Inspire women to succeed in male-dominated world — GACL MD

The Managing Director (MD) of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Yvonne Nana Afriyie Opare, has called for a collaborative effort from all stakeholders in establishing an inclusive environment that can help inspire the development of women and girls in the aviation industry.

She explained that it was regrettable that women continued to face challenges of gender inequality that prevented them from attaining their full potential in a male-dominated industry such as aviation.

“We need to collectively establish a more inclusive world for women to be inspired at all levels in society. Let us push ourselves higher by learning new things, taking up new challenges, dare to reach higher in all fields, regardless of race, age, ability, faith and body image,” Mrs Opare said at the 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration in Accra.

The event

Organised by Women in Aviation, Ghana Chapter, the International Women’s Day created a platform for participants selected from agencies operating at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to share ideas to advance discussions on inspiring equity.

It was on the theme: “Embracing equity to inspire inclusion in the aviation industry in Ghana”.

Participants in the event

Other speakers at the event included the Director General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Charles Kraikue; Deputy Commissioner of Immigration in-charge of KIA Regional Command, ACI Edith Penelope Arhin; President of the Women in Aviation, Ghana Chapter, Juliet Okae; and Chief Director of the Ministry of Transport, Mabel Asi Sagoe.

Mrs Opare noted that the IWD was devoted to emphasise the need for gender equality in all facets of lives and most importantly at the workplace.

“At such a time as this, we must accelerate efforts to bring women into the decision-making fold of all our efforts. In striving to bridge the gender disparity gap and be seen as the equals we are, let us have self-improvement as our cornerstone, in order to ensure our qualification and inclusion is substantiated.”

“Take that course, read that book, enrol in that programme, improve yourself to create an easier pathway to success,” she said.

Deliberate policy

Mr Kraikue stated that his administration had already deployed a deliberate policy to help increase the number of women working in the aviation industry significantly.

“When, we took over about three years ago, we noticed that only 20 per cent of our workforce were women and for me that was not good enough.

“And so, we made it a conscious effort to increase the number significantly. I am, therefore, glad that we have been able to increase the number of women to 40 per cent today,” he said.

 Diversity

Mrs Arhin noted that in the current world where diversity was the strength of many, it was imperative to create an environment where everyone regardless of their gender and background feels welcome and valued in order to ensure progress and prosperity for a better future.

For her part, Mrs Okae said the event was designed to provide women with the opportunity to reflect on challenges and develop strategies to enable them to improve on their inclusion and participation.