Guinness Ghana Breweries in partnership with MAP Leadership Organisation, organiser of the Obaasima Summit, have climaxed the Progressive Portrayal of Women campus tour activities with a high-level summit held in Accra.
The progressive portrayal initiative by Guinness Ghana champions the progressive representation of women in media, advertising, and entertainment. After a launch event in April 2021, campus tours were held in five universities across the country: including the University of Development Studies, University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Media personalities, business leaders and industry experts were brought together to engage participants in conversations around diversity and inclusion.
The summit, held on Friday, saw participants engaged in a mentoring session wherein participants were paired with high-achieving and dedicated female executives of Guinness Ghana.
This served as a platform for mentors to share their unique viewpoints around topics ranging from personal and professional experiences, overcoming negative and weak stereotypes, and desired recommendations to better portray women.
The second part of the summit, a panel discussion moderated by broadcaster Kokui Selormey, featured personalities such as Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyeman, former Minister of Education and running-mate to John Mahama; Héléne Weesie, Managing Director of Guinness Ghana; Kate Addo, Director of Public Affairs, Parliament of Ghana; and Ama Pratt, Executive Director of Obaasima Summit.
Speaking at the event, Héléne Weesie, Guinness Ghana Managing Director said: “The fact that this year’s Obaasima summit is co-organised by Guinness Ghana is a sign of the strides we are making in our society when it comes to gender-based activities. A few years ago, many brands may not have bought into such an initiative. However, it is now clear that the fight for inclusion and diversity is everyone’s responsibility – men, women, media, government, activists, companies, brands and people from all walks of our society.
“Women are making great strides both individually and collectively in the world we live in now. That is why it is important we begin to portray women progressively by highlighting the impressive milestones being chalked up by women and narratives that make it normal for women to be engineers, pilots, surgeons, presidents, CEOs and whatever they choose to be without being subjected to the stereotypical roles society expects of us,” Madam Héléne Weesie added.
On her part, Kate Addo encouraged participants not to shy away from sectors of the economy, like politics, which have perennially been dominated by men; but rather to believe that they also have it in them to get to the top of any sector.
The summit ended with cheers for Guinness Ghana and its move to partner this year’s edition of Obaasima Summit.
