Gender Ministry to set up Gender Equity Committee

The Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection (MoGCSP) is taking steps to ensure the passage of a Legislative Instrument for the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 as part of efforts to achieve gender parity in the country.

The sector minister, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, who made this known, said the ministry would by next month also announce membership for a Gender Equity Committee, per the Affirmative Action Law.

She said the ministry would again support institutions such as parliament, the judiciary, trade unions, private sector and security agencies to ensure equity in all sectors.

Dr Lartey emphasised that her ministry had begun engaging stakeholders to ensure promises made by the government to ensure gender equality were fulfilled.

“As the sector minister, the above are my marching orders, and the ministry under my leadership has commenced engaging relevant stakeholders to ensure that the above promises are followed through," she said.

The minister was speaking at a forum on the implementation of the Affirmative Action Law organised by Amnesty International (AI) in Accra last Wednesday.

It was on the theme: “For all women and Girls: Rights, Equality, Empowerment”.

Committee Mandate

She said the committee was mandated to, among others, ensure and monitor compliance with the Act, develop a national plan of action to monitor reports and address matters relating to the implementation of the Act, and liaise with ministries, departments and agencies and private institutions to promote affirmative action on gender and gender equality in the country.

The committee would also facilitate, promote and coordinate public education programmes for the creation of a culture of respect for gender equity, and advise the minister on policy matters and other matters relevant to the implementation of the act.

Dr Lartey expressed the belief that the establishment of the gender equity committee was a major step towards the achievement of the full implementation of the affirmative action law.

“We also pledged to support the committee fully to achieve the objectives of the Act. We need to ensure that there are institutional commitments to ensuring that this act is realised,” she said.

She urged government agencies, private organisations and civil society to actively integrate the affirmative action law into their policies and hiring practices.

“Gender equality is not just about fairness, it is about national development. No country can truly progress when half of its population is held back. Together let us move from policy to action, from aspirations to impact,” she said.

Affirmative action

The Country Director of AI, Genevieve Partington, said the Gender Equity Act, 2024 established clear targets for women's representation in public office, governance and decision-making positions.

She said it introduced gender responsive budgeting across government sectors and required political parties to ensure progressive achievement of gender equality targets.

Ms Partington therefore stated that the implementation of the Act must be accompanied by rigorous equality, robust accountability mechanisms and continued advocacy.

She urged companies to create more flexible environments to attract women to stay. 

She pledged AI’s commitment to continue contributing to closing the gender equity gap by holding duty bearers accountable and expanding the reach of its human rights education and campaigning initiatives.

“I commend the government so far for pushing to achieve the current 30 per cent for women's representation in government positions,” she added.