Deliberate policies key to promoting more women leaders — Panellists

Panellists at a women’s forum in Accra have called for deliberate policies aimed at promoting more women leaders in the corporate sphere of emerging economies.

That, they believe, is crucial to enhance gender balance, empower women, inspire and advance women's leadership in the corporate world. The panellists included Regina Honu, Founder of Soronko Academy; Antoinette Kwofie, Chief Financial Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana; Vivian Kai Lokko, Head of News at CitiFM/Citi TV, and Stephany Boateng,

International Development Expert on Human Rights. They made the call at the inauguration of 'The Leading Woman Forum' held in Accra recently.

Forum

The forum, on the theme: “Inspiring women leaders in the workplace,” was organised by Publicis West Africa, in collaboration with the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ghana.

It provided a platform to celebrate, inspire and promote women's leadership in the corporate sphere, aiming to empower and uplift working women across all levels of the corporate hierarchy.

The CEO of Publicis Groupe Africa, Koo Govender, said, despite the challenges women faced in the corporate world, it was crucial to cultivate a culture of learning, vulnerability and mutual support where they could confidently pursue their career aspirations.

Sharing insights from her personal journey of overcoming grief to achieving success while rising through the corporate ranks despite challenges and setbacks, she said “during a period when I lost my husband on my corporate journey, my whole life was turned upside down.

But I had to persevere despite this major setback to achieve my goals as a corporate leader. One of the things I learned during that time was that the support of my peers in leadership was what kept me going.”

Antoinette Kwofie said “with almost 30 years working across various industries, we still lack women leaders at the helm of affairs and therefore must be deliberate in uplifting women to the leadership table.”
 
For her part, Ms Honu called for the adoption of technology and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes to reach and unearth emerging talents to promote women's leadership in the corporate hierarchy.

Mrs Boateng advised women not to shy away from leadership roles, but prepare themselves at all times to take advantage of opportunities once they arrived.

“Women must not shy away from leadership opportunities; in fact, they must put themselves forward and take advantage in order to pave the way for others to follow,” she said.