Accra, April 14, GNA – The Henry Djaba Memorial Foundation has called on Ghana’s media houses to immediately end all-male discussion panels, warning that excluding women from public discourse undermines democracy, justice, and inclusive governance.
The call was contained in a statement issued to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday by Madam Otiko Afisah Djaba, Founder and Executive Director of the Foundation and a former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
She said that despite decades of progress in gender equality, women’s voices remained marginalised across Ghana’s media landscape, even as the country marked 69 years of independence.
She questioned why media platforms continued to rely on male-dominated panels, describing the practice as deliberate, outdated, and harmful to democratic debate.
“All-male panels (‘manels’) are increasingly viewed as outdated, unjust, a dangerous threat to democracy, and inconsistent with the principles of inclusive governance,” she said.
Grounded in the principles of dignity, equality, inclusion, and justice, the Foundation declared: “Ghana must end the era of all-male media panels NOW.”
The statement noted that although Ghana has committed to international frameworks such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and has passed the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), women continue to be excluded from critical national conversations.
According to the Foundation, Ghana’s media space remains dominated by men, with producers and editors repeatedly recycling male voices as “default experts” while sidelining qualified women.
“The composition of media panels is rarely accidental. Any time an all-male panel is convened, it is a deliberate decision by the producer, editor, or senior journalist,” it said.
Data cited in the statement showed that women accounted for only 14 per cent of experts featured in Ghanaian media in 2024, with some outlets recording figures as low as three per cent, despite women constituting more than half of the population.
The Foundation listed several recent examples of all-male panels, including Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on April 4, 2026; Joy News’ Newsfile on January 24, 2026; Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on March 29, 2026; and PM Express on March 30, 2026.
It also cited GTV’s Current Agenda programme as featuring an all-male panel.
The statement further questioned why the 17-member Parliamentary Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee remained entirely male.
“This persistent underrepresentation signals a gap between policy commitments and implementation,” it said, adding that excluding women weakened public discourse and access to justice.
The Foundation rejected what it described as tokenism, arguing that placing one woman on a panel of several men did not amount to genuine inclusion.
“Calling women to balance optics is not justice,” it said, adding that inviting women only to discuss so-called “soft issues” undermined their expertise.
It dismissed common excuses used by media houses, including claims that women could not be found or invitations were declined, describing them as “lazy journalism and entrenched bias.”
“All-male panels are undemocratic,” the statement said, calling them “a disgrace to our democracy and Ghana’s reputation as the beacon of democracy in Africa.”
The Foundation outlined a series of recommendations, including the adoption of a strict zero-manel policy and the development of gender-responsive editorial guidelines.
Other proposals included the creation of national databases of women experts and the enforcement of accountability by regulators such as the National Communications Authority.
It also urged male panellists to refuse participation in all-male panels and encouraged the public to call out violations.
The Foundation stressed that neutrality in the face of exclusion sustained inequality, noting that Ghana could not claim progress or justice while silencing women’s voices in national conversations.
“This is not a request or a time for polite advocacy,” the statement said. “No women, no legitimacy, no debate, no panel.”
GNA
Edited by D.I. Laary/Audrey Dekalu