national Girls Empowerment and Mentorship (GEM) network.

TECHAiDE: IBM’s recommendations for TECHAiDE were consistent with ongoing efforts to expand access to education through ICT enabled solutions to the disadvantaged in Ghana’s urban, sub-urban and rural communities. The IBM team helped create a prototype and content strategy for TECHAiDE’s flagship ASANKA product. ASANKA (acronym for All Subjects And New Knowledge Access) is a digital solution which increases access and affordability to educational and socially relevant content. The IBM team proposed a sustainable business model around organizational transformation, financing, marketing, product development and supply chain to assure widespread adoption of the ASANKA product, nationally.

In addition, the IBM team helped establish relations between TECHAiDE and Peace Corps Ghana for on-going collaboration in support of Let Girls Learn programs. One IBM CSC volunteer will remain in Ghana for a few weeks to ensure wholesale transfer of data, recommendations and consulting support to the Peace Corps office in Ghana.

Ashesi University: Demonstrating their civic and innovative citizenship credentials during a day out in the community, the IBMers fostered cross mentoring activities between Peace Corps volunteers, undergraduates of Ashesi University – a leading not-for-profit Ghanaian institution – and 24 girls from selected Peace Corps supported schools, enabling the youths to acquire lifelong skills.

Since the launch of Let Girls Learn, with the help of corporate partners and individual donors from all over the U.S., Peace Corps has funded more than 100 Let Girls Learn projects in 22 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Central America. In addition, more than 800 Peace Corps volunteers have already received training to become catalysts for community-led change to improve girls’ access to education and empowerment.

“When we invest in the next generation of female leaders, we build a stronger global community,” said Tonia Wellons, Associate Director, Office of Strategic Partnerships for the Peace Corps. “The impact of empowering one woman with education and paid work ripples outward to positively benefit her children, community, country, and —eventually—the world.”

More than 130 Peace Corps volunteers are in Ghana working with their communities on projects in agriculture, education, and health. During their service in Ghana, Volunteers learn to speak local languages, including Dagaare, Dagbani, Ghanaian Sign Language, Gurune, Likpakpaln, Mampuli, and Twi. More than 4,495 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in Ghana since the program was established in 1961.

The Peace Corps sends the best and brightest Americans abroad on behalf of the United States to address the most pressing needs of people around the world. Volunteers work with their community members at the grassroots level to develop sustainable solutions to challenges in education, health, economic development, agriculture, environment and youth development. Through their service, volunteers gain a unique cultural understanding and a life-long commitment to service that positions them to succeed in today’s global economy. Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 220,000 Americans of all ages have served in 141 countries worldwide.

IBM’s Corporate Service Corps is a global pro-bono initiative through which IBM deploys teams of top achieving employees to emerging market countries. These global and multicultural multi-ethnic teams spend one month on the ground working with local government, nonprofit civic groups, and small business to develop blueprints that touch issues ranging from economic development, energy and transportation, to education and healthcare. Participating IBM employees offer skills that include technology, scientific research, marketing, finance, human resources, law, and economic development.

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