From Studentship to Academia

The Academic Female STEM Trajectory in Ghana

Authors

  • Fred K. Boateng University of Ghana
  • Uttam Gaulee Morgan State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/jump.v3i1.1077

Keywords:

gender, women, STEM, Ghana, academia, discrimination

Abstract

At all levels of education in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplinary fields, there are disparities in participation according to gender. This study explores the educational and professional experiences of female faculty in STEM in universities in Ghana. In-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken employing 20 participants from universities in Ghana. Findings indicate that despite their success fueled by the support system available to them, gender disparities, fostered by patriarchy, characterized their educational and professional experiences. Their gendered experiences exacerbated in the higher education workplace as some sources of support turned to be sources of gender discrimination. This was because they were perceived as threats to the patriarchal status quo as they surged in the academic STEM trajectory.

Author Biographies

  • Fred K. Boateng, University of Ghana

    FRED K. BOATENG, a PhD graduate from the University of Florida, is a lecturer at the University of Ghana. He broadly researches in Educational Leadership and Management. Specifically, he specializes in Gender Studies in Education, International Education and Development Higher Education Management, and Qualitative Research.

  • Uttam Gaulee, Morgan State University

    UTTAM GAULEE, PhD, is an entrepreneur and a scholar of international higher education. He studies higher education at the intersection of student development, public policy, and multiculturalism. His research interests include community college systems, development education, and diaspora studies along with interdisciplinary perspectives on education policy, global citizenship, and cross-cultural issues in international development and geopolitics.

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Published

2019-04-27

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2019)

Section

Articles