Letting Girls Learn in the Developing World: An Experience in Ghana

1. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Letting Girls Learn in the Developing
World: An Experience in Ghana
Dr. Cheryl Howard
Senior Data Scientist, IBM Analytics
WE16, Philadelphia PA
October 29, 2016

2. 2 © 2016 IBM Corporation
Benefits of Corporate Citizenship Programs
 Social tools to help Police
and community relations in
Philippines
 Information Management
for Cervical Cancer Vaccine
tracking in Kenya
 Support for scaling of free
eye care in India
Communities’ Problems
Solved
Leadership Training &
Development
 Global Branding
 Local Branding – entry into
new markets such as
Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia,
Rwanda and Poland
 Mentoring & Local
Knowledge transfer
New Markets
“This is the best ‘course’ to expose employees to diverse cultures, growing countries international environments and
new business challenges.”
— Corporate Service Corps Brazil Team Member
 “Increased
Cultural
Awareness”
 “Helped Them
Perform Their
‘Day Job’”
 “Increased
IBM’s Role in
GMU”
 “Increased
Teaming &
Listening Skills”

3. 3 © 2016 IBM Corporation
Corporate Service Corps – Excellence in Leadership Development
Huge leadership development and significant management support over the first 6 years of the
program

4. 4 © 2016 IBM Corporation
The Peace Corps partnership demonstrates innovation for the CSC and
promising opportunities for the field of pro bono problem solving
 The innovative public-private partnership between IBM and the Peace Corps
demonstrates the power of cross-sector collaboration in addressing the
world’s problems
 The skilled, multi-disciplinary CSC teams are coming together with the deep
expertise on the ground of the Peace Corps – highlighting the strengths of
both individually, but also the power of both combined
 Strategic, high impact projects were completed in Ghana as part of Let Girls
Learn to expand access to education for adolescent girls. Watch:
http://bit.ly/1XOKWUp
 Projects are underway in the Philippines and being planned in Mexico
Announced by The First
Lady of the United States
at Fortune Post Powerful
Women Summit

5. 5 © 2016 IBM Corporation
CSC teams meet weekly for 12-14 sessions prior to departure
 Pre-work focuses on team building, problem solving, and cultural awareness
 Team is global and multi-disciplinary. Not all team members have prior
consulting experience.
 The team works with an NGO partner (Pyxera Global) who identifies
clients/projects and handles logistical aspects of the engagement
 Project goals, SOW, and team composition are not revealed until several
weeks before departure
– The Ghana 12 team found out earlier than most CSC teams that our mission would
be related to the Let Girls Learn initiative and the Peace Corps Partnership
– Ghana 12 was the first CSC team to include a Distinguished Engineer, who was
also sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer

6. 6 © 2016 IBM Corporation
About Ghana
 First country in sub-Saharan Africa to claim independence from colonial
powers (UK) in 1957
 Population 26M – over 10 regional languages commonly spoken – English is
official language
 GDP/capita US$ 4,300 (vs. $55,800 for US)
 Literacy Rate 58% (vs. 99% for US)
 Child labor rate (5-14) is 34%

7. Why focus on education and girls’ empowerment
*https://www.usaid.gov/infographic
s/50th/learning-out-of-poverty
** OECD
Economic Benefits
• 38X: Ghana’s estimated GDP increase if
all 15 year olds achieved basic math and
science proficiency**
• 10%: potential future earning increase per extra year of a girl’s education
• 10-30%: higher productivity per extra year of a girl’s education
• 90%: income educated woman invests in her family (vs 40% for educated man)
Social Benefits
• 2X: chance a child born to an educated
mother has of surviving to age 5
• 50%: higher likelihood an educated
mother immunizes her children
• 3X: reduced chances a girl completing
basic education has for contracting
HIV/AIDS
“If you educate a man you educate an
individual, but if you educate a woman you
educate a family (nation).” – African Proverb

8. 8 © 2016 IBM Corporation
Educational Challenges in Ghana
 Public education is free through Junior High School, but many still can not
afford it due to:
– Costs of uniforms, supplies, testing fees
– Need to work and share other family responsibilities
 High School education (including public) has fees associated that are beyond
the means of many families
 Cultural expectations
– Education of girls not considered as important
– Expectations for girls to enter STEM fields are lower
 Infrastructure
– Distance/transportation to school
– Sanitary facilities
– Availability of technology (including electricity!)
– Availability of curricula, books, lab supplies
 Teacher turnover

9. Soc
iet
y
Policy
Implement
ation and
Enforceme
nt
Grassroo
ts
Multiple forces can accelerate societal change
Shift

10. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Projects are inter-related
– Measure previous empowerment program impact
– Mentors from past beneficiaries
– Establish mentorship network
– Strengthen core business processes
– Architect, design and prototype rural learning device
– Girls’ empowerment content
 Connections:
– Mentor training
– Empowerment education
– Advertise mentorship program
– Collect statistics for impact analysis
– Pilot sites
– Voice and SMS campaign collaboration

11. 11 © 2016 IBM Corporation
Our achievements and impact of the Let Girls Learn projects in Ghana
 In Ghana the CSC team worked with with the Ministry of Gender, Children, and
Social Protection (MoGCSP), the Girls Education Unit (GEU) of the Ghana
Education Service (GES) and the social enterprise TECHAiDE.
– The team developed a framework and the prototype for a web-based platform to give
information about secondary education and provide a mentoring program for girls and
their families for the MoGCSP and the GEU.
– At TECHAiDE they provided recommendations and deliverables in the overall business
strategy, talent (HR strategy), marketing, financial and supply chain which will help to
reach 400 schools in September 2016. Additionally they developed a prototype device
(ANSANKA) that provides educational content for schools with limited or no access to
the internet.

12. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Objective: Improve educational outcomes for girls in
Ghana through mentoring and networking
Goal: More girls reaching tertiary education,
especially in Math & Science
Approach: Build a web-based community to inspire
and support girls and to track outcomes
Let Girls Learn by Mentoring and Networking

13. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Connect Mentors and Mentees
GEM Network

14. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Social Media Outreach to Past Beneficiaries
Additional outreach through Facebook, Twitter, and personal connections
WhatsApp
Broadcast
Manual data
extraction
Focused
WhatsApp
Group
GoogleDocs
survey
Tim estam p 1.W hatisyournam e?
2016/02/24 8:30:20 PM GM T Lyanne Dede Sackey
2.W hatis yourm obile phone num ber? 3.W hatisyourwhatsapp num ber?
274949126 274949126
4.W hatis yourcurrente-m ailaddress? 5.W hich Program /Cam p did you attend?
lyannesackey@ yahoo.com 5)Scholarship ofExcellence
6.W hatis the yearofparticipation? 7.W hatisyourcurrentlocation?
2005 4)Central
8.W hatis yourcurrentoccupation? 9.W hatisthe levelofeducation com pleted?
Finalyearm edicalstudent 1)SeniorHigh School
10.M ay we contactyou foran interview? 11.W hatis the bestdays/tim es to contactyou?
Yes M ar2,2016 @ 2pm
12.W hatisthe bestway to contact?
2)Telephone Call
Automatic data
extraction
Interview
s

15. © 2016 IBM Corporation
School Visits Clarified Obstacles to Success
 Over 100 students and adults interviewed at four Peace Corps schools
 Limited Role Models
– Girls aspire to challenging careers, but see few/no women in professional roles
– Students see teachers, relatives, older siblings, university students from community
as role models
 Infrastructure
– Limited ICT infrastructure: computers, internet, smart phones
– Long travel to school
 Financial Challenges
– Parents unable to pay levies and other costs can lead to sub-optimal performance &
behaviors
– Many students work on weekends and after school and have many chores
 Teacher Limitations
– Shortage of qualified Maths, Science, and other specialty teachers
– Lack of resources
– Absenteeism

16. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Ministry Meetings Identified Existing Systems
SRC/SRC
Mobile
G-PASS
School Mapping & Monitoring
Education Management
Information System (EMIS)
HRMISGirls
empowerment
Newly-trained
teachers
Teacher
Performance

17. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Analytics will Guide Solutions
Questions:
Is there a gender gap?
Is it getting worse or better?
Does it vary by level?

18. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Analytics Drive Outreach Targets
Questions:
At what level are we losing girls?
Do public/private behave the same?
Public school sees
largest enrollment
drop between J2
and J3
Also a large drop
between J3 and S1
Public and Private show
different retention
behavior

19. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Deliver web prototype, strategy, artifacts
Strategy
Playbook
Technical
Framework

20. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Three Phase Implementation of GEM Network
StrategicWebsiteLevel
Time
Mar of 2016 Oct of 2016 Oct of 2017
 Official website for GEM network
 Contain broad range of resources
for girls empowerment
 Track and measure impact of
GEM network and other programs
Implement enterprise level
site
3rd step
GEM
Network Website
Mentor-Mentee
Matching Website
Prototype Website
We are Here
3 step road-map
short-term
implementation plan
mid-term
implementation plan
long-term
implementation plan
1st step 2nd step
 Prototype website using
WordPress
 Focus on form of website
 Develop look & feel
 Create information gathering
pages for potential mentors and
mentees
Look & Feel and Past
Beneficiaries
 Implement a hosted website
 Secure register of mentors and
mentees
 Match the mentor and mentee
manually
Register and Match
Mentors/Mentees

21. © 2016 IBM Corporation
Key Recommendations
 Ownership:
– Identify owners of hardware, software, infrastructure, administration
– Create Action Groups to implement various aspects web platform
 Outreach:
– Plan and host in-person events at district level to drive traffic to site
– Begin outreach in schools that have resources (e.g., internet, mentors)
rather than most needy schools
– Address JHS first
– Leverage partners (e.g., Peace Corps Volunteers, Vodafone, Camfed) to
promote website, host outreach events, grow network
 Impact Analysis
– Quantitative analysis will strengthen both GEM network and other
empowerment programs
– Analysis must go beyond statistical reporting

22. 22 © 2016 IBM Corporation
Mentorship at Ashesi University
 Lack of role models, especially females in STEM fields, is a systemic problem in Ghana
 IBM, Peace Corps, the Ministries, and TechAide hosted a mentorship event for JHS/SHS and
Ashesi University students
 Ashesi University promotes entrepreneurship, service, and inquiry-based learning
– 100% of students learn to code
– Pan-African model
– 44% of faculty are women

23. 23 © 2016 IBM Corporation
Links
 My blog: https://cscghana2016.wordpress.com
 Ghana 12 team profile: http://
www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/corporateservicecorps/wwa_ghana.html
 External press: https://
www.newglobalcitizen.com/impact-and-innovation/partnership-is-personal?cm_mc_
 Let Girls Learn: https://letgirlslearn.gov/
 IBM Corporate Service Corps: https://
cscserv2.chicago.ibm.com/CorporateServiceCorpsRegistration/Controller?action=s

24. Corporate Citizen & Corporate Affairs
Questions?