The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) says it recognises the hard work Ghanaian women continue to exhibit towards the growth of the economy.
It said they had access to a broader pool of skills and talent that has enabled them to contribute to a more sustainable pensions industry in the country.
The NPRA, therefore, encouraged women to join the campaign to increase pension coverage in the country, because “a number of women within the informal sector were without pension.”
The Authority said this in a statement issued on the occasion of the International Women’s Day (IWD), which was marked globally on Tuesday on the theme “Breaking the Bias”.
Ceremonies were held nationwide to mark the day.
AMA TEKYIWAA AMPADU AGYEMAN reports from Koforidua that the Acting Director for the Department of Gender in the Eastern Region, Juliana Abbeyquaye, advised institutions to get rid of all forms of bias.
“Even the way recruitments are done, using job descriptions like be ready to go anywhere or ready to travel at short notice, outspoken among others, deter many women from applying for such positions, especially those that are mothers,” she said.
Ms Abbeyquaye was speaking at the IWD celebration organised by the regional wing of the Public Utility Workers’ Union in Koforidua.
For her part, the National Chairperson for the Women’s Committee of the PUWU, Margaret Hammond Gbadago, stated that the advocacy was not to silence men but to make the voices of women heard too.
The Eastern Regional Council Chair of the PUWU, Kabutey Lincoln, advised management at workplaces to give equal opportunities to both men and women to enable them to excel.
CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, reports from Abekoase, that the Vice President in charge of Sustainable Development of West Africa of Gold Fields, Dr Celestina Allotey, encouraged individuals and institutions to give women the opportunity to excel in their field of work.
“Women have been sidelined in certain jobs that they are not able to give-off their best; indeed, women have proven to be the best in every task that is assigned to them,” she said.
The Queen mother of Apinto Divisional Council, Nana Abena Boaduwaa II, said women should be watchdogs and encourage each other especially when they were traumatised.
The Prestea-Huni Valley Municipal Director of Education, Mrs Mary Vida Kwofie, urged parents to support children in their education.
LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU reports from a forum organised by the Foundation for Security Development in Africa (FOSDA) thatthe founder of Stratcom Africa, Ms Esther Cobbah, urged policy makers to put in place structures that would end bias against women in all spheres of life.
That, she explained, was the only way the full potential of women in both formal and informal sectors could be achieved for the total transformation of the country.
On her part, the Vice Principal, Administration, Tema Technical Institute, Mrs Vivian Glante Azumah, advocated the overhaul of the country’s educational system in order to focus more on providing practical skills to the learners.
A former Acting Chairperson of Conventions People’s Party (CPP), Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim Haruna, expressed worry that women participation in politics was low, reports JOYCELINE NATALLY CUDJOE.
She said although “the 1992 constitution recognised equal rights for all citizens regardless of gender and prohibited discrimination on the ground of sex, religion, gender and ethnicity” such biases still persisted.
Kamal Deen Habib, the Advocacy Officer of SpeakUpAfrica in Ghana, called on religious and traditional leaders to sharpen their thoughts on gender-related issues.
The Acting Executive Director of FOSDA, Mrs Theodora Anti, promised her outfit’s preparedness to sensitise women from rural areas to see the need to inspire their children to attain higher height in life.
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