Dumela, my name is Pheladi Tlhatlha, and I work as a research assistant at BAM. I am from South Africa where I obtained a Master’s in environmental management. My interests are in interdisciplinary research focusing on sustainable urban development practices on the African continent, from sustainable materials, climate change, and energy poverty policies.

I am working on a collaborative project with the Ghana Standards Authority with the objective of improving the standards of public test laboratories in the field of environmentally friendly cementitious materials and chemicals. I am also involved in the Female Academic Leadership Network for Conscious Engineering and Science towards Sustainable Urbanisation (FALCONESS). This project aims at creating a network of strong female future leaders and existing role models by enabling researchers in STEM and socio-economic areas to link their various research interests for a greater outreach and societal relevance.

The work I do is particularly important to me because there is still a huge disparity in the number of African women in STEM and lower representation of us in leadership positions or influence development and policy. As an African female researcher, I want to participate in the urgent change that is needed, ideally with a PhD one day.