Celebrating International Women's Day | March 8, 2026
- Lissa Gloria Mykels
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
In Ghana, we have an Akan saying: Onipa na ohia onipa — a person needs a person. Progress, real and lasting progress, has never been a solo act.
Today, on International Women's Day 2026, we pause to honour the women who show up every day in our rigs, our boardrooms, our laboratories, and our lecture halls — often navigating spaces that were not designed with them in mind, and still delivering excellence.
This year's theme, Give to Gain, speaks directly to us as a professional community. In the oil and gas sector, we understand returns on investment. We calculate risk, we model outcomes, we know that what you put in determines what you get out. The same logic applies here. When a senior engineer takes time to mentor a young woman navigating her first offshore rotation, that investment compounds. When a hiring manager actively sponsors a qualified woman for a leadership role she's ready for but hasn't been considered for, the entire team gains depth. When we share knowledge across gender lines without gatekeeping, our industry becomes more innovative, more resilient, and more competitive.
But let us be honest, as the UN theme calls us to be — Rights. Justice. Action.— the barriers are still real. Women in Ghana's energy sector continue to face unequal access to field experience, unconscious bias in performance reviews, and a pipeline that narrows sharply at mid-career. Acknowledging the day without acknowledging this would be performance, not progress.
So here is our call to action: Give something concrete this month. Offer a career conversation to a woman at a different level than yours. Nominate a female colleague for a speaking slot, a committee seat, or a technical award. If you lead a team, audit who is being developed and who is being overlooked.
The women of Ghana's energy sector are not waiting to be saved. They are building, leading, and advancing this industry. What they deserve is a community that matches their effort with equal investment.
We rise together, or we leave too much behind.
Happy International Women's Day from the SPE Ghana Section Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
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