7 hours ago
1 ARTICLE AD
The lack of gender-responsive governance has accounted for the political and socio-economic inequalities face by women in the country, the Network of Women’s Right (NETRIGHT) has observed.
Consequently, the head of Secretariat of NETRIGHT, Mrs Patricia Blankson, is advocating actions to advance gender-responsive governance in the country.
Mrs Blankson made the recommendation in Accra yesterday at a stakeholders’ forum, to discuss ‘gender and social inclusion’ analysis of political party manifestos in the just ended election.
Dubbed; ‘Advancing Gender Responsive Governance and Inclusion Democracy in Ghana,’ the forum was organised by NETRIGHT in partnership with STAR GHANA FOUNDATION and Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
“As stated by the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 7, 2019), women are disproportionately affected by poverty, with 31 per cent of women living below the poverty line compared to 24 per cent of men.”
Furthermore, women account for the majority of those employed in informal and vulnerable jobs, often without access to social protection or decision-making influence,” she said.
She again noted that these disparities highlighted the urgent need for deliberate actions to advance gender-responsive governance.
Political parties that serve as gatekeepers of political participation, she mentioned, often failed to prioritise gender equality in their manifestoes and internal structures that limit the scope for transformative policies.
She outlined that even though women constituted 50.7 per cent of the country’s population yet remained underrepresented in leadership and decision-making processes with limited influence on policy development and implementation.
Moreover, Mrs Blankson stated that the Advancing Gender Responsive Governance and Inclusion Democracy in Ghana project, which was being implemented seeks to address challenges by advocating for policies, practices and frameworks that prioritise gender equality and inclusivity.
Making some recommendations to political parties, a Development Practitioner, Ms Rachel Gyabaah, said more detailed plans should be drafted regarding the implementation of policies aimed at increasing women’s participation in decision-making processes.
“This includes specifying the percentage of substantive ministerial positions allocated to women versus deputy roles.”
“This should include clear metrics for tracking progress as well timeline for achieving specific targets should be clear stated,” she noted.
Furthermore, she recommended that while the establishment of the Women’s Development Bank was a positive step, additional support mechanisms were necessary to ensure that women entrepreneurs could access resources effectively.
“Government of the day should collaborate with civil society organisations (CSOs) that focus on gender equality and social inclusion to enhance community engagement and grassroots support for Gender Equality and Social inclusion initiatives,” Ms Gyabaah indicated.
BY CECILIA YADA LAGBA
