By Karen Aryeetey
Women in engineering have been encouraged to break barriers in their careers and take advantage of opportunities that will enable them to thrive in the Energy Sector.
Speaking at the Karpowership Ghana International Women’s Day 2026 in Accra, Executive Partner and Co-founder of Arthur Energy Advisors, Harriette Amissah-Arthur, urged young women to remain determined despite the challenges they encounter in the engineering field, particularly in the energy sector.
She said, “Africa has big problems and it cannot afford to ignore half of its population when it has such big problems. Even those that do have the sizes, the numbers of challenges we have are using all of their population. Africa cannot afford to leave the women behind if we’re going to solve this problem. The stakes are extremely high and the timelines are tight, not just in Ghana but in Africa as whole”.
She added that , “tackling barriers in the engineering profession can increase women’s participation in engineering”.
The Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Ghana, Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann also encouraged female students to remain determined and confident in pursuing engineering careers.
She said, ” we need more events like this to empower our women, so that they can take up the positions that are necessary. This way, they can participate in decision-making process and leadership in our country and beyond”.
Communications Manager at Karpowership Ghana, Sandra Amarquaye, said the company remains committed to empowering more women to pursue careers in engineering and the energy sector.
She said, “as a company, we are taking deliberate and measurable steps to contribute to boosting the participation and advancement of women in the energy sector. We invest directly in education, by supporting brilliant but financially challenged students in engineering, through the payment of academic fees.
We believe talent should never be limited by circumstance. Last year, we launched our all-female internship program, a targeted initiative designed to increase female representation within the industry.
Through this program, young women gain the highest level of experience, exposure, and confidence required to pursue long-term progress in engineering and energy. Through these initiatives, we are not only empowering women, we are strengthening the future of Ghana’s energy industry”.
Women remain underrepresented in engineering globally despite gradual progress, with women accounting for about 33 percent of researchers worldwide and only about 15 percent of engineering roles.
In Ghana, data from the Ghana Statistical Service shows that women made up about 25 percent of workers in technical and engineering-related occupations as of the third quarter of 2025.
Against this backdrop, Karpowership Ghana organised its International Women’s Day 2026 mentorship session for female engineering students to encourage more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as in energy-related fields.
The mentorship session formed part of activities to mark this Year’s International Women’s Day, held under the theme “Empowering Women, Powering Lives.”
