The AIMS Women in STEM Initiative (AIMSWIS) is our flagship program dedicated to accelerating progress for African women in STEM through evidence-based reporting and advocacy, leveraging increased investments, adoption of best practices, engaging men and collaboration across African women in the STEM pipeline.
It was launched just before the NEF Global Gathering during the first AIMSWIS Consultative meeting on the development of a pan-African Agenda for Women in STEM. The consultative meeting brought together key actors from across Africa who are working on promoting African Women in STEM to discuss the development of a pan-African Agenda for Women in STEM and to agree on key priorities for moving forward collectively on this important issue. Participants included members of the the African Union Commission, a representative from the Government of Sénégal, HRSC (South Africa), FAWE, WAAW Foundation, the African Research Academies for Women, the Visiola Foundation, J&J, IDRC, NEF Ambassadors, and many others.
Working in alignment with Continental Frameworks and priorities such as the Agenda 2063, the STISA 2024 and the Maputo Protocol, the AIMSWIS Initiative seeks to be Africa’s Secretariat for Promoting Women in STEM.
Key priorities for the AIMSWIS Initiative include:
- Promoting pan-African dialogue and collaboration among Women in STEM Partners to amplify our collective reach and impact
- Addressing the need for comparable, reliable, sex-data and statistics on women’s participation and leadership across the STEM pipeline in Africa
- Supporting decision-makers in governments, academia, industry and civil society through evidence-based recommendations for action
- Sourcing funding for innovative programs that promote Women in STEM and enabling best practice models to be brought to scale.
- Promoting a holistic approach to gender equality in STEM by engaging men and boys and promoting gender sensitive science.
Next Steps include an outcome report from the Consultative meeting, a mapping of Women in STEM initiatives across Africa, establishment of an AIMSWIS Advisory Committee and AIMSWIS Working Group to help drive the work forward.
For more information on the AIMSWIS Initiative please contact: info@nexteinstein.org