Unfettering the ball and chain of gender discrimination: Gendered experiences of senior STEM women in Ghana

Abstract

Gender disparities are rife in Ghana and its educational sector. Despite the plethora of research on gender disparities in Ghana’s education system, there is no coverage on gender disparities in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields in Ghana. The paper’s purpose of the article was to examine the experiences of successful STEM women in Ghana utilizing semi-structured interviews. Fifteen women in STEM in senior faculty ranks were interviewed. Although they faced gender discrimination, their socialization emanated from their parents and other family members who are STEM professionals. Their agency made them linchpins in their study groups, excelled in their studies, and they were assisted to progress on their STEM trajectories by their professors and other mentors. As faculty, their productivity soared and they have been psychologically empowering their protégés.