The mentorship exercise started at the launch of Girled Up Ghana's "Mentorship Module" for 2025 in Accra to enable the girls make informed decisions about their career paths, especially STEM.

The mentors would guide the girls mobilised from senior high and basic schools nationwide, through a span of a year and beyond, build their confidence and guide them to make informed decisions in varied professions and spheres of life.

Dr Justina A. Onumah, the Founder and Executive Director, GirledUp Ghana, encouraged the girls to dream big, saying their dreams were valid and could become a reality if they pursued it and availed themselves to be enlightened.

"And when you dream, you need to visualize the dream. Because if you don't visualize the dream, you wouldn't know how to walk towards that dream. Are you listening to me? Are you listening? So you need to walk that dream, you need to think about that dream, you need to dream big and visualize it," she said

She advised the girls to build networks with people who were not competing with them and wanted to see them grow.

Madam Simone Giger, the Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, Benin and Togo, addressing the mentees, on the bootcamp's theme: "Inspiring the Next Generation, Bridging the Gender-STEM Gap, Building Dreams," said a talent could be realised if one timed it and put in great effort.

There were a lot of biases and stereotypes regarding what women and men were supposedly naturally talented in, she said, cautioning: "And I urge you, please disregard them.

"Don't buy into these stereotypes. You yourself know what you're good at. And even if you're not naturally gifted for something, like maths doesn't come super easily to you, you can still, if you feel like it's something that I like doing, I'm passionate about it, you can put in the effort and excel at it.

"And you should really never let yourself be discouraged by other people telling you, you cannot do something because you're a girl. So, believing in yourself is really key," she advised.

Dr Laud Anthony Basing, the Chief Executive Officer, Incas Diagnostics, speaking on the topic: "The World of STEM and  the need for female inclusion," said STEM drove innovation and solved global challenges, but women were largely underrepresented.

Women, he said were only 28 per cent of the STEM workforce globally and even fewer in leadership positions.
He said female inclusion mattered because diverse teams made better decisions, and women in those fields made great contributions and impacts.

To promote female inclusion, he called on all to encourage early interest in STEM among girls, provide mentorship and role models, set up scholarships and funding opportunities, and ensure inclusive workplaces.

"When women lead in STEM, they inspire the next generation," he noted.

Dr Basing advised students to join STEM clubs or competitions and pursue internships in STEM fields.
He also implored professionals to mentor young women and urged allies to challenge stereotypes, while celebrating and amplifying female voices in the field.

Dr Stella Agyenim-Boateng, Vice Chair, Public Services Commission, said culturally-induced biases, social stereotyping, sexual harassment, and abuse among others made women feel inadequate and lose their self-confidence.

Some women, she said also carried "baskets of excuses" on pursuing STEM and taking up leadership positions, adding: "It's therefore time to stand up to provide experiential support and guidance to the young ones in their career paths. There are many young girls unable to harness their talents due to lack of guidance."

She said mentorship served as a powerful catalyst for both personal and professional development, helped to broaden the horizon of young minds and opened mentees to varied ranges of professions.

"This helps mentees to become more aware of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities available for them and the threats they have to ward off to position themselves for great careers," she noted.

Dr Agyenim-Boateng admonished the mentors to exhibit readiness to share potentials and help mentees in their frustrations, not preach virtue and practice vice, and help them to eliminate gaps.