GETTING more women elected into governance positions should not be the ultimate concern for gender activists, a development practitioner, Ms Inger Millard has observed.
In her estimation, the real work for women begins when they get the opportunity to serve in decision making and implementation either at the local or national levels.
“They must justify their selection by delivering to meet expectations and also serve as a source of inspiration to other women,” Ms Millard stated in an interview with the Daily Graphic at the sidelines of a media review meeting organised by the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) in Tamale.
She noted that the attitudes and achievements of women in governance positions played a critical role in shaping people’s ideas about the capabilities of women, as well as urging other women to aspire to such positions.
She said the system was in dire need of role models who would be the examples of successful women leaders for others to emulate.
Ms Inger also mentioned the need for women in governance to meander their way into the corridors of power so as to make their voices heard and acted on.
“The power game has been dominated by men and so women who get into governance must get involved in this game to enable them create an enabling environment for other women to come on board,” she mentioned.
A Civil Society Organisation consultant, Ms Nina Lauritzen, who also spoke to this paper, mentioned the need for NGOs to provide some form of support to women who are already in the governance structure.
According to her, at several international conventions, women from Latin America revealed that the challenge for them arose when they got elected into office, due to the huge expectations.
She explained that there are different support modules for women in governance and that Ghana needed to implement the one that suits its needs.
“In some countries, the support system is in the form of mentoring, where women achievers tend to support the development of other women who have been elected into office with little experience,” she said.
She therefore suggested the need for the NGOs to conduct needs assessments on women who are in governance so as to determine how to support these women to enable them perform in line with their capabilities.
The media review meeting discussed many issues regarding projects being implemented by the GDCA in areas such as women empowerment, rural water supply, hygiene and sanitation, education and youth development.
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