Gender Mainstreaming for Professional and National Development: Ensuring Relevance, Intervening Holistically and Gaining

1. Gender Mainstreaming for Professional and National Development: Ensuring Relevance, Intervening Holistically and Gaining Traction A Perspective on Governance and Public Office

2. Gender Mainstreaming………. • “Mainstreaming is not about adding a "woman's component" or even a "gender equality component" into an existing activity. It goes beyond increasing women's participation; it means bringing the experience, knowledge, and interests of women and men to bear on the development agenda

3. Gender Mainstreaming………. • The goal of mainstreaming gender equality is thus the TRANSFORMATION of unequal social and institutional structures into equal and just structures for both men and women.

4. Gender Mainstreaming………. Obstacles in their participation in politics due to • Social and • Economic systems

5. Gender Mainstreaming………. History of Politics in Ghana Women have always been active however participated in the lower echelons on the political ladder. Doing the mundane but necessary jobs. Leaving the upper echelons to be a boys club.

6. Gender Mainstreaming……….

7. Gender Mainstreaming……….

8. Gender Mainstreaming………. • Situation as of30 September 2010 The data in the tables above were compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on the basis of information provided by National Parliaments by 30 September 2010. The percentages did not take into account the case of parliaments for which no data was available at that date. The data in the tables below has been

9. Gender Mainstreaming………. • Women parliamentarians in Ghana Courtesy GSS

10. Gender Mainstreaming………. • Nkrumah’s Affirmative Action • 10 women Parliamentarians took their seats at the First Session of the First Republic of Ghana in 1961 This act was part of projecting the African Personality and raising the status of African Womanhood.

11. Gender Mainstreaming………. CPP abolished discriminatory provisions relating to women at the workplace work and introduced equal pay for equal work - a concept, which many countries including the most advanced were struggling to introduce

12. Gender Mainstreaming………. • Nkrumah asked the question “What part can the women of Africa and the women of African descent play in the struggle for African emancipation? You must ask these questions not by word of mouth but by action — by positive action, which is the only language understood by the detractors of African freedom.”

13. Gender Mainstreaming………. Prominent Women in Ghana • the Chief Justice, • the Speaker of Parliament, • the acting IGP, • the Commissioner of IRS, Janet Opoku-Akyeampong, • the Commissioner of the Ghana Immigration Service, Ms Elizabeth Adjei

14. Gender Mainstreaming………. • the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Mrs. Naana Opoku Agyeman, • Government Statistician Mrs. Grace Bediako, • Hon Hannah Tetteh • Akua Sena Dansoa • Hanna Bisiw • Zita Okaikoi e

15. Gender Mainstreaming………. Concept of Group Consciousnesses • Collective orientation • Discontent • Legitimacy of disparities • Identification

16. Gender Mainstreaming………. Does representation matter ? YES , YES, YES To quote Senior Programme Officer for ABANTU for Development, Hamida Harrison “Policies have different impact on women and men,” said. “If women are not there, they cannot say whether the policy is gender sensitive.” and thus if the policy is not sensitive to 51% of the populace then how successful will it be.

17. Gender Mainstreaming………. First woman to head the U.S National Institutes of Health Advocated women’s health issues from the beginning of her tenure • $625 million NIH study involving 150,000 women and studying breast cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease $

18. Gender Mainstreaming………. • Ambition gap Women less likely to contest for higher office Reasons ; Usual suspects • Traditional roles • Economic • Lack of role models ( take you thru the political culture , land mines) Those who are more likely are those who work out of the home

19. Sex differences in political ambition • District Assembly seats seem more interesting to women, because it allows them to stay close to their families and still maintain their traditional role of running the household. Thus there is an increase in the number of women seeking assembly seats.

20. Gender Mainstreaming………. • Family structure , and Socialization same education and occupation but different outlooks. So we need to take into consideration our socialization. And work at it if we want to get anywhere

21. Gender Mainstreaming………. • Where and when do we start. • At earliest age. Primary schools.

22. Gender Mainstreaming………. Prospects • . Increased gender awareness by policy makers to promote gender parity in public office • . Increased attention and effort made by the Women's department of the MOWAC to collaborate with civil society groups to build the capacity of women aspirants for public office.

23. Gender Mainstreaming………. • . Seeming increase political party commitment to gender parity in government by siting gender in governance concerns in their party manifestos. • . A conducive and free environment for civil society to operate and advocate in various way for increased female participation in governance and public office.

24. Gender Mainstreaming………. • . Increased media awareness on the issues of gender in governance as well as the publicity given by the media to women aspirants. • From foot soldiers to decision makers ( increase in numbers with higher education, better paying jobs, ability to purchase child care) Cracks in the glass ceiling

25. Gender Mainstreaming………. A Franciscan Benediction… • May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. • May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. • May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy. • And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.