Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku- Agyemang, on Wednesday urged public services agencies to ensure that recruitment, promotions, and appointments to positions are gender responsive, transparent, and merit-based.
This may be accomplished by cultivating organisational cultures that prioritise merits, fairness, inclusivity over tokenism and flexible working arrangements.
The Vice President who was speaking at the opening of the second annual conference for Women in Leadership in the public sector, in Accra, noted that government was committed to the implementation of Affirmative and Gender Equity law to the later.
In line with that, the government has expanded the National Archives Insurance School to be more inclusive and financially sustainable and other economic empowerment initiatives, such as the Women’s Economic Resilience Initiative.
We have also launched other initiatives to broaden women’s access to capital, digital finance tools, and markets, while increasing women’s inclusion in strategic sectors and value chains.
All these, according to the Vice President were deliberate policy measures and concrete step towards a Ghana where women had fairer access to opportunities to sustain barriers to their advancement and growth.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang challenged female public service officers not to yield to biases and stereotypes adding “act with boldness, act with clarity, act with purpose.”
“To my fellow females, as I said, don’t be intimidated, it is not about making yourself in other people’s image. It is not about your hairline. It is not about your eyebrow It is not about the hair you do not like. It is about impact; it is about staying true to the values.”
The day’s conference is on the theme “Breaking Barriers, Building Impact: Advancing Women’s Leadership in the Resetting Ghana Agenda.”
As part of commitment to promote excellence in governance and advancing Gender mainstreaming in the Public Sector, the Public Services Commission is organising the conference for Women in Leadership.
The Conference is designed to empower women holding Leadership positions such as Chief directors, Chief Executive Officers, Directors, managers and analogous grades in the public sector.
The Conference among other things sought to further enhance the capabilities of women leaders supporting to position the sector to lead in the implementation of the Affirmative and Gender Equity law.
Madam Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba, Minister of State in charge of Public Sector reforms, said comprehensive reforms to achieve Gender balance in staffing and leadership in the Public sector was ready to be rolled out.
She said designation of Gender Desk Officers across all government institutions, agencies and departments was a deliberate step to lead the gender mainstreaming interventions.
Earlier, Ms Nana Oye Bampoe-Addo, Deputy Chief of Staff, said government was steadily moving towards achieving the targets of the Affirmative Action and Gender Equity law and President Mahama, had clearly demonstrated utmost confidence towards women’s leadership.
She urged women not to allow stereotypes and discrimination silence them in pursuit of leadership positions because the law protects them.
“The law protects you to lead, stand firmly on it and work diligently” she emphasised.
