Desist from anti-female conditionalities: Gender Director advises employers
The acting Eastern Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Mrs Juliana Abbeyquaye, has asked employers to desist from applying conditionalities that go against women seeking employment.
According to her, many women were competent to perform tasks in their fields of study but conditions such as accepting postings to remote places, performance review, among others at the workplaces deter them from applying.
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Mrs Abbeyquaye was delivering a keynote address to mark International Women’s Day observed by the Eastern Regional chapter of the Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU).
The event, with the theme, “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” with the hashtag “#break the bias,” was attended by female staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
She indicated that this year’s celebration had laid emphasis on workplaces because often, recruitments were not conducted in ways that would favour women.
Nursing & pregnant women
Mrs Abbeyquaye explained that such unfortunate obstacles created the impression that many job opportunities were not for women, particularly nursing and pregnant women.
Many organisations, she indicated, also refused to employ pregnant women after interviews because employers regarded them to be liabilities rather than assets to the organisation.
Mrs Abbeyquaye refuted the myth that certain jobs were for men only, stressing that Ghanaians should not allow biases to prevent the nation from attaining the sustainable development goals.
According to her, breaking the barrier of biases was the responsibility of everyone.
The move, she indicated, must start from "our social lives at home and then extend to the community, as well as workplaces.”
Equal treatment
The National Chairman of the Women’s Committee of the PUWU, Mrs Margaret Hammond Gbadago, for her part, underscored the need for parents and guardians to treat their male and female children equal at home by assigning equal responsibilities.
That, she said, was the surest way to break the barrier of biases when they became mature.
The Eastern Regional Chairman of the PUWU,Mr Abraham Lincoln, in his welcome address, encouraged husbands to be responsible by helping their wives at home.
