Accra, Ghana MTN Ghana today marked the 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD) with a call on women to move from their comfort zones and embrace opportunities to reach their potential to become better versions of themselves.
This call was made at a special programme organised by MTN Ghana to mark the IWD on the theme-‘Investing In Women Accelerate Progress.
The event held at the MTN Ghana headquarters in Accra was beautifully moderated by Madam Jacqueline Hanson-Kotei, Senior Manager in charge of Enterprise Information Security and Governance at MTN Ghana.
Setting the ball rolling, the Head of SME, Agency Banking and Partnerships at Absa Bank Ghana, Mrs Audrey Abaka said women were not created to be dormant.
In her words: “You were created not to be dormant but to keep moving forward. If you are dormant, you won’t attract good things or the right people into your life to elevate you”.
Touching on why women must be interested in accelerating themselves, Mrs Abaka explained that it gives them a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction in life.
It also encourages them to embark on lifelong learning and personal development while increasing their value in the marketplace, she added.
“The higher your value, the better your chance of becoming financially stable and independent and it will increase your chances of accelerating your promotion and securing your seat at the decision-making table”.
Mrs Abaka advised every woman to strive for higher education, skills development, and career advancement to enable her to progress in life.
She, therefore, urged women to surround themselves with a strong support network such as mentors, sponsors, and professional bodies, and be open to feedback.
Mrs Abaka also encouraged them to: “Discover your strengths and sharpen them, seek opportunities for growth, promotions, and leadership roles and learn to sell yourself when an opportunity comes. Nominate yourself and tell your story”.
Walk with the wise and you will be wise, manage your finances well, be adaptable and embrace changes that lead to your progress, be prayerful and develop resilience to overcome enemies of progress”, she said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Self Search Ghana Limited, Mrs Joyce Sika Twum who spoke on the topic ‘Investing in Women, Accelerating Progress and Inclusion’ identified some of the inner barriers hindering the ability of women to grab new opportunities.
These she mentioned are a feeling of shame and isolation but however confident that with proper training and support from the family and workplaces, these inner barriers would be overcome.
The seasoned professional coach used the occasion to advise the women to develop an impact-making voice and make themselves visible on their path towards self-transformation.
Mrs Twum also challenged women to build professional mastery and connect with the right bodies to co-create and listen to speakers for greatness and not flaws.
Kwaku Edem Damanka, Group Head of Talent and Corporate Affairs at BTL Africa, an experiential and digital marketing and media company, noted that it is prudent to include colleagues at the workplace or institution in the journey of success because “we need one another to progress”.
“Being inclusive is not about doing favours to people but helping to unleash the full potential in others. It is about acknowledging the worthiness and treating them with dignity even if we disagree with their ideologies”.
Proffering solutions for managing workplace harassment, Mr Damanka advised organisations to develop and implement policies on it and include all formal and informal staff on it.
He also also advised organisations to create open-door policies for people to report their plights to the right people, sometimes anonymously for them to be addressed.
The Acting Chief Human Resource Officer of MTN Ghana, Abdallah Ibrahim said the telecom company is working hard to increase the number of women staff.
He admitted that the current 41.9% of women staff is not the best and revealed that the company is committed to achieving 50-50% women and men staff by 2030.
To this end, Mr Ibrahim said that several initiatives have been implemented by MTN Ghana to create equity, diversity, and inclusion to enable the company to achieve the target of 50-50%.
MTN Ghana also used the occasion to graduate “Cohort 2” of its Women-In-Technology programme, where 24 women trained in technology graduated.
Cohort 3 of the programme comprising 26 women. to be trained in technology was introduced.
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.