A men’s club? Gender, research and higher education in Ethiopia

The gender parity in academia in general and in research specifically is very low in Ethiopia. Of the 2,373 academic staff at Addis Ababa University, 417 (17 per cent) are female. Of 50 professors, only two are female, with only 12 Associate professors from about a 100. Overall, research is totally left for men.

What are the challenges for female researchers in Ethiopian universities? What kind of strategies are employed to recruit and empower female researchers? What are the prospects for improved access for women in the field of research and higher education? What are the implications of the dominance of men for the research agenda?

Mitike Molla, Ass. professor, Dean, School of Publich Health, Addis Ababa University. She is one of the initiators of a female only working group at Addis Ababa University, aiming to create local capacity among female faculty, especially to work on women’s health.

Lovise Aalen, Senior Researcher. CMI. She
has researched Ethiopian politics for more than a decade, and has developed an extensive knowledge of the social, economic and political conditions of the country and of the wider Horn of Africa region.

Bernt Lindtjørn, Professor, Centre for International Health, UiB. He has longstanding experience related to Ethiopia, including teaching and supervision. His working experience is broad, spanning from
research and public institutions, to international


organisations

and NGOs. Lindtjørn is also a medical doctor with extensive working experience from Ethiopia.

This event is a cooperation between Centre for International Health (UiB) and CMI at the Resource Centre.