10 years of Science by Women: commitment, growth, and empowerment for African women scientists

June 18th, 2025 — On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Science by Women scientific cooperation program, a report was presented today at the Women for Africa Foundation’s headquarters in Madrid, reflecting a decade of commitment, growth, and empowerment for African women scientists.

The event was attended by women scientists currently undertaking their research stays in Spain thanks to the program, as well as representatives from the research centers that host them in their teams.

The report reviews Science by Women’s founding goals, its initial challenges, and the milestones that have made it a benchmark in supporting women’s leadership in science. It also offers a quantitative and qualitative analysis of its impact on the beneficiaries, the participating institutions, and their environments. Carmen Hernández Pena, a statistician, contributed to the preparation of the document and presented its main findings during the event.

The report also highlights the personal stories that demonstrate the transformative impact of the project, as well as initiatives created in parallel — such as the NOW is Africa network — designed to strengthen leadership, foster mutual learning, and raise the international profile of African women scientists.

The event included a panel discussion, “10 Years of Science by Women”, featuring Pamela Köster, the program’s coordinator; María Almelá, a technical expert within the project; Javier Aramayona, Director of the Instituto de Ciencias Matemáticas (ICMAT-CSIC), and Sabra Ahyaten, a recipient of the 10th edition of the program at POLYMAT. During the debate, the participants stressed the importance of promoting more equitable North-South scientific cooperation, as well as applying a gender perspective to all decision-making spaces in order to foster greater diversity and robustness in scientific research. The panel also addressed new challenges and strategies to enable the program to consolidate and further support the leadership of African women scientists in the future.

The report, along with additional information, is available in Spanish on our website.

Science by Women: Scientific Cooperation with a Gender Perspective

Scientific and technological research plays a crucial role in the social, economic, and productive progress of our societies. In Africa, where equitable and fair access to resources still presents significant challenges, science, research, and innovation become powerful drivers for change.

With the aim of improving women’s access to these spaces, supporting their careers, increasing visibility for their achievements, and promoting new leadership, the Women for Africa Foundation launched Science by Women in 2014. The initiative offers six-month research stays at Spanish research centers in key fields such as health, energy, water, climate change, agriculture, or food security.

What sets Science by Women apart from other programs is its gender perspective, expressly designed to account for the realities and context of women scientists in Africa. Aware that their access and progression within academia are often influenced by both the lengthy path toward a PhD and family responsibilities, the program sets no age limit for participation and offers a flexible structure to enable each scientist to balance her professional and personal responsibilities effectively.

This commitment has allowed more than 178 women scientists, alongside over 38 Spanish research groups, to collaborate toward new discoveries and solutions to some of the most urgent challenges of our time.