"It is a plain fact that the young woman scientist continues to face a scary and tormenting situation in deciding whether she should pursue her career or resign herself to serving as a lesser mortal than her male counterpart, so that she can maintain her family. I believe it should not be so. I believe that with the right balance, she can succeed in both."
--Miriam G Kinyua (Associate Professor of Agriculture, Moi University, Kenya). An Awardee of the G&D-Rockefeller Fellowships, 2005-2007.
African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Fellowships
With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, G&D is implementing a comprehensive yet flexible program designed to build up the talent pool of promising African women in agricultural science.
The heart of AWARD is its series of competitive two-year fellowships designed to fast-track the careers of African women in agricultural R&D in sub-Saharan Africa. Participating countries include
High-performing scientists will be selected for fellowships at three critical career junctures – upon completion of their BSc, MSc and PhD degrees. While other initiatives focus on the need for academic support, the AWARD Fellowship Program aims at strategic career enhancement.
Building on its successful pilot fellowship programs conducted over 2005-2008 in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation, USAID and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, G&D has designed AWARD to stand on three cornerstones: mentoring, science skills and leadership development. The fellowships will offer a tailored and comprehensive package aimed at increasing skills, visibility, networks and contributions in the service of fighting hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan
The first round of fellowships is expected to be announced in June 2008.
Click here for the Press Release on AWARD (English and French)
Click here for the AWARD Factsheet
This innovative pilot fellowship program is designed to support professional growth in both scientific expertise and people management, thus facilitating the development of female science leaders and strengthening their institutions. The Program which was launched in July 2005 and so far has been implemented in two overlapping cycles of two years each, will come to a close in June 2008. The fellows were selected by a Steering Committee composed of representatives from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the Rockefeller Program, the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, the Ford Foundation and G&D.
The 2006 G&D-Rockefeller Fellowship Program Award Winners
The 2006 G&D-Rockefeller winners were selected from a highly competitive pool of 65 applicants showing great promise for the future of women involved in agricultural sciences in Africa. Of the eleven winners, five come from Kenya and three each from Tanzania and Uganda respectively.
Ten Fellowships are funded by the Rockefeller Foundation's Africa Regional Program while one fellowhip for the private sector is sponsored by Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Development.
Six senior CGIAR scientists and four experienced lecturers from African universities have shown their dedicated support by volunteering to mentor this year's fellowship winners, while the chair of CGIAR's Private Sector Committee, Dr. Usha Barwale Zehr will mentor Josephine Okot, a private sector winner from Uganda.
Together both 2005 and 2006 fellowship winners comprise a dynamic group of scientists specializing in areas of crop science such as entomology, plant breeding, seed production, biotechnology, horticulture, crop protection, and agro processing. Close links and networks with CGIAR women scientists have been and will continue to be established during training sessions and through the extensive electronic networking with women in agricultural sciences worldwide.
The 2006 fellows are:
Kenya:
1. Margaret A. Mulaa- Senior Principal Research Scientist (Entomology), Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.
2. Lusike A. Wasilwa- Programme Officer (Horticulture & Industrial Crops), Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.
3. Florence M. Olubayo- Senior Lecturer (Plant Science & Crop Protection), University of Nairobi.
4. Charity K. Mutegi- Research Officer (Aflotoxin & Nutrition Studies), Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.
5. Linnet S. Gohole- Lecturer (Agricultural Entomology), Moi University, Eldoret.
Uganda:
6. Josephine A. Okot- Managing Director (Seed Production), Victoria Seeds Ltd.
7. Jolly M. Kabirizi- Senior Research Officer (Nutrition), National Agricultural Research Organization.
8. Jane Nabawanuka-Oputa- Research Officer (Agro-Processing), Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute.
Tanzania:
9. Everina J. Lukonge- Agricultural Research Officer (Plant Breeding), Agricultural Research Institute-Ukiriguru.
10. Agnes M. S. Nyomora- Lecturer (Plant Biology), University of Dar es Salaam.
11. Kiddo J. Mtunda- Senior Agricultural Research Officer (Plant Breeding & Crop Protection), Sugarcane Research Institute, Kibaha
The 2005 Round of the Fellowships benefitted 11 awardees and were selected from a pool of 104 applications.
The 2005 fellows are:
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Annet Namayanja (Bean Breeder, National Agricultural Research Organization, Uganda)
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Christine Akoth Onyango (Senior Lecturer, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology, Kenya)
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Jane Ininda (Principal Research Officer, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kenya)
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Jenipher Biskiwa (Lecturer in Crop Science, Makerere University, Uganda)
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Josephine Moraa Songa (Principal Research Scientis, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kenya)
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Kallunde Pilly Sibuga (Professor, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania)
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Mary Oyiela Abukutsa Onyango (Associate Professor, Maseno University, Kenya)
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Miriam Gaceri Kinyua (Chief Plant Breeder and Center Director, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kenya)
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Rose J Mongi (Wheat Breeder, Uyole Agricultural Research Institute)
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Virginia Gathoni Gichuru (PhD Candidate studying bean root rot, Makerere University, Uganda)
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Wariara Kariuki (Senior Lecturer in Horticulture, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology, Kenya)
"When you look at hunger and poverty, it overwhelms and overshadows you. But how do you eat an elephant? A bite at a time. I believe in having an impact. I see hunger and poverty and I'm aware that I cannot solve the problem alone, but I can contribute to solving the problem."
