Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris has called for intentional investment for the empowerment of African women.
On day three of her nine-day tour of Africa, the American Veep charged Africa to ensure the economic empowerment of its women when she addressed a crowd of students at the Black Star Square in Accra.
Kamala Harris posited that “women around the world must be able to fully participate in economic, political, and social lives, and they must be able to participate equally in leadership roles because it is the key to maximizing global growth and opportunity.”
She stressed that women across the globe are unable to fully participate in key decision-making processes due to “gender disparities around the world including in the United States,” which she said needs to be “addressed on the continent of Africa” to stimulate the needed growth and opportunities.
She further lamented the myriad of factors confronting women’s growth and proposed deliberate measures be taken to economically empower women.
“Women are entrepreneurs but have limited access to capital and markets. They are peacemakers and bridge builders yet continue to be under-represented at the table where decisions are being made.
“There are many factors that impact a woman’s ability to thrive and survive and one of those is economic empowerment when we lift up the economic status of a woman, we have lifted up the economic status of her children and her community.”
The US vice president is in Ghana as part of a week’s visit to Africa where she is scheduled to visit Tanzania and Zambia.
On Monday she held meetings with president Akufo-Addo where she promised America’s commitment to helping Ghana deal with the current economic and debt crisis.
