Public institutions must move beyond simply submitting reports and begin making measurable changes to improve gender equity under Ghana’s new Affirmative Action law, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has said.
She said the implementation of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), presented an opportunity for public institutions to review how they recruit, promote, plan and make decisions to ensure women and men have equitable opportunities.
Dr Lartey made the call in a speech read on her behalf at a capacity-building workshop organised by the Ministry, with support from SIGRA, for public institutions on the implementation of the Act.
She said although institutions were required by law to comply with reporting obligations, the ultimate objective should be to achieve meaningful changes in institutional structures and decision-making processes.
“Gender equity is not only a matter of social justice. It is a prerequisite for sustainable national development. A nation that fully harnesses the talents of both women and men is better positioned for prosperity, resilience and inclusive growth,” she said.
The Minister urged heads of institutions to make gender equity part of their core planning and service delivery activities rather than treating it as an additional administrative requirement.
She said the Office of the President had directed public institutions to develop gender policies and submit periodic reports to the Ministry as part of efforts to monitor implementation of the law.
Dr Lartey disclosed that the Department of Gender had established a Gender Equity Committee and Secretariat and developed reporting templates to support institutions in meeting their obligations under the Act.
She, however, stressed that the information generated through the reporting process must be used to identify gaps and inform practical interventions.
Madam Lauren Itven, Team Lead of the SIGRA Project, also urged institutions to strengthen the collection of gender-disaggregated data and incorporate gender considerations into budgeting.
She said reliable data was necessary for institutions to determine their current gender situation and measure whether interventions were producing results.
Madam Itven cited Ghana’s district-level elections as an example of why data must underpin claims of progress.
She recalled that during a 2023 gender equality workshop, participants described an increase in the number of women elected at the district level as evidence of progress.
However, when she asked for the actual figures, the participants were unable to provide them.
According to her, subsequent checks showed that the increase in women’s representation between the 2019 and 2023 district-level elections was only 0.3 percentage points.
She noted that women, despite constituting more than half of Ghana’s population, accounted for only 4.3 per cent of elected representatives at the district level.
Madam Itven said the figures demonstrated that significant gaps remained and that institutions needed accurate data to identify those gaps and track progress over time.
She therefore encouraged public institutions to begin collecting gender-disaggregated information and using it to guide policies, resource allocation and institutional decisions.
The implementation of Act 1121, she said, should ultimately be measured not by the volume of reports submitted but by whether the law results in greater participation and representation of women in Ghana’s institutions.
Dr Lartey said the country had an opportunity to use the new legal framework to strengthen governance and build institutions that provide fairer opportunities for both women and men.
