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The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has expressed optimism that the development of a National Gender Policy and the formulation of the Affirmative Action Law, currently awaiting Cabinet’s approval, would address some of the shortfalls and mainstream gender equality into the national development agenda to ensure equal participation of both women and men in every facet of life.
 
A statement issued by the commission and signed by its Acting Commissioner, Mr Richard Quayson, said it was extremely important to make efforts to allow women and girls equal access to quality education, economic resources and political participation, adding “Women’s full and equal participation in the political and economic arena is fundamental to democracy and justice, and no efforts should be spared in bringing this about.”

Ghana’s adopted theme

It described Ghana’s adopted theme, ‘Gender Equality by 2030: Inclusion of all for Ghana’s Sustainable Development,’ as in sync with the global theme, ‘Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step it Up for Gender Equality,’ as both called for renewed efforts towards bridging the gap between men and women and the involvement of both sexes in the national development agenda.

“Indeed, working together to realise gender equality, and the empowerment of women and girls especially will be a crucial role towards achieving targets as set out in the new global development paradigm — the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The world cannot develop to an appreciable level if opportunities are not created for both women and men to participate in the development process,” the statement indicated.

Women’s empowerment  

It said although Ghana continued to make strides towards women’s empowerment, certain intractable traditional and socio-cultural norms and perceptions about women’s place in the society continued to reinforce gender stereotypes of femininity and masculinity, thereby thwarting gender equality efforts.

The commission, therefore, called on all stakeholders to make significant investments to close the gap, as well as take concrete steps to quicken global efforts at achieving gender equality.

It also urged stakeholders to work together to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, as well as other barriers which impeded gender equality.

MTN Ghana     

In a statement to commemorate the day, the Corporate Services Executive of MTN, Mrs Cynthia Lumor, described the theme for this year’s celebration “as a call to action in the women empowerment agenda,” adding, “We each have a role to play to step it up for gender equality.”

She said as a company that had integrity as one of its core values, MTN places great importance on creating equality for all, and pointed out that the company’s special focus on the development of women was evidenced in the number of  women in executive and senior leadership positions, both in MTN Ghana and MTN Group. 

Mrs Lumor commended all women whose hard work, dedication and sacrifices had contributed to business sustainability, improved healthcare and education, child safety, and other achievements and added, “We are adopting a renewed focus on gender equality that will help us identify and close gender equality gaps.”