Accra, Ghana//-MTN Ghana; Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection; United Nations (UN) System in Ghana; and Emerging Public Leaders of Ghana (EPL), and NGO today defied Accra’s scorching morning sun to embark on more than two hours of health walk ahead of tomorrow’s International Women’s Day.
They walked through the principal streets of the Ghanaian capital with placards with inscriptions such as “Equal rights, equal opportunities”, “equal opportunities, equal futures”, and “empower women, empower Ghana”, among others to create awareness about the day.
Addressing the enthusiastic crowds at the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, the Senior Communications Manager of MTN Ghana, Mrs Georgina Asare Fiagbenu acknowledged that achieving gender equality requires a lot of collaboration which is why they are here this morning to collaborate with the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection to ensure that they can make progress.
“It requires action from government, private sector and telecommunications companies such as MTN and civil society, the media, and individuals as well.
This is why we are here today. We all have a role to play and MTN continues to invest in women. I am excited to say that the MTN Ghana Foundation as part of its sustainability programme continues to invest in women”, she added.
“I am sure that most of you would have seen the significant investment that we have made in maternal health, in child health, in our education. We have done a lot to support the Girls In ICT Programme.
We just launched a programme that is going to impact one million people by training them in coding and Artificial Intelligence (AI). And I believe that women are going to be represented in this one million people who are going to be impacted”.
So, there is a lot that MTN is doing, and this year there is a big focus on SME development and SME growth. Our MTN Business enterprise division is going to do a whole year’s campaign on SMEs and she believes that one of participant or some of the participants are going to be part of this programme.
“I would like to wish everyone a happy Women’s Day in advance. We look forward to collaborating with the Ministry, all ministries, the entire government, and the entire nation to ensure that our technology for the good programme continues to bring more hope and continue to inspire more women into continuous action”, Mrs Fiagbenu said.
Touching on MTN Ghana’s commitment to gender equity, she said: “MTN Ghana is committed to achieving a workforce that is gender equal and gender-sensitive, and that is a key strategy measure to enhance the quality of our diversity, equity and inclusion programme”.
At MTN Ghana, we are committed to attaining equal gender representation in our strategy programmes across the business. We aim to achieve a minimum target of 30% women representation, and hopefully to 40% in business transformation upscaling programmes and specialist initiatives form parts of this programme”.
To the Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the walk was not just a walk to exercise but a walk to acknowledge and recognise that women were poised for excellence and hard work.
She said: “In our achievement so far towards deepening and promoting gender equality, equity as well as girls and women empowerment. As H.E John Dramani Mahama has indicated and set the pace on the path to reflect, resume and reset Ghana, more efforts on the part of all stakeholders are needed to ensure that every road we take more us forward to achieve gender parity in all sectors.”
Dr Momo Lartey continued: “We as women in our quest for excellence need not be overly critical of ourselves such that we lose hope. What we need is to work together. Yes, criticisms are important. But more so we need to work together to amplify our voices and ensure that in all spheres the voices of women and our issues are well represented and articulated. If we can’t support each other to achieve this, no one will do this for us”.
In a speech delivered by Dr Efua Kwaambaa Turkson on behalf of Mrs Julie Amoah, Country Director for Emerging Public Leaders of Ghana firmly believes that gender equality is not just a goal but a necessity for sustainable development.
She indicated that their commitment to this year’s theme is demonstrated through their Women on the Rise project funded by Co-Impact, a key initiative supporting women’s public sector leadership.
This project Dr Turkson explained is designed to strengthen gender-responsive policies, address systemic barriers, and provide mentorship to the next generation of female leaders.
“Leveraging our partnership with the Office of the Head of Civil Service and the Public Services Commission, we will continue to work with the Gender Diversity Task Force, which was inaugurated in October 2024 to champion women, youth leadership and inclusion in decision-making within the public service through policy reforms and institutional capacity strengthening”, she assured.
According to her, women make up 50.7% of the population of Ghana, yet their voices remain underrepresented in decision-making. Only 17.4% of young women are enrolled in tertiary education compared to 20.5% of young men.
The gap is even wider in rural areas, where just 10% of young people access higher education, compared to 17.6% in urban centres. When young women break through these barriers, they still face higher unemployment rates, Dr Turkson added.
Despite their significant contributions to women in Ghana, less than 30% hold senior leadership positions. Currently, in Parliament, where critical decisions are made, women represent less than 15 % of seats, even after the work various stakeholders put in the last election to increase female representation, she said.
“These disparities are unacceptable and change cannot wait. We need bold and intentional action to break these barriers. This means transformative policies that empower women and inclusive leadership structures to ensure representation and strong commitment from governments, institutions, and every stakeholder in society”.
“As we commemorate this day, let us not only celebrate but also take concrete steps to empower women and girls. Let us challenge outdated norms, support policies that promote gender equality, and invest in the leadership potential of women.
The future of Ghana depends on the full participation of all its people, and true progress will only be achieved when women are given equal space to lead, innovate, and inspire”.
The UNFPA Country Representative in Ghana, Dr Wilfred Ochan called for the creation of an enabling environment where women and girls could thrive free from the fear of violence, discrimination, and marginalisation.
To do this, according to him requires equal access to education so that women and girls could acquire the skills and knowledge to compete favourably in the Ghanaian economy and participate in decision-making processes.
This year’s International Women’s Day is under the theme, ‘For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment’
International Women’s Day is celebrated every year globally on March 8th to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.
