Laurier panel discussion explores experiences of Black African women in academia

Feb. 25, 2021
For Immediate Release

Brantford – Wilfrid Laurier University’s Tshepo Institute for the Study of Contemporary Africa, in partnership with the Centre for Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, will present an International Women’s Day panel discussion focusing on African women in Canadian academia. The panel will feature five Ontario professors who emigrated from Africa and completed their PhDs and postdoctoral studies in Canada.

The event is the first in the Tshepo Institute’s new African Leadership Lecture Series, which will showcase and celebrate rising African leaders both on the African continent and in the diaspora. Inspiring the Next Generation: African Women in Academia will be held on March 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. via Zoom. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

“African scholars are under-represented in Canadian universities, especially African women,” said Stacey Wilson-Forsberg, the director of the Tshepo Institute and an associate professor in Laurier’s Human Rights and Human Diversity program. “As the first woman to serve as director of the Tshepo Institute, I think that the work of female leaders in Africa and beyond needs to be given precedence. What better way to do this than inviting five stellar women scholars to speak at Laurier?”

Inspiring the Next Generation will celebrate the accomplishments of Black African women scholars and explore important topics, including the underrepresentation of Black African women in academia; the discrimination Black African women experience in universities and academic publications; and the similarities and differences between the stories of Black African women and Black women born in Canada.

Panellists include Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin and Yolande Bouka, assistant professors from the Department of Geography and Planning and the Department of Political Studies respectively at Queen’s University; Sylvia Bawa, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at York University; and Nadège Compaoré, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto Mississauga. The event will be moderated by Funke Oba, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Ryerson University.

About the Tshepo Institute for the Study of Contemporary Africa

The Tshepo Institute for the Study of Contemporary Africa was founded at Laurier’s Brantford campus in 2003 and has expanded across the institution. The institute is made up of 27 fellows spanning disciplines, departments and universities. As a collective research institute, the Tshepo Institute hosts events, speakers and panel discussions, as well as shares its work with the community. Through these initiatives, students and community members are presented opportunities to become involved and deepen their understanding of issues affecting and relevant to African countries.