Nineteen researchers from EfD’s Early Career Fellowship Program participated in a three-day intensive course on gender and its relevance to research. The Gender in Development Economics course was held in Accra, Ghana, and concluded with participants committed to applying gender studies in their research.

The course, facilitated by Amber Peterman, emphasized that gender analysis is a crucial tool to enhance research quality. 

”It gives you a better understanding of the issues and the potential solutions, so doing gender economics is just doing better research,” explained Amber Peterman. 

The participants brought varying levels of experience in gender economics to the course, which made interactions interesting and meaningful. 

”The gender course has increased my interest in gender studies,” said Frank Adusah-Poku, EfD Ghana. 

The course employed a variety of learning tools, including podcasts, newspaper reviews, and the examination of the latest studies in the field. Practical sessions allowed participants to apply their new knowledge to real-world research topics. Amaka Nnaji, EfD Nigeria, described the course as interactive and engaging, noting that ”it was easy to learn because we were learning by doing.” 

The participants concluded the course with the tagline: Gender equality is not the problem; gender equality is the solution. This serves as a reminder of EfD’s commitment to making gender an integral element of research and for participants to apply the knowledge gained in their work.