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The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, has stated that despite the numerous contributions of women to development, Ghana still faces the challenge of gender inequality. Women, she said, are largely absent from mainstream political decision-making processes even after the continuous efforts of state, civil society and the developed partners geared towards increasing women�s participation in governance and decision making. �The fluctuation in the percentages of female parliamentarians from 10 per cent in 2004 to 8.3 per cent in 2008 and to 10.9 per cent in the 2012 elections is a clear signal that dealing with the issue will demand more pragmatic measures to resolve the gross imbalance in representation at high decision making positions.� Review of draft Bill Nana Oye expressed these sentiments when she addressed the Parliamentary Select Committee on Gender, Children, and Social Protection and the Legal Committee of Parliament at a two-day workshop to review the Draft Affirmative Action Bill before it is submitted for it to go through further legislative processes. The workshop, organised by the Gender Department of Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, with the support of the Fredrich Ebert Foundation, was to give the parliamentarians the opportunity to make further inputs to enhance the bill. Nana Oye Lithur noted that comments and suggestions of the parliamentarians would go a long way to ensure an equitable society where women and men�s concerns formed an integral part of the development process. Throughout the world, gender inequality had led to discrimination, social injustice and sub-optimal economic progress due to a serious neglect of a large part of society�s human resources, which had also resulted in deficient democracies, she said. This, she added, stemmed from various social, cultural and political beliefs and practices which have resulted in gender gaps and stereotypes, neglecting the concerns, needs and active involvement of women in decision-making processes. Nana Oye stressed that affirmative action had been justified on the grounds that improved representation of social groups such as women had a beneficial impact on policies, thus political participation is to enable women to protect their rights through participation in legislative processes. Review by CSOs Representatives of civil society organisations from the regions had earlier reviewed the draft document at a similar forum. They recommended, among others, that the ministry should step up efforts to get the bill passed into law. They further said an intensive public awareness creation and education programme should be put in place soon.