A gender project is bridging gaps in research and evaluation in Ghana

Ghana is addressing critical issues in the country’s research landscape by bridging gender gaps in research and evaluation through a gender project.

The Ghana Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, a Science Granting Council is leading the gender project called EQUISTEM.

The EQUISTEM project tackles particular issues that are highly relevant to the local context and situation with regard to Gender Equality and Inclusivity (GEI) in Science Granting Councils Initiative.

The project is promoting gender equality and inclusivity within the research and evaluation sectors in Ghana by implementing comprehensive training programs that consider intersecting identities such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and disability.

 It is addressing unconscious bias in all aspects of research and evaluation processes by equipping council staff, applicants, evaluators, and researchers with the requisite knowledge and tools.

The project integrates diverse gender perspectives and equitable participation by introducing a gender dimension into research content and cultivating gender equality within research teams.

Through the project, the Ghana Council is improving the quality and effectiveness of research evaluations by providing specialised training to evaluators on evaluating gender equality and inclusivity in research calls.

They are also encouraging collaborative training sessions where applicants, evaluators, and staff train together whenever feasible, promoting cross-cutting knowledge exchange and synergy.

Key issues and goals

According to the Ghana Council, persistent disparitiescontinue despite efforts to promote gender equality, with disparities persisting within Ghana’s research and evaluation processes.

Unconscious bias presents a formidable obstacle in research and evaluation processes, impacting decision-making processes and sustaining gender disparities.

Capacity gaps mean applicants, evaluators, and staff lack specialised training in assessing GEI in research and evaluation processes, leading to limitations in effectively addressing gender-related issues.

While there are efforts to address gender disparities and promote inclusivity, there’s a lack of sustained capacity-building and sustainability initiatives.

The council’s key activities include assessment of existing research funding policies and practices, design of GEI training curriculum, training workshops, pilot testing of adapted actions, and dissemination of project findings and recommendations.

Challenges and learnings

Challenges include difficulty scheduling training for high-level stakeholders, and varied baseline knowledge of gender equality and inclusivity concepts.

Additionally, integrating intersectionality meaningfully into all aspects of training remains a work in progress.

The council says that key learnings show that continuous dialogue and inclusive facilitation are essential for overcoming unconscious biases and fostering ownership of GEI principles.

They also specified that tailoring content to the specific roles and institutional contexts of participants enhances relevance and impact.

The Way Forward

Moving forward, the Ghana Council intends to explore strategies for embedding GEI considerations into institutional policies more sustainably and also develop monitoring frameworks to assess long-term changes in attitudes and practices.

They aim to examine how digital tools and platforms can be leveraged to scale training and ensure ongoing peer learning and support.

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Published on 30 June 2025

Written by Jackie Opara