--Jenipher Bisikwa (Lecturer, Department of Crop Science, Makerere University, Uganda). An Awardee of the G&D-Rockefeller Fellowships, 2005-2007.
Profiles of the First Round fellows
Media Releases
2005 Media Release
Long Version
Short Version
About the Fellowship...
For each of the women selected, the two-year fellowship offers a promising package aimed at increasing her skills, visibility and contributions to science and development, including:
• enhanced scientific expertise through a two-year mentoring relationship with a senior
scientist in her field, plus funds to support presentation of her research at a major
scientific conference each year;
• development of team management and leadership skills through participation in the
CGIAR women's leadership and negotiation courses;
• improved access to knowledge and support via linkages to regional and global
networks of women scientists and researchers; and,
• opportunities to practice her newly acquired skills via mentoring junior women
scientist in her instititute during the second year of her fellowship, and thus expanding
the program benefits.
More background details on the G&D-Rockefeller Fellowships
What the Fellowship Offers . . .
Mentoring
Mentoring is at the core: the fellowship program starts with a Mentoring Orientation Workshop for both mentors and mentees.
Facilitation: Normala and Phil Merry of Philip Merry Consulting Group Pte Ltd.
Second Round: 3-7 July 2006. The Second Round also included Borlaug Women Science Fellows sponsored by USAID, as well as the mentees of the First Round of the G&D-Rockefeller Fellows.
For the First Round of Fellows and their mentors, the Mentoring Orientation Workshop was hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya.
More on G&D's Mentoring Program
In addition to mentoring, the awardess will also attend the CGIAR Women's Leadership and Management Course and the Women's Negotiation Course.
Women's Leadership Course
The First Round awardees attended the women's leadership course on 16-23 October 2005 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, hosted by ILRI.
The Borlaug Fellows alsol attended the same course on 7-13 May 2006, hosted by CIP in Lima, Peru, while Second Round G&D-Rockefeller Fellowship awardees will attend the leadership course on 15-21 October 2006, hosted by IITA in Ibadan, Nigeria.
This leadership course is designed to reinforce the skills needed to build leadership and managerial effectiveness of women scientists and professionals working in research and development in the CGIAR and partner organizations. Gender and its implications are woven throughout the course, but there is also focus on specific skills areas, including: sustaining team performance, managing conflict, and building alliances to achieve research and business results. Nearly 300 CGIAR women have attended this highly-valued course thus far, and demand remains high.
Facilitation: The Training Resources Group (TRG)
More on the CGIAR Women's Leadership and Management Course
Women's Negotiation Course
When a woman fails to negotiate for what she needs to be successful, the potential for the accumulation of disadvantage magnifies. As we bargain over issues, a parallel discussion--or shadow negotiation--is simultaneously taking place. The shadow neogtiation is where relationships; perceptions of power and control; and hidden agendas are most likely to surface. To manage successfuly in these shadow negotiations requires a set of strategic moves that help the negotiatior establish her place at the table; enlist the other party to work with her; and to deal with challenges that can potentially derail negotiations.
The First Round of Fellows attended the Women's Negotiation Course on 28-30 March 2006, hosted by IRRI in The Philippines.
The Gender and Diversity Program offers this course in collaboration with the Center for Gender in Organizations (CGO) and it is led by Prof Deborah Kolb, co-author of The Shadow Negotiation: How Women Can Master the Hidden Agendas That Determine Bargaining Success.
More on the CGIAR course on Enhancing Leadership: Negotiation Skills for Women
G&D Resources on Women in Science
G&D News, our free electronic newsletter, to which you can subscribe. See the following isssues on women in science and leadership: Nos 40, 38, 37, 31, 29b, 20 and 17.
G&D Working Papers in PDF
- First the Good News . . . Staffing in the CGIAR, 2003 (PDF 1.25 MB). G&D Working Paper No 40.
- Female and Male CGIAR Scientists in Comparative Perspective (2002) (PDF 4,808 KB). G&D Working Paper No 37.
- Gender and Diversity in Times of Change: Staffing Trends and Organizational Change Strategies in the CGIAR (2002) (PDF 4,405 KB). G&D Working Paper No 35.
- Updated Analysis of Future Harvest Center Demographics (2002) (PDF 1,900 KB). G&D Working Paper No 33.
- Selected Trend Data on Gender and Diversity in the Future Harvest Centers, 1995-2001 (PDF 5,367 KB). G&D Working Paper No 32.
- Executive Selection in the CGIAR: Implications for Gender and Diversity. (PDF 1,934 KB). G&D Working Paper No 30.
- Center Self-Assessment for a Woman-Friendly Workplace (PDF 1,953 KB). G&D Working Paper No 29.
- Gender and Diversity in the CGIAR: A New Baseline (2000) (PDF 4,369 KB). G&D Working Paper No 25.
- Engendering Organizational Change: A Case Study of Strengthening Gender Equity and Organizational Effectiveness in an International Agricultural Research Institute (PDF 844 KB). G&D Working Paper No 21.
- Taking Stock of Gender Staffing in the CGIAR, 1998 (PDF 719 KB). G&D Working Paper No 20.
- Gender Staffing in the CGIAR: Lessons Learned and Future Direction: Report of an Inter-Center Consultation, April 1998 (PDF 1,092 KB). G&D Working Paper No 19.
- Toward Gender Equity: Model Policies (PDF 441 KB). G&D Working Paper No 18.
- 'Strangers in a Strange Land': A Literature Review of Women in Science (PDF 441 KB). G&D Working Paper No 17.
