{"id":95377,"date":"2026-03-29T09:34:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T09:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet"},"modified":"2026-03-29T10:26:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T10:26:38","slug":"moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet","title":{"rendered":"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong> <\/span><b>The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoHERST) has stepped up efforts to close the gender gap in science and technical education with the opening of a two-day national workshop aimed at promoting women\u2019s participation in STEM and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) across The Gambia.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The workshop, held on Wednesday at the University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET) in Brikama, is themed \u201cGender-Responsive STEM\/TVET and Mentorship System Development.\u201d It brings together policymakers, education stakeholders and practitioners to explore strategies for removing barriers that limit the participation of women and girls in these fields.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on behalf of USET, Vice Chancellor Nazmat Surajudeen Bakinde described the initiative as timely, stressing that inclusive and equitable education systems are essential for sustainable development. She noted that while STEM and TVET have the potential to drive innovation, economic growth and social transformation, such benefits can only be fully realized when opportunities are accessible to all.<\/p>\n<p>She emphasized the need for deliberate measures to build gender-responsive systems, including inclusive curricula, supportive learning environments and strong mentorship structures. According to her, mentorship is key to building confidence, bridging gaps and nurturing leadership among underrepresented groups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis workshop provides an important platform for dialogue and collaboration,\u201d she said, urging participants to contribute actively to shaping sustainable and impactful systems.<\/p>\n<p>Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Deputy Permanent Secretary Muctarr M.Y. Darboe underscored the urgency of addressing gender disparities in education and skills development.<\/p>\n<p>He described the workshop as both timely and transformative, noting that The Gambia\u2019s ambition to build a knowledge-based economy depends on a skilled and diverse workforce.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Darboe said women and girls remain significantly underrepresented in STEM and TVET not due to lack of ability, but because of long-standing structural and social barriers. \u201cThis is not a reflection of capability; it is the product of structural, social and pedagogical challenges,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<p>He further emphasized that gender mainstreaming must go beyond policy statements to practical implementation across all levels of planning and institutional operations.<\/p>\n<p>He called on policymakers, educators and stakeholders to work collectively in creating inclusive environments that actively eliminate discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>The ministry, he added, is currently reviewing gender mainstreaming practices within selected pilot institutions to assess progress and identify existing gaps.<\/p>\n<p>As discussions continue, stakeholders expressed optimism that the workshop will yield concrete recommendations to enhance opportunities for women and girls, while strengthening the country\u2019s human capital development agenda.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Gambia<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoHERST) has stepped up efforts to close the gender gap in science and technical education with the opening of a two-day national workshop aimed at promoting women\u2019s participation in STEM and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) across The Gambia. The workshop, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":95376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-95377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Gambia. The Ministry of Higher Educat ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Gambia. The Ministry of Higher Educat ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-29T09:34:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-29T10:26:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/sm_1774779783.488979.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-29T09:34:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-29T10:26:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet\"},\"wordCount\":437,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/sm_1774779783.488979.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet\",\"name\":\"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET - Gambia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/sm_1774779783.488979.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-29T09:34:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-29T10:26:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"-article-header-tag\\\"> Africa-Press - Gambia. The Ministry of Higher Educat ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/sm_1774779783.488979.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/sm_1774779783.488979.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\",\"name\":\"Gambia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET - Gambia","description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press - Gambia. The Ministry of Higher Educat ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET","og_description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press - Gambia. The Ministry of Higher Educat ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet","og_site_name":"Gambia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2026-03-29T09:34:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-29T10:26:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/sm_1774779783.488979.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET","datePublished":"2026-03-29T09:34:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-29T10:26:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet"},"wordCount":437,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/sm_1774779783.488979.jpg","keywords":["Gambia"],"articleSection":["all news","community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet","name":"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET - Gambia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/sm_1774779783.488979.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-29T09:34:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-29T10:26:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press - Gambia. The Ministry of Higher Educat ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/sm_1774779783.488979.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/03\/sm_1774779783.488979.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"caption":"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/moherst-strengthens-drive-for-gender-equality-in-stem-tvet#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Moherst Strengthens Drive for Gender Equality in STEM, TVET"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/","name":"Gambia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95377"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95405,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95377\/revisions\/95405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}