Women’s representation must rise beyond 14% — Minister
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has called for urgent action to translate Ghana’s Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), into measurable gains in women’s representation.
She said the country could not achieve sustainable development when women remained largely absent from leadership and decision-making.
Dr Lartey said affirmative action was no longer merely an advocacy issue but a central pillar of the Ministry’s work, requiring deliberate implementation, monitoring and public engagement.
She made the call in Accra yesterday when she addressed a capacity-building programme for women in the media on the implementation of Act 1121.
The programme, organised by the Department of Gender under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), was held at the Ministry’s Conference Room at Ridge.
Dr Lartey said Ghana had made an important legislative commitment through the passage of the Act, but the focus must now shift to ensuring that the law produced tangible results in communities, workplaces and political institutions.
She said the low representation of women in political leadership remained a major concern, particularly at the local government level, where women’s representation was estimated at about 14 per cent.
She said urgent efforts were required to increase the figure to the 30 per cent threshold and subsequently to higher levels, particularly in elected positions where opportunities could not simply be postponed.
The Act provides progressive targets for women’s representation in decision-making positions, beginning with 30 per cent and rising to 50 per cent by 2034.
Dr Lartey stressed that the initiative was not solely about women but about national development.
She said Ghana could not fully develop if leadership and decision-making continued to draw disproportionately from one sex.
Dr Lartey also highlighted President John Dramani Mahama’s role in promoting gender equality, including his position as an African Union Champion of Gender and Development.
She said such leadership should translate into concrete improvements in women’s participation in leadership across Ghana and Africa.
She said the Ministry would intensify community engagement, media outreach and advocacy to ensure that the Act was understood and implemented by institutions and citizens.
The Minister’s call comes as the implementation framework for the law has become operational.
The Ministry has established the Gender Equity Committee and Secretariat, while the accompanying regulations, L.I. 2522, came into force in June 2026.
Dr Lartey said the Ministry had already sensitised thousands of stakeholders on their obligations under the law, while institutions were beginning to submit compliance reports.
She said 47 institutions had submitted such reports as of September 2026.
The Chief Director of the Ministry, Dr Marian Kpakpa, subsequently urged the media to use its influence to educate the public and hold institutions accountable for their obligations under the Act.
She said journalists should investigate which institutions were complying with the law and which were failing to create equal opportunities for women.
The Chairperson of the African Women Leaders Network, Dr Charity Binka, also urged media organisations to give qualified women greater space in discussions on national issues.
She said the media had a responsibility to challenge stereotypes that often portrayed areas such as the economy, revenue and public finance as the preserve of men.
Dr Binka stressed that affirmative action was not about replacing merit with gender.
Rather, she said, it was about removing structural barriers that had historically prevented qualified women from having equal opportunities to participate in leadership.
The capacity-building programme forms part of efforts by the Ministry to strengthen the role of women in the media and make the media a key partner in the implementation and monitoring of Act 1121.
By ENOCH NTIAMOAH SIAW
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