The Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA) has held its 2nd Annual Leadership Conference (ALC) in Accra, and graduated 83 participants from the Female Future Programme (FFP) with a call by the Association’s president, Mr. Dan Acheampong, to involve women in boardroom positions.
In his welcome address, Mr. Dan Acheampong said that according to the 2021 Population and Housing Census and 7th round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey reports, most formal sector women are found in services and sales roles for their organisations – while the core management, professional and technical roles are dominated by men. “This means that the parties to decision-making at the apex level in our respective organisations are not balanced, a worrying trend that is making us lose valuable inputs from our cherished women who form the majority in society,” he added.
The Conference brought together a number of top female executives under the theme ‘Powering the Future through Balanced Participation in Decision-Making’.
The occasion’s Chairperson was Madam Elizabeth Ohene, a seasoned journalist, columnist and the Board Chair of Social Security & National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). In her opening remarks, the BBC writer and former Minister of State at the Office of the President and Minister of Education said women play critical roles in society, and therefore must be involved in decision-making at all levels.
Speaking on the theme, Guest Speaker for the Conference, Mr. John Kofi Adomakoh-Managing Director of GCB Bank Plc, narrated to participants some of the barriers that challenge women in rising to their full potential. He said limited access to education and training, underrepresentation and lack of role-models, lack of supportive policies and structures, and cultural/societal norms as well as gender stereotypes and bias are some of the barriers to women.
The GCB Bank boss suggested some useful ways to break the barriers, which include: education and awareness training, mentorship, policy changes and strengthening collaboration, as well as recognising and celebrating women’s achievements. He commended GEA for leading the call to increase percentages of women in decision-making roles and address gender-gaps in leadership and board positions.
Mr. Adomakoh also added that GCB Bank Plc, as Ghana’s biggest indigenous bank, is aligned with the FFP’s goal and assured his outfit’s continuous enrolment of some middle- to top-level management females into the programme.
Speaking to media at the Conference, Chief Executive Officer-GEA Mr. Alex Frimpong indicated that the ALC is an integral part of the Association’s flagship FFP – which was first organised in 2022 and graduated 65 participants from Cohorts 1 and 2. This year’s edition of the ALC graduated 83 females from Cohorts 3 and 4.
The FFP Ghana was launched in 2019 by GEA in collaboration with the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises (NHO), to bridge the gender-gap in top leadership positions. The programme consists of three modules, namely: Leadership Development, Rhetoric and Board Competence aimed at ensuring the full utilisation of female talents in organisations. The programme is a brain-child of the NHO, and is replicated in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Tunisia.
During the Panel discussion under the theme ‘Power Within: Leveraging Corporate Networks for Female Leadership Development’, Mrs. Freda Duplan, Board Chair-Zenith Bank Ghana Limited; Mr. Michael Bozumbil, CEO-Petrosol Ghana Limited; and Ms. Thelma Tawiah, Partner-Keystone Solicitors, digested the topic to the admiration of participants. The panellists used the platform to showcase how females can use networking to enhance their career development.
