Inspired by the power and confidence of her mother and older sisters, Sabina Morgan, from Ghana, learned early on the importance of women’s leadership. She is the founder of the WomanEmpowered Network (WEN), a growth and development hub that aims to cultivate the next generation of high-value, educated young women. She is also a West Africa Regional Leadership Center alumna.
“Gender equality, to me, is a quest to make humanity better by giving the same and equal opportunities to women as they are given to men under all circumstances,” Morgan explains. She notes that Ghana has worked to improve gender equality with advancements such as granting maternity leave in the corporate space and increasing women’s representation in Parliament. However, there are several gaps Ghana can fill to create a better environment for women and girls. She identified several issues that still require attention, such as the existence of “witch camps,” places where Ghanaian women accused of witchcraft are exiled, leaving them vulnerable and stigmatized, as well as the lack of women in all levels of decision making and policy formation.
The WomanEmpowered Network seeks to improve gender equality and empower women physically, economically and socioculturally. By reshaping their mindsets through quarterly online training focused on building capacity and sharing knowledge, the network encourages young women to be the change they desire to see in society and to lead by example. As an ambassador of the U.N. Global Goal 5 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 Aspiration 6, Morgan, through her organization, mentors young women who are interested in attaining higher education. The WomanEmpowered Network encourages women to apply to development-oriented fellowships such as YALI, MOREMI and YDG.
The WomanEmpowered Network also visits five orphanages across Ghana to donate welfare materials and supplies to the homes. “We believe children are a vital part of women and womanhood, so we usually reach out to orphanage homes as well,” Morgan explains.
She feels most accomplished “when I see the fulfillment of WEN’s mission in the lives of young women. When we carried out a symposium for young ladies and exposed them to STEM courses they hitherto believed were best-suited to men. Witnessing a lot of them have a mental change was truly fulfilling.”
Though she was already a speaker at the first women’s leadership summit at the Ashesi University in Ghana and organized an empowerment training session for 75 girls to commemorate International Women’s Day, Morgan is not ready to stop. She dreams of becoming the most influential and youngest female diplomat and minister of gender and social protection.
“My advice is: Don’t wait. Don’t wait until you have a huge capital, don’t wait until you have a huge following, don’t wait until you have a lot of support. Just start with what you have and where you are,” she concluded.
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The views and opinions expressed here belong to the author or interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of the YALI Network or the U.S. government.