Ghana’s efforts towards gender equity have been commendable, but a critical flaw remains: the country continues to rely on fragmented approaches to addressing gender-related issues.
While policies exist to improve women’s economic participation, these efforts remain siloed within specific sectors, failing to create a cohesive, cross-cutting strategy.
A more integrated, intersectional approach, which recognises the interconnected nature of economic, social, and political challenges, is urgently needed to accelerate gender equity in Ghana.
The cost of fragmentation
Women make up 50.7 per cent of Ghana’s population, yet their economic contributions remain undervalued and underutilised.
The current governmental approach, which isolates gender policies within specific ministries and agencies, results in inefficiencies and missed opportunities for synergy.
For instance, while Ghana’s Affirmative Action Law aims to increase female representation in leadership, it lacks direct connections to economic empowerment programmes, vocational training, and financial inclusion initiatives.
The consequences of this fragmented approach are significant. Women in Ghana face persistent barriers in employment, financial access and decision-making positions.
The statistics are sobering: 1.44 million women live in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 per day, and female-headed households are disproportionately affected by economic hardship.
Meanwhile, women’s participation in manufacturing, STEM industries, and corporate leadership remains low, stifling national productivity and innovation.
Case for an integrated approach
An intersectional and integrated framework would thread gender-inclusive policies across Ghana’s primary, secondary, and tertiary economic sectors.
This means ensuring that gender considerations are embedded within economic planning, legislative frameworks, education systems, and business development initiatives.
Take, for example, agriculture, which is the backbone of Ghana’s economy, where women constitute 80 per cent of the workforce in rural areas.
Despite their dominance, women still struggle with land, credit and technology access.
A truly integrated approach would provide targeted financial support and link these efforts to leadership development, cooperative management training, and technological empowerment programmes.
Similarly, in the secondary and tertiary sectors, women remain underrepresented in high-growth industries such as manufacturing, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and finance.
Addressing this requires a dual-pronged approach: investing in skill development while advocating workplace policies that support gender parity.
This means creating pathways from vocational training programmes into formal employment, ensuring businesses have incentives to hire and retain women, and enforcing anti-discrimination policies in all industries.
Economic and social benefits of gender inclusion
Ghana stands to gain tremendously from adopting an integrated gender equity approach. Global studies show that gender-inclusive economies experience greater resilience, innovation and social cohesion.
Increasing women’s participation in economic activities can contribute billions of Ghana cedis to the national economy, boosting GDP growth and reducing poverty.
Furthermore, a gender-equitable Ghana will foster more substantial social structures, reducing disparities in education, health care and employment opportunities.
Women’s increased participation in leadership and decision-making roles would result in more inclusive policies that benefit the entire nation.
Call for bold action
Ghana's fragmented approach to gender equity is unsustainable.
The government must shift towards a holistic, intersectional framework that integrates gender equity into every facet of national development.
This is not just a matter of fairness; it is an economic and social imperative.
By embedding gender-inclusion strategies across all economic sectors, Ghana can unlock the full potential of its population, driving sustainable growth and national prosperity.
The time for bold, coordinated action is now. Ghana must rise to the challenge and build an inclusive future that empowers all its citizens, regardless of gender.
— The writers are Lecturer, Anglia Ruskin University UK & senior lecturer, Loughborough University, UK respectively
Email:Anatu.mahama @aru.ac.uk & k.b.blay@lboro.ac.uk
