The Director of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC), Oulate Fatou, has called for stronger measures that champion equality within the organisation.
She said the ECOWAS institutions must examine issues such as female representation, recruitment processes and the sharing of responsibilities to ensure that gender equality was practised internally.
“We need to practise better what we are preaching. We are involved across the ECOWAS region, implementing programmes for our citizens; but within the institution, we need to take a closer look at gender equality,” she said.
Ms Fatou made the remarks in Accra during a meeting to finalise an action plan towards achieving the Gender Equality Seal for the ECOWAS Commission.
The Gender Equality Seal initiative, being implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), seeks to strengthen gender equality across the ECOWAS Commission and its institutions.
The initiative involves all directorates and departments of the commission, as well as specialised institutions, including the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Parliament and other agencies.
The meeting was expected to finalise a roadmap for implementing gender equality measures across the commission.
The assessment will consider the number of women employed within the commission, their levels of responsibility and whether recruitment processes encouraged greater female participation.
“We need to serve as a leader so that when we approach our member countries, we can cite the commission as an example,” she said.
Ms Fatou said the implementation of the action plan would continue throughout the following year to improve gender representation and inclusion within the regional body.
Ghana’s role
The director described Ghana as a leading country in gender advocacy within the sub-region, saying the country’s efforts influenced the decision to host the meeting.
She said Ghana’s position as the African Union champion on gender matters, as well as its implementation of various gender-focused programmes, had made it an important reference point for ECOWAS.
She mentioned initiatives, including the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, scholarship schemes and agricultural interventions as some of the areas where Ghana had made progress in advancing gender-related objectives.
“Ghana has been leading the implementation of some of these programmes over the past 20 years,” she said.
Inclusion
Ms Fatou said efforts to improve women’s participation should not be viewed as excluding men, explaining that some programmes already provided opportunities for both genders.
"Institutions must first address the barriers preventing women from accessing opportunities before broader questions about equality can be fully addressed," she stated.
She added that decision-makers and institutions had a responsibility to acknowledge existing gaps and take deliberate steps to improve the status of women across the region.
