The Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU), Professor Robert E. Hinson, has reiterated the need for women in the Higher Education Sector to better support each other through the creation of appropriate mentoring, coaching and professional development platforms.
Speaking on behalf of the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa, at the launch of the GCTU Ladies’ Association, he noted that the new GCTU Ladies Association had been formed as a vehicle to champion the welfare, and forward movement of the ladies in the organisation. Further, he charged them to take steps to overcome the discrimination, inequality and stereotyping that sometimes beset women working in universities or higher education spaces in Africa.
He noted that even though there has been an appreciable rise in the number of women occupying leadership roles in Africa’s university sector, they are still a small percentage of senior leadership across the academic and administrative levels of universities across Africa.
Professor Hinson’s recommendations for using the GCTU Ladies’ Association to become the launchpad for networking, mentoring, coaching and capacity-building for the general good and professional promotion of female GCTU faculty and staff were framed around the word W-O-M-E-N.
W – Work to tackle gender inequality
O – Organise to achieve service balance
M – Mentor, train and coach women to greatness
E – Encourage one another amid multitudinous women roles
N – Nudge one another in the direction of higher managerial and leadership roles
W – Work to tackle gender inequality
Professor Hinson argued that: “Ellie Bothwell, in a fascinating article entitled: ‘Ten ways universities can tackle gender inequality’ (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/ten-ways-universities-can-tackle-gender-inequality), noted that there are ten ways universities can work to tackle gender inequality and I will run through six of these very quickly to make my point about ways the GCTU Ladies Association can work to tackle gender inequality at GCTU.
Professor Hinson drew on some of the ten recommendations from Bothwell to discuss ways by which GCTU ladies could effectively tackle gender inequality issues at GCTU. These are discussed in turn:
- Devise a comprehensive approach to tackling gender inequality
Making substantial progress requires a long-term vision, supported by the senior leadership team, an official set of values and regulations which are enforced, and dedicated staff or offices that are responsible for gender equality initiatives at departmental levels. The executives of the GCTI Ladies’ Association should consider regular communication between departments, centres and units that may undertake gender equality initiatives.
- Involve the entire university community
Professor Hinson recommended the bringing together of students, staff and academics of all genders to identify examples of gender bias, and devise solutions. Embed activities into teaching programmes, research projects and staff workload to ensure that work on gender equality is recognised and valued.
- Introduce more initiatives focussing on the progress and success of women
Professor Hinson also argued that improving access for female students and staff is important but not sufficient. GCTU could consider tracking success rates and outcomes for women, compared with men. Professor Hinson noted that periodically reviewing these data points would give Higher Education Planners the required evidence for making decisions that would improve women’s professional development outcomes. How many women are employed by GCTU? What is their professional progression rate compared to men? Etc.
O – Organise to achieve service balance
Professor Hinson argued that in ecology, ecosystems are carefully balanced and that everything within an ecosystem is important and interconnected. The GCTU is an ecosystem where everything in it is interconnected just as in the natural environment. In other words, what happens in one area affecting a female GCTU staff member affects every other female staff members to a degree or another. He argued therefore, that everything a GCTU lady does affects the perception of female service delivery quality across the GCTU. He noted GCTU ladies’ interface with internal and external customers of the university; and therefore, it was incumbent on them to give excellent quality service at all times, and be excellent role models to various female GCTU student audiences as well.
M – Mentor, train and coach women to greatness
Professor Hinson also argued that the GCTU Ladies’ Association must necessarily devise various mentorship and training programmes to build the professional capacity and societal relevance of all women under the GCTU brand. He quoted Mrs. Florence Larbi at saying that: “The era of women taking a backseat in leadership due to gender-ascribed challenges is waning” and consequently, women could rise to any leadership position they aspire to get to.
Professor Hinson admonished senior GCTU ladies to be role models themselves for the excellence they want to create in younger women. He noted further that the ladies association could create a database of successful women in industry who could assist in the association’s mentorship programmes.
E – Encourage one another amid multitudinous women roles
Professor Hinson also noted that women come to the workplace as single, married, divorced, separated, in complicated relationships, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, godmothers, guardians, pregnant, on maternity leave, and they juggle innumerable roles at work and in the home and still come out on top!
In the light of the special nature of the social and professional challenges women face in the workplace, the GCTU Ladies’ Association must be supportive of women development throughout their intricate professional life cycles.
N – Nudge one another in the direction of higher managerial and leadership roles
Professor Hinson argued finally that GCTU women could be taught to brand themselves through structured personal branding training and the constant invitation of successful women to speak to GCTU Ladies. He proposed that a system should be created to ensure that for every advertised position in GCTU, at least half of the applicants should be GCTU women. He opined that some of practical ways of achieving this include:
- Assisting GCTU ladies to determine what kind of position they want to occupy from three to five, to ten years from now.
- Assisting GCTU ladies to research the requirements for each position they want to occupy in the short, medium to long term.
- Assisting GCTU ladies to determine the values, attributes, strengths, skill sets, and other qualifications they have that align with what they will be looking for.
- Assigning accountability partners to GCTU ladies who would assist them in executing what is finally decided on as their career and personal brand plans, and have quarterly performance reviews to ensure they stay on track and meet all their career goals.
He thanked the audience for their attention at the end of the address and wished the association all the best in their work.
