African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) works toward inclusive,agriculture-driven prosperity for Africa by strengthening the production and dissemination of more gender-responsive agricultural research and innovation. We invest in African scientists, research institutions, and agribusinesses so that they can deliver agricultural innovations that better respond to the needs and priorities of a diversity of women and men across Africa’s agricultural value chains.

AWARD was founded in 2008 as a career-development program that sought to widen the pipeline of capable, influential African women scientists in leadership. Since our founding, we have significantly expanded in our vision and mission, which are anchored on three pillars that guide the execution of our current strategy:

Pillar 1: We seek to have capable, confident, and influential individuals lead critical advances and innovations in the agricultural research and development (ARD) sector. We will continue to invest in high-achieving African scientists and to build the continent’s pool of talented innovators.

Pillar 2: We will support African ARD institutions to prioritize and embrace gender responsiveness in both policy and practice. We will work with selected partner institutions to grow their capacity for gender-responsive agricultural research by leveraging the talents of gender-diverse research teams, and by strengthening gender prioritization in research, design, implementation, and dissemination.

Pillar 3: We will work to ensure that gender responsiveness becomes an embedded cultural norm and practice in the African ARD sector by building an enabling environment for gender responsiveness. We will continue to focus on increasing the visibility of women scientists and leaders, generating and curating compelling evidence on the value of gender responsiveness in ARD. We will also work to transform the growing awareness of gender issues into policies, programs,and accountability mechanisms.