The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has launched a free digital skills and artificial intelligence (AI) training programme aimed at equipping women educators and institutional leaders with the competencies needed to take up greater leadership roles in the digital era.
The initiative, dubbed “Women Leading Change in Africa,” is expected to train more than 2,000 participants across Ghana and was being implemented by the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA), in partnership with the Centre for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation (CEGRAD).
The programme comes against the backdrop of concerns about the limited representation of women in leadership positions within the education sector and the growing influence of AI on teaching, administration and institutional decision-making.
Transformation
Speaking at the launch at UCC, the acting Pro Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Christine Adu-Yeboah, said the rapid digital transformation in education presented an opportunity to address the gender gap in leadership if women were deliberately equipped with the requisite technological skills.
She said women occupied only 24 per cent of tertiary academic positions across West Africa, describing the figure as an indication of the need for deliberate interventions to expand women's participation in higher education leadership.
Prof. Adu-Yeboah said although many education administrators recognised that AI would significantly alter their work, only one in five felt adequately prepared to lead the transformation.
She warned that failure to close the digital skills gap could further marginalise women as technological competence increasingly became a prerequisite for effective leadership.
Collaborate
Prof. Adu-Yeboah said IEPA would collaborate with UNESCO and universities across the country to extend the training opportunities to women professionals and leaders.
She, therefore, urged female educators, administrators and leaders to take advantage of the programme to strengthen their digital competencies.
The Project Lead, Madam Ama Serwah Nerquaye-Tetteh, said although the initiative was designed primarily to benefit women, men were also eligible to enrol.
She said the courses were self-paced and flexible, enabling participants to undertake the training at their convenience.
Madam Nerquaye-Tetteh emphasised that the courses were offered at no cost, adding that participants only needed commitment and dedication to complete them.
The Director-General of IEPA, Prof. Michael Boakye-Yiadom, said targeted investment in digital and AI training was necessary to enable African women to overcome structural barriers and play leading roles in transforming universities and education ministries.
“We cannot rely on the tools of the past to navigate the challenges of the future. True transformation will only occur when we match this inherent leadership capacity with cutting-edge technical opportunity,” he said.
Closing the gap
The Director of CEGRAD, Prof. Eunice Fay Amissah, called for the deliberate inclusion of women in the design, adoption and governance of emerging digital systems.
She cautioned that without such inclusion, AI and other technologies could reinforce existing inequalities rather than addressing them.
Prof. Amissah identified inadequate access to digital training and infrastructure, limited mentorship opportunities, discrimination, unequal care responsibilities and harassment as some of the barriers affecting women's participation in digital transformation.
The Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, Prof. Jin Li, said similar programmes had recorded significant impact in countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia and Zambia.
He said African women possessed considerable potential in science and technology but often lacked the opportunities and platforms required to develop their skills and assume leadership roles.
