EXTEND MENTORING TO LESS PRIVILEDGED AREAS – MRS. MARGARET JACKSON

The Managing Partner of Rainbow Consult, Mrs. Margaret Jackson has called on Women in Engineering (WiNE) to extend their mentoring programs to reach the less privileged in society, especially those in the rural areas where their programs have not reached there yet.

She made this call at the 14th WiNE Forum and 25th Anniversary Launch of Women in Engineering at the Engineering Centre on Monday, March 18, 2024. The program is part of the 2024 Engineering Week and Conference by the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), which is scheduled to be opened on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at the Fiesta Royal Hotel.

Speaking on the theme: “Mentoring, the catalyst to engineering, a resilient and sustainable future”, Mrs. Margaret Jackson, who was the Resource Person for the program, said, the importance of diversity and inclusivity in mentoring is key to ensure that less-privileged girl child in rural and other areas get the benefits of learning and having mentors to guide their future career path. She added that diversity and inclusivity in mentorship foster innovation and positive change, expand perspectives and solutions, empower underrepresented groups, promote equity and access, and promote collaboration and teamwork.

The keynote Speaker for the program, Ms. Brigitte Dzogbenuku is the Founder and Executive Director of Mentoring Women Ghana (MWG), an organisation borne from her belief that women in leadership makes economic and developmental sense. She said we should invest in women to improve the world. According to Ms. Brigitte Dzogbenuku, Mentors are also Mentees and being a Mentee will never end. She said her mother was her first Mentor. She ended by quoting Jena Albright saying ‘There is a special in hell for women who do not support other women.”

Speaking at the forum, the President of WiNE, Ing. Mrs. Enyonam Kpekpena, paid tributes to past Presidents of WiNE who had fought the blaze, especially, Mrs. Harriet Amissah Arthur-the First and Sole Executive of WiNE from 1999-2009, and Ing. Mrs. Rita Ohene Sarfoh-Second WiNE President from 2009-2019. She also led the WiNE members to observe a minute silent for Prof. Kwesi Andam, the 1999-2000 President of Ghana Institution of Engineering, who through his vision and support formed the Women in Engineering in 1999.

Ing. Mrs. Kpekpena explained that Women in Engineering was formed to ensure the provision of equal opportunities for both genders in their pursuit of engineering careers. Their objectives were to support and encourage female engineering professionals and students, promote science and engineering careers among girls and women, influence and contribute positively to the GhIE and national decision-making bodies, as well as develop and maintain national/international links and affiliations and actively participate in events. She added that WiNE membership has increased from less than 1% of the GhIE membership in 2000 to 11% in 2024.

Cutting the Anniversary Cake with WiNE members, the President of GhIE, Ing. Kwabena Bempong said Women in Engineering remain a big force to reckon with in GhIE. He congratulated them for achieving 25 years of their existence and wished them well in their year-long anniversary celebrations.

Ing. Carlien Bou-Chedid, the first Female President of GhIE and the Immediate Past President of Federation of African Engineering Organizations (FAEO), chaired the program.

Present at the ceremony included Ing. Abena Sophia Tijani-Vice-President of GhIE, Ing. David Nyante-Executive Director of GhIE, Council members and Past Presidents of GhIE. Also present were President of Siera Leone Institution of Engineering, Engr. Truddy Morgan and Joan Nweke from Nigerian Society of Engineers.