Source: Public Agenda
Women continue to be under- represented in public offices. Government has also reneged on its assurance of appointing at least 40 percent women to public offices.

Under-representation of women in Ghana has been attributed to factors including historical, cultural and financial resources, among others.

For example, low female representation in parliament has been blamed on the inability of aspirants to mobilise funds for their electioneering campaign.

A Rector at the Law Institute, Ms Hilary Gbedemah, has therefore advised female Parliamentary aspirants to form networks with their fellow women in both the informal and non-formal sector to effectively mobilise funds for their campaigns.

Mr. Gbedemah believes that this approach will forestall the frustration women encounter in trying to source for funds during electioneering periods and increase women's participation in governance as envisaged by the 1992 Constitution.

She said, "Your male counterparts do not have many difficulties in this area because majority of them belong to high networks, hence their friends help them in monetary terms during their campaigns."

Ms. Gbedemah made these observations at a two-day training of trainers workshop organised by ABANTU for Development in collaboration with Canadian Crossroads International in Accra.

It was dubbed "Preparing Women Candidate for the Campaign Trail" and sought to enhance the capacity of female parliamentary aspirants as they embark on their electioneering campaign. It was attended by women leaders drawn from the 10 regions of Ghana.

According to Ms. Gbedemah, women were generally not taught to be assertive, and this coupled with their relatively low educational background, most women were disadvantaged relative to elections.

She said if a level playing field was created, many women could make it to the district assemblies. This, she believed, would create confidence in them for higher positions.

The Director of ABANTU for Development, Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin, said currently women represent only eight percent of members in Parliament, which is well below the United Nations' recommendation of 30 per cent threshold for all levels of governance.

She therefore called for the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill, and encouraged political parties to uphold their commitments to a more gender- balanced selection of candidates.

 

• Ghana