This month we mark Earth Day 22 April with the Ex-President, Biodiversity Scientist and Entrepreneur from Mauritius, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim.
"If women are left out of full participation in 21st-century aspirations, we will not achieve gender equality, nor realise our broader goals for growth, prosperity, and well-being, including scientific advancement."
In June 2015, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim became the first female president of Mauritius, stepping down in 2018. Before her political career, Gurib-Fakim was the Managing Director of a pharmaceutical research organisation and professor of organic chemistry.
"Women must be empowered with knowledge, technology, financial resources, and land. Increasing access to financial mechanisms and removing legal barriers are among the many ways that women can stay in the workforce and achieve their fullest potential."
As a leading biodiversity scientist, she studied and validated the flora of Mauritius, one of the world's key biodiversity hotspots as well as analysing the plants from the region for their health, nutritional and cosmetic uses.
"Great leaders sometimes fail because of the failure to listen to or question their mistakes."
Each month we mark the significant life of a person of colour as a positive statement and a contribution to redressing historical imbalances in our society.
illustration by Simon Gosling
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