Coca Cola supports women, girls in science

Beverage company, Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda (CCBU) has as part of its efforts to address the gap between men and women increased the number of women in leadership positions at the company.

According to Catherine Gita, the Human Resource Manager at CCBU, the company has through its women in leadership program intentionally ensured women are in top leadership positions at the company .

“At CCBU we believe that some of Uganda’s and Africa’s problems like access to clean water, manufacturing, developing renewable energy, fighting diseases, technology, and transport could be solved through involving and promoting a good number of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education,”  Gita said.

According to a 2019 UNESCO report, women, and girls, particularly at the higher levels of education, are largely under-represented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.

This has been attributed to the low enrolment of girls in STEM-related education, degraded by poor performance, and high dropout rates at all levels of the education value chain.

CCBU says it has a learning and development function that encourages continuous improvement with a well set up e-learning system that has benefited some of the women in STEM positions.

“Working with CCBU has built my confidence as a woman in a male-dominated sector. The science world is ever evolving and with the available support, through the continuous mentoring and training, I have become more knowledgeable and attained a competitive advantage in my line of work as it is heavily science based, said Enid Namiiro the safety, health, environmental and quality manager at CCBU.

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA)  says in all markets it operates, the promotion of sustainability goals on social and economic aspects is highly placed to accommodate Economic inclusion of women and youth that helps to embrace women in STEM education and careers.

For example, in countries like Ghana, the company partnered with Girls in Science and Technology (GIST), a non-government organisation where girls took part in a robotics training session. Over the years, the company has also put in place a bursary fund in different universities across Africa to support female science students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

GIST’s mission aligns with Voltic’s passion for women and youth empowerment, providing them with the mentorship and coaching they need for a successful and impactful STEM career, and exposing them to opportunities in the STEM industry.