Cape Coast, March 02, GNA – The multifaceted dilemma of gender inequalities is affecting young females in their carrier choices, an academic, Professor Akua Britwum, has said.
Professor Britwum, former Director of the Centre for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation (CEGRAD) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), observed that young women were constantly bombarded with societal pressures to get married immediately after leaving school.
“This situation pushes many young women to either truncate carrier progression or opt for short courses,” she added.
Also, promoting the health, safety and economic well-being of women particularly, pregnant and nursing female workers contributed to replenishing the labour force for productive work.
The gender activist was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a panel discussion on ‘gender, culture and conflict management’ on Tuesday in Cape Coast.
Among the participants were students of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Graduate School under the Department of Music and Dance of UCC in collaboration with CEGRAD.
The students were drawn from Ghana, Nigeria and Germany.
Prof Britwum said violence against women such as sexual harassment and abuse was widespread and as a result, many of them, particularly young girls, have been left troubled in life.
The abuse, she noted usually occurred in homes, workplaces, the streets and on public transport and called on stakeholders to particularly, institute stringent measures to effectively deal with workplace gender inequalities and abuses among others.
“The state must put in place immediate equal measures to enable men and women to take advantage of,” Prof Britwum stressed.
She said women were often encouraged to pursue quality education or trade but unfortunately, they were being pushed out of work through some unfortunate cultural norms and societal expectations.
Prof Britwum suggested that proper childcare systems where parental leave will be encouraged for pregnant women to get support from their husbands during maternity leave must be encouraged.
She bemoaned the situation where some employers denied females jobs or where new mothers lost their jobs after delivery because of maternity leave and called an end to that inhumane practice.
She said Ghana had made considerable progress towards gender equity as amplified by the rising number of inspiring female community and business leaders.
Significant challenges, Prof Britwum indicated, remained for companies investing in women in Ghana, adding that it was not only smart for businesses to add value to their female employees but also a chance to strengthen sector growth, build healthy communities and enable Ghana to live up to its potential as a key trading partner and model of an inclusive economy.
Dr John Windie Ansah, a panel member and Research Coordinator for CEDRAD, said sexist assumptions and practices held employees back and channel them into the wrong roles as females may be shut out of senior positions or diverted into roles seen to require stereotypically ‘feminine’ skills.
However, men have been found to rapidly leave jobs dominated by women due to social stigma, with some preferring unemployment this he said was a waste of human resources.
Dr Ansah underscored that economic empowerment was not just about women’s participation in the economy but about ensuring that women had the necessary resources, opportunities, protection and skills to achieve their full potential and have a choice in what they do with their lives.
Dr Heike Friesel, Director Goethe-Institute, Accra, a panel member, called for regular training, with long-term goals in mind for effective outcome for women to advance and contribute fully to companies and economic growth.
GNA