INWES 2015 - Regional Conference of the International Network of Women Scientists and Engineers

Who we are?
AWSE is an organization that serves women scientists and engineers, through chapters in various African countries.
Purpose of the organization
Create a critical mass of African women scientist through various empowerment programs and to highlight and enhance their contributions in research, education and the development of the continent.
Background
Women form the majority of the working force in many African countries and also make up over 50% of Africa’s population. However, the number of women in science and engineering is still pathetically low, that is, below 20%. The success of African women in science has been hampered by lack of strong support for science and research by their governments and inadequate awareness on how to access local and international funding agencies. For women to overcome these hurdles, they have to be intrepid, hardworking and persistent. Unless women are encouraged to pursue science-oriented disciplines, Africa will still lag behind other developing regions in terms of education, research and technology since science can solve many economic, ecological and health problems faced by Africa.
African Women in Science and Engineering was inaugurated in 1999 at ICRAF, Nairobi Kenya during a meeting designed to bring together women in all fields of science and engineering from all over Africa in order to make African women scientists conspicuous and conscious of what their counter parts were doing and to enhance collaborations between the women scientists.