Gender Minister seeks collaboration to operationalise AA Act
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has called on all, especially the media, to ensure that the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act, Act 1121, works.
She said the Act was passed to deal with the “disparities in the political, economic, educational and social spheres of our society”.
The minister, who was speaking at a media engagement on the AA Act, last Thursday in Accra, said.
The Act establishes clear, legally binding targets to improve gender balance, particularly in leadership and governance.
She said the act mandated gender-responsive policies across institutions and introduced enforcement mechanisms to ensure accountability in both the public and private sectors, adding, “this is a law for the people of Ghana and its success depends on awareness, acceptance and active public participation.”
She therefore called on the media not only to serve as a conduit for information but also to act as a pillar of democratic governance, shaping public opinion and promoting accountability.
She said the media was the bridge between policy and the public, adding, “When you report accurately and consistently on gender equality issues, you do more than inform; you build consensus, challenge discrimination and help create the cultural conditions necessary for lasting change.”
Gender Equity Committee
Briefing the media on what has been done so far since the Act was passed in 2024, a Principal Programme Officer, Department of Gender, Sabia Kpekata, said a Gender Equity Committee, has so far been inaugurated as specified in the Act, Committee.
Also she said a draft strategic implementation framework for the Act with communication and monitoring plans has also been done as well as the finalisation of the Legislative Instrument (LI) which was currently before parliament for approval.
Among other things, she said the ministry organised sensitisation to key provisions of the Act for stakeholders such as the Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDAs), Security Services, the Ministry of Health and the National Ambulance Service.
Also, Ms Kpekata said copies of the Act and abridged versions have been distributed to stakeholders, as well as a revised National Gender Policy (2025-2034) to support the operationalisation of the Act.
The Head, Gender Equity Committee Secretariat, Vera Karikari Bediako, moderating a media discussion on how the media can support the implementation of the Act, called on media houses to remove systemic barriers that hinder women from thriving at work.
She also called for more job opportunities for women in the media, saying women should be seen at the forefront of the media space.
She also called on the media to desist from sensationalising issues on gender.
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