By Alex Adi
The ECOWAS Commission has begun a comprehensive review of its institutional performance on gender equality as part of efforts to strengthen accountability and promote gender-responsive governance across its departments.
The review forms part of the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions (GES-PI), a flagship programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) designed to assess how public institutions integrate gender equality into their policies, programmes and organisational culture.
The Gender Equality Seal provides a framework for evaluating institutional performance across five key areas: planning and management for gender equality, gender equality capacities and structures, enabling working environments, participation and accountability, and the results and impact of public policies.
The exercise seeks to validate existing evidence, identify gaps and develop a roadmap to strengthen the Commission’s implementation of gender equality reforms. It is expected to produce an updated self-assessment matrix and improve accountability mechanisms for advancing gender equality.
The ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, Ambassador Mohammed Lawan Gana, said although the Commission has made significant progress across Member States, there is a need to continue strengthening implementation, monitoring and evaluation systems to respond to emerging global challenges.
“The Gender Equality Seal was more than an assessment tool; it provided a framework for institutions to measure progress, identify gaps and implement practical actions to make their policies and service delivery more inclusive,” he said.
The Director of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, Sandra Oulaté Fattouh, said the Commission remains committed to advancing gender equality through institutional reforms.
“We need to practise better what we are preaching. We are involved across the ECOWAS region; we implement programmes for our citizens, but within the institution, we need to take a closer look at gender equality,” she said.
The Acting Secretary-General of the ECOWAS Commission, Muazu Umaru, noted that while gender equality has already been integrated into the Commission’s policies and strategic plans, the major challenge is translating those commitments into action.
He stressed that awareness of gender equality principles was not the challenge, but rather ensuring that the organisation consistently applies them in its operations.
The technical working session, involving representatives from departments including planning, human resources, finance, legal services, monitoring and evaluation, and communications, will validate supporting evidence and finalise the Commission’s submission to the Global Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions platform.
The initiative forms part of broader efforts by ECOWAS to strengthen inclusive governance and ensure gender equality remains central to regional development.
