13 councils in Africa are participating in the project on GEI integration – you can find out more about this project here. In this series of posts, we highlight each council and what they hope to achieve through the project – here is Mozambique.

Mozambique
At the start of their project in 2023, Dirce Madeira, Project Service Director from the National Research Fund in Mozambique explained that women’s participation in scientific research remains extremely low, especially as principal researchers. Their aim is to create a balance so that research priorities are more balanced.

Manecas Alferes, also from the National Research Fund, says that there’s been an ongoing problem of women’s complete non-participation in research. He explains their intention to work together with Ministry of Science and Technology, Higher Education, and Research to develop strategies to sort this out. He also emphasises that this will be developed with the participation of women.

Their project, “Integrating Gender Equality and Inclusivity into the Research Funds Cycle aims to update the Fundo Nacional de Investigação Gender Strategy and to reinforce GEI concepts to all aspects of research, including higher education institutions.

One of the main aims of the Mozambique council is to influence policy decision makers to have a national gender policy. By doing this they hope that everyone will have the opportunity to apply for funds and research grants. The council also wants to create a culture where women and vulnerable groups are well represented in science and to create spaces and opportunities for equal participation.