In Liberia, radio is the primary news source and SWE leaders in the country are leveraging that medium to help more women to STEM careers. Like other parts of the world, women in Liberia struggle with career choices from high school through college due to a lack of awareness of opportunities and female role models. Taking an innovative approach to addressing this gap, SWE leaders are hosting a radio program designed to help high school girls identify potential STEM careers before entering college and help professionals and college students navigate their STEM careers with utmost confidence.
The SWE Liberia radio talk show presents strategies, tools, and advice from expert guests and hosts. Listeners are encouraged to believe in their flashes of brilliance, conquer the world of male-dominated careers, and learn how to live a well-rounded life in STEM & beyond.
Each show includes tips for navigating careers in STEM, a discussion on engineering-related issues like the poor structural maintenance culture in the country and interviews with women currently studying or working in a STEM discipline.
Since launching the radio program in 2021, SWE leaders in Liberia have hosted 9 shows with an average of 2,500-4,500 online views. After the shows, SWE leaders are frequently contacted by high schools or parents with requests to conduct career fairs for students.
The radio show is a key driver in helping SWE in Liberia achieve its goals, which are as follows:
- Empower Liberian women engineers with the skills, support, and inspiration necessary to become successful and well-rounded engineering professionals.
- Strengthen the community of female engineers in Liberia by building partnerships among university engineering students and high school students and help breed a national network of women engineers.
- Mentor young girls in high school who are interested in STEM courses but are discouraged by the societal myth that this field is for males only.
We believe that having young girls listen to engineering-related issues and career awareness discussions, led by women, will not only motivate them in the academic cycle, but it will also serve as motivation to pursue their dreams without fear of being limited.
In a country where there is little to no awareness of STEM career opportunities, we have reached an enormous amount of people through the radio show and couldn’t be prouder for the impact we have made over the last two years.
SWE has 3 Global Affiliates in Liberia. Visit https://swe.org/membership/global-programs/affiliates/ to find out more.
