According to data captured by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics on women in science, only 28 percent of the world’s researchers were female as of 2015, and about 30 percent of women were researchers in Sub Saharan Africa. UNESCO also indicates that 27 percent of jobs in computer science are held by less women, and generally, women make up less than a quarter of STEM professionals at 23 percent with only about 20 percent of these women in STEM in leadership roles. Trudy Morgan stands out as one of the women achievers in STEM and is determined to contribute to its advancement and use STEM as a tool for bridging the gender gap.
Trudy, who once dreamt of becoming an artist during her teen years, says she started thinking of studying Medicine while in secondary school. She, however, disregarded the idea after a summer job with her dad’s cousin who was a neurosurgeon.
“Suffice it to say, I decided I didn’t like the sight of blood and maybe medicine wasn’t the right career choice for me.”
Trudy eventually attended the University of Sierra Leone where she studied Civil Engineering, and is now co-founder of Sierra Leone Women Engineers, and the first female Vice President of the Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers (SLIE). She is a member of the Professional Engineers Review Council and the UK’s Institution of Civil Engineers International Representative to Sierra Leone.
Trudy is also the only African female fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) of the United Kingdom. The ICE fellowship is the highest grade of membership and a yardstick for those practising at the top level within the profession. With a membership of at least 92,000 spread across 150 countries worldwide, the institution has a total of 5236 fellows of who only 210 or 4 percent are women. From the total number of fellows, Africa only contributes 75 members or 1.43 percent among who Trudy is the only female.
As a source of true inspiration, Trudy, stands out as an example to all women in STEM.
Source: Levers in Heels
*The views of the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial team.