Marketing Communications and consultancy firm, TouchPoint Magna Carta (TPMC) has put the spotlight on the necessity of gender-based equality for post-pandemic recovery as it commemorated International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021.
This formed the basis of discussions at the inaugural Women in Leadership Summit, under the theme ‘Shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic’, which brought together highflying women who have defied the odds and risen to the summit of their respective endeavors.
Whilst women have historically been at the receiving end of gender-based prejudices, the ongoing pandemic has only served to exacerbate their plight.
Delivering the welcome address, Chief Executive of The Ninani Group, who doubles as the President and Chairman of the International Advertising Association (IAA), Joel Nettey was full of praise for women, who he maintained had throughout history, led movements for change at every level – political, economic and social.
Touching on the peculiar challenges women have faced during the global health crisis and citing it as motivation for the summit, he said, “As the world continues to battle the pandemic, the pressures and its impact on women has been truly enormous. Juggling between work and home-schooling for children has been quite the struggle and these are added to pre-existing issues of injustice and inequality.
This brings into sharp focus why we need a day like this; to appreciate the efforts of those who are striving despite the struggles.”
Taking her turn, the Marketing and Corporate Relations Director at Absa Bank, Nana Essifuah Tamakloe argued that juggling work and other responsibilities has been an art-form for women for generations, which has been refined and attained perfection.
“Differing times have varied how we do the balancing but other than that, the very same principles have applied,” she noted.
According to Group Legal Counsel at Stanbic Bank, Doreen Illiasu, COVID-19 has afforded women the opportunity to showcase their innate, maternal-managerial instincts in various capacities and on the global scale.
To her, a crucial factor for recovery and thriving as the world returns to normalcy is the ability for leaders to delegate responsibilities; a factor she reasons will depend, to a high degree, on the quality of human capital.
For the Managing Director of TPMC, Moliehi Molekoa and Relieving General Manager at Abosso Goldfields, Catherine Kuupol Kuutor, any discussion on a post-pandemic recovery, which is devoid of removing cultural biases against women, is an exercise in futility.
Pointing to this year’s IWD theme – #ChooseToChallenge – they both agreed that whilst the push for gender-based workplace equality has seen some growth, as evidenced by the appointment of capable women such as DG of the WTO, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, there are still significant barriers for women, especially in Africa, to surmount.
On her part, Marketing Manager at SES HD PLUS Ghana, Adelaide Abbiw-Williams said that development must be leadership-driven and this leadership must have proper women representation, not merely as an act of tokenism.
“If we look at the challenges of the twenty-first century, with the economy, climate, health, even the allocation of our resources; it has been skewed in a particular way because of the kind of leadership we have had. Now we need a new, multi-dimensional leadership, one that is multi-faceted and that is why it is important for women to be brought in,” she said.
Touchpoint Magna Carta is a Ghanaian-owned consultancy offering a full range of Integrated Marketing Communications solutions – Event Management, Public Relations, Digital and Media Strategy.
