Advertisement

Sarah Adwoa Safo- Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection.
Sarah Adwoa Safo- Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection.

Gender mainstreaming policy guide launched

A policy guide to help ensure gender mainstreaming in government entrepreneurship programmes has been launched in Accra.

Dubbed “Gender Mainstreaming for Ghana’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem,” the policy guide will encourage gender related issues in the country’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

It is spearheaded by Africa Skills Hub (ASH) in partnership with National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Social Enterprise Ghana, Scaleup Africa, Social Innovation Africa and Impact Investing Ghana.

Women representative

 At the launch of the policy in Accra, the Executive Director of ASH, Mr Daniel Antwi, observed that there was the need for a 50 per cent representation of women in decision-making at all levels.

“More women must be involved in policy making and their opinions must be considered, so we are launching a gender entrepreneurship policy guide to help various stakeholders, including government institutions and agencies that are developing programmes,  prioritise and ensure that gender is mainstreamed,” he said.

He said the objective of the policy guide was to ensure that a gender mainstreaming component was inserted into all national policies and programmes to ensure decent work and zero poverty for women and girls.

Mr Antwi said the document took into consideration the conditions and current barriers that the policies reinforced due to a lack of gender participation during its development.

He said the support needs of women were different, hence the need to help them access finance for specific needs.

Knowledge sharing

Mr Antwi said the policy guide was launched as part of a knowledge sharing and advocacy approach to address issues of women under the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Livelihoods Initiative implemented by the Hub, Canada World Youth and Global Affairs Canada.

He said the document was geared towards decision-making around issues of gender in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, aimed at strengthening gender inclusion in entrepreneurship, which would have a trickling-down effect on resources that could be specifically targeted at women.

“The policy guide entails significant input from ecosystem practitioners and entrepreneurs on perceptions and insights about gender mainstreaming for entrepreneurship policymakers and leaders," he added.

Mr Antwi said it would support duty-bearers and Africa to revisit how they conducted gender work and implemented engendered entrepreneurial policies that would lead Ghana into a more inclusive economic development and socio-cultural outcomes.

He said the government needed to further focus on programmes and partnerships that would promote the procurement of local goods, most of which would have been produced by the high proportion of women-owned businesses.

Gender mainstreaming

A Member of the Council of State, Professor Margaret Ivy Amoakohene, said the guide would ensure that gender mainstreaming was part of the decision-making and not just an add-on.

She said it would enable the state to take a critical look at the essential role economic empowerment played in the lives of women, children and other marginalised groups in society.

Prof. Amoakohene added that social enterprises had become necessary for implementing projects and given the under representation of women at the heights of the entrepreneur’s ecosystem, there was the need for more women to act as owners of hubs, providing skills and playing other key roles.

Connect With Us : 0242202447 | 0551484843 | 0266361755 | 059 199 7513 |