A Senior Lecturer at the Department of Agriculture, Economics and Agribusiness of the University of Ghana Dr. Freda E. Asem has tasked women to set goals and be fearless in challenging the stereotypes in society.

According to her, women can learn from their mentors.

Dr. Freda Asem was contributing to discussions on the International Women’s Day dubbed the “3FM Choose to Challenge” organized by 3FM, a subsidiary company of the Media General Group in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and frytol sunflower oil.

According to Dr. Asem there are stereotypes against women in agriculture but “We can deal with them. There are social and cultural norms that could create problems for women but if we can do what we call gender smart then we can include women to overcome these challenges.”

"Other women can also draw strength from these and learn how to survive. It is about women trying to mentor women,” She stressed.

The 3FM Choose to Challenge brought to you by Mastercard Foundation and frytol sunflower oil seeks to celebrate women particularly those who have excelled in the agriculture value chain.

They include farmers, aggregators, suppliers and distributors, and trainers.

Over the two weeks period, entries were called for people or listeners to nominate any woman engaged in agriculture whiles the winner stands the chance of receiving amazing prizes.

The global theme for the 2021 International Women’s Day is Choose to Challenge.

The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.

It is one of the largest, private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. The Foundation was created by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board of Directors and management.

In Ghana, after more than a decade working with the private sector and government to promote financial inclusion and education through it’s Scholars Program, the Mastercard Foundation launched Young Africa Works, a 10-year strategy to enable 3 million young Ghanaians, particularly young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.

Young Africa Works in Ghana aims to:

Enable the growth of women-owned enterprises through business development services, access to finance, and access to markets.

Enable young people to acquire skills that are needed by businesses in growing sectors of the economy and strengthen the quality of education to prepare students for the world of work.

Scale digital training and strengthen technology-focused employment opportunities.

The Mastercard Foundation is partnering with Media General to celebrate young women challenging the status quo in Agriculture to commemorate International Women’s Day 2021.