Success story of first female General Secretary of GNAT
In 2002, she broke the jinx to occupy the male-dominated enviable position of the General Secretary of one of the largest vociferous unionised groups in the country – the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT).
Advertisement
As the first woman to occupy the position in the history of the association since its establishment on July 14, 1962, it was to be expected that Mrs Irene Duncan-Adanusah, who was a member of the union, was bound to face stiff opposition from the union members, who thought they were more committed to the course of unionism.
Anonymous letters
Even before she took up her first offer as a Deputy General Secretary of the union in 1993, Mrs Duncan-Adanusah had to overcome threats of anonymous letter writers warning her to decline the offer if she wanted her peace of mind. This was clearly because those individuals could not imagine working under not just a female boss, but a young one.
She said at first she was angry but realised she either had to stay in and co-operate with them or leave. “But I said, ah! this thing was advertised. I did not beg anybody to give me a job. So, I just made up my mind that I was going to stay with them,” she told the Daily Graphic in an interview.
Deputy General Secretary
She addmitted that she never dreamt of working within the teachers union environment, though she had friends there, until in 1992 when she saw an advertisement for a deputy general secretary in charge of international relations. She said she applied and was invited for an interview, “And of course I made it at the interview and was I picked. I started working as Deputy General Secretary in January 1993.”
In 1996, she gained admission to the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague in the Netherlands, where she read Employment and Labour Studies for her Master’s programme and upon her return in December 1997, she was given a new role as Deputy General Secretary in charge of Organisational Administration.
General Secretary
“That was where I worked until there was a vacancy for the position of general secretary, which was advertised and I applied”, she said, adding that she went for an interview, where she performed creditably and was given the position in 2002.
Asked how she felt when she was given the accolade “the first-ever woman General Secretary” of such a male-dominated environment she said:, “Normally, as a human being, you feel elated but at the same time, after the elation subsides, you think about what will be expected of you,” she said.
Other Trending Stories
And for 12 years, Mrs Duncan-Adanusah had to work hard to endear herself to the hearts of the rank and file of the association, trekking the length and breadth of the country and even abroad. Though she is now on retirement as General Secretary of GNAT, Mrs Duncan-Adanusah is currently serving as the Global Vice-President of the Education International, which is the parent body of GNAT. Her term will end in July this year.
Challenges
A results-oriented woman, Mrs Duncan-Adanusah, said she knew she was going to face lots of challenges and had conditioned herself before taking up the job, recalling the insults and abuses in the media, with some describing her as arrogant.
Mrs Duncan-Adanusah said she faced resistance from members of the association on one hand and the politicians on the other, some of whom accused her of “being in bed with the government.”
Supportive husband
She was full of praise for her husband, for supporting her during those tough periods because sometimes she had to get home late or left home for a whole week trekking.
She said she was lucky that all her children were grown at that time, and were in school, leaving her and her husband at home, so there was no pressure from the family.
She said she felt relieved handing over on her retirement and could now have time to herself even though she was yet to handover her vice-presidency position at the global level in July this year.
Education
Sharing her educational life with the Daily Graphic, Mrs Duncan-Adanusah, described herself as fortunate to have been born into an elite family, where her father was an engineer and her mother a teacher.
“So, I went to school at a very early age and at age 11, I entered Wesley Girls’ Secondary School and by 18 years, I had completed Sixth Form,” she said.
Describing herself as a small girl “with a big mouth”, she said she did not allow anyone to bully her, recalling how a bigger girl in her class tried bullying her but she reported that girl to the seniors who punished her.
An alumnus of Wesley Girls, Cape Coast University, School of Communications Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Mrs Duncan-Adanusah also undertook a course at the University of Massachusetts, USA.
Mrs Duncan-Adanusah believed that irrespective of where any girl found herself, she could still make it, stressing that even those who were born into an environment such as hers still needed to put in an effort before they could make it.
International Women’s Day
Touching on the global celebration of International Women’s Day, which falls on Sunday March 8, Mrs Duncan-Adanusah, while wishing women a happy celebration, said: “We have come a long way since the 1970s and we are still talking about it.”
Advertisement
She said some people felt it was no longer relevant, considering the fact that there were still widely reported cases of rape, female genital mutilation and child labour among others.
The veteran union leader rejected claims that there was no need talking about issues affecting women since the days of Beijing had long gone, citing for instance that even America, with its accolades as the model of democracy in the world, still had to deal with gender discrimination.