The Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) and the European Union Delegation in Ghana will on Friday, May 21, 2021, hold a webinar on the theme “Strengthening Women’s Inclusion in Governance and the Urgency of the Affirmative Action Bill: Progress, Challenges and Way Forward.”
The Webinar will focus on the Ghanaian experience of women representation with lessons from Rwandan and Spanish experiences.
The Seminar will draw on participation from key stakeholders and institutions such as the Coalition for Affirmative Action, the Ministry for Gender, Women and Social Protection; Parliament; Political Parties; Media; Women’s Organizations including Women in Law and Development in Ghana, among others.
The institute in a statement explained that the conversation has become necessary as Ghana still lags behind in addressing inclusive and representational issues with respect to the active participation of women in politics.
“Even though Ghana has had a woman as Former Speaker òof Parliament, two former women Chief Justices, two women Electoral Commission Chairpersons and for the first time the selection of a female running mate for the December 2020 general elections by one of the two major political parties (the National Democratic Congress), participation in governance, political and public decision-making is one of the main areas of inequality against women.”
“Currently in the eighth Parliament, out of the 275-member Parliament, only 40 representing 14% are women. Although this indicates a marginal improvement from 13% in the seventh parliament and 10.7% in the sixth parliament, it is significantly below the global benchmark of 30% representation in National Assemblies or Parliaments. Also, the proportion of women appointed as ministers and District Chief Executives (DCEs) has consistently been less than 20% since independence. Specifically, the percentage of women holding positions within the District Assemblies has remained below 10% nationwide.”
The Institute believes the quality of governance is better when women are involved.
“There is evidence to suggest that marginalization and exclusion of women in political representation has negative impact on governance and institutions. Also, greater women representation enhances the quality of institutions by reducing corruption rent-extraction by those in authority. Further, the presence of women in parliament and decision-making processes helps to improve the quality of debate and policymaking.”