Accra, Ghana//-Emerging Public Leaders of Ghana (EPL Ghana), an organisation committed to empowering the next generation of public service professionals today organized a maiden Rise Women Conference 2024 that focused on three critical areas.
The Country Director of EPL Ghana, Madam Juliet Amoah in a short welcome address said the next two days of the conference which opened today would focus on three critical areas.
These areas she mentioned were identifying key actions and investments to uplift women from poverty; uncovering and emphasising gender-responsive policies to address systemic inequalities; and fostering collaborations to mobilise resources effectively.
Objectives
“These objectives are not mere aspirations but concrete steps towards tangible outcomes that will enhance the lives and opportunities of women and girls in Ghana. I sincerely thank each of you for your commitment to keeping this conversation going until we have a consensus as a people on the most effective pathways forward.
I want to thank our partners Co-Impact who have funded our inquiries over the last year and who continue to push us to find practical answers to the issue of gender equality and inclusiveness”, Madam Amoah emphasised.
According to her, statistics indicated that Ghana has 51% females and 49% males. There is a full 1% difference, how come this is not translating into the world of work, into leadership and all aspects of Ghanaian life, she questioned.
“We have also discovered from our engagement with employers etc, that women are likely to receive less remuneration for completing the same tasks that their male counterparts complete”, she added.
Albeit significant strides have been made in the last decade, global statistics underscore a sobering truth: women continue to face multifaceted barriers to equality, ranging from economic exclusion to gender-based violence and limited access to decision-making spaces.
10.3 per cent more women than men live in extreme poverty worldwide. This disparity is particularly pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, underscoring the imperative for targeted interventions and systemic change, and so here we are as Emerging Public Leaders of Ghana getting into the conversation, Madam Amoah told participants at the well-attended conference.
“For those who know the work we do at Emerging Public Leaders, work which focuses on giving young people a chance to contribute to a more vibrant, more responsive public sector, it can be puzzling as to why we are spearheading a conference focused on gender equity and inclusivity.
The answer lies in the fact that over the last five years, despite our carefully laid out criteria, our unique approach to recruitment and the many affirmative actions, we have engaged to ensure that we have gender parity in each class or cohort of Fellows that we award a place to in our Public Service Fellowship Programme, year on year, we still have significantly more men than women applying and ultimately getting into the year-long programme. For us this is worrisome”.
Statement of purpose
In a statement of purpose for the two-day conference, Gender Equity and Research Manager at EPL Ghana, Madam Efua K. Turkson, said the conference is dedicated to addressing systematic barriers that impede women’s progression into leadership roles within the country’s public sector.
She explained this initiative goes on the successful effort of EPL Ghana to empower female leaders to excel as professionals in public service, stressing that they aim to foster a more inclusive and diverse leadership landscape across the public sector.
Statistics
Highlighting key statistics on the national and global status of women, Madam Turkson said: “Imagine living on less than $1.90 a day. This is the harsh reality for 383 million women and girls worldwide compared to 368 million men and boys”.
She continued: “Globally, women account for half of those living in extreme poverty with one in 10 women experiencing this hardship. In nearly two-thirds of countries, women are more likely than men to face food insecurities emphasising the disproportionate impact of economic challenges on women”.
In Ghana, nearly half of women in rural areas are multi-dimensionally poor far above the national average. Also, unemployment disproportionately affects women and young people, with a rate of 15.5% for women, nearly 33% for young people, and 19.5% among the youth.
“Nearly one in five women aged 15-49 have ever had partner suffered physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner. More tragic about 16.1% of young women aged 20-24 were married before age 18. These statistics represent real-life stories of the suffering and pains women go through demanding our urgent attention.”
Still, in Ghana, women remain under-represented in senior leadership roles in both the public and private sectors partly attributed to systematic barriers and socio-cultural biases. As of 2022, less than 30% of women hold ministerial and deputy ministerial and chief directors’ positions in Ghana, according to the 2022 Voluntary National Review.
Implications
The gap between gender-inclusive policies and their active implementation and coordination significantly hinders progress towards gender equality, equity, and empowerment.
Patriarchal beliefs and socio-cultural norms continue to disadvantage women, especially in pursuit of leadership roles, perpetuating gender inequalities.
Gender disparities imbedded in law policies and traditional laws exacerbate the changes women face intensifying the urgency to fight for gender equality and empowerment. So, the Arise Women Conference is a pivotal event designed to create a platform for dialogue, collaboration, and action. It brings stakeholders from various sectors together to develop strategies that promote gender equality and accelerate economic empowerment.
The theme of the conference-“Empowering Women Leaders: Paving The Way to Equality” is in line with EPL Ghana’s vision of addressing institutionalized gender barriers, empowering women, and civil service professionals and fostering a mindset geared towards systematic change, Madam Turkson explained.
Harness the full potential
The Head of Office of the Head of Civil Service, Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh said with the current dispensation, Ghana stands at a very pivotal point in history as they want to harness the full potential of all including women in driving economic progress and fostering inclusive growth.
He cautioned that; “if we are unable to harness the full potential of women, invariably we are undermining our development, because we are not harnessing the full potential of the human capital that is available to us”.
Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh who is a strong gender equality advocate added that providing women equality or equal access to education, employment opportunities, financial services, and entrepreneurial services, could unlock this vast potential and drive economic transformation.
Throughout history, women have demonstrated resilience, innovation, and leadership in various endeavours despite the persistent barriers they encounter, Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh who chaired the conference said.
A former Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Professor George K.T Oduro delivered a powerful keynote address and urged all to support the formalisation and implementation of gender-sensitive policies to accelerate women’s economic empowerment.