Research and Communications
Research
Through its research activities, the EJS Center uncovers the systemic barriers faced by women leaders—or those seeking leadership roles—and explores the actions needed to address them. It also highlights the positive impact that advancing women’s public leadership has had in countries across the continent.
The Center seeks to contribute to the understanding of gender equity in public leadership in Africa, gathering data on key indicators and establishing a baseline to monitor progress.
The Center’s Data Hub, for example, establishes a baseline monitoring for public leadership in Africa. The annual Year in Review takes stock of women’s public leadership across the continent and highlight achievements and areas for improvement.
Communications
The EJS Center conducts a range of communications activities aimed at highlighting the importance of women’s public leadership, showcasing the work carried out by Amujae Leaders, and sharing Madam Sirleaf’s efforts to advocate for gender equality.
The Center actively engages journalists across Africa and around the world, raising awareness about the benefits that women’s public leadership brings to societies and economies—and working to level the playing field for women seeking the highest leadership positions.
In addition to this, the EJS Center has a robust news operation of its own, leveraging its platform to highlight the work of inspiring women leaders within Center’s network and beyond.
Advocacy
The EJS Center also undertakes advocacy campaigns aimed at mobilizing support for greater representation of women in public leadership roles. Some examples include:
COVID-19 Heroine: Female heroines from across the continent spotlighted for their role in community responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
#HaveHerBack: Commitments were secured from African male leaders to further women’s leadership in their spheres of influence.
Media Training
One of the barriers to women’s advancement in public leadership is adverse media coverage—including both under-coverage and biased or toxic coverage. To create an enabling environment for African women to ascend to the highest levels of leadership, it is crucial to equip journalists with the skills to cover women equally and fairly and to address subconscious biases and stereotypes.
