By: Benjamin Nii Nai Anyetei
Presidential Advisor and Special Aide to President John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has urged Ghanaian and African women to move beyond the pursuit of representation and take a more active role in shaping institutions and decisions that influence society.
Speaking at the Eve Women’s Forum in the United States, Mrs Bawah Mogtari said the position of women in Ghana has evolved significantly, with increasing opportunities for women to occupy leadership positions across various sectors.
She noted that when Ghana’s Fourth Republic began in 1992, only 16 women were represented in Parliament, but said the progress made since then should encourage more women to seek leadership roles in politics, business, law and other fields.
“We are no longer merely surviving, we are leading. We are no longer just asking for a seat at the table, we are designing the architecture of the rooms where decisions are made,” she said.
Mrs Bawah Mogtari cited the election of Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as Ghana’s first female Vice President as a major milestone in the country’s history.
She said the Vice President’s progression from academia to becoming the first female Vice Chancellor of a public university, Education Minister and ultimately Vice President demonstrates the possibilities available to women through scholarship, character and leadership.
“When Vice President Opoku-Agyemang took her oath of office, she did not just break a glass ceiling, she shattered an age-old narrative,” she said.
However, Mrs Bawah Mogtari stressed that representation alone was insufficient, arguing that women’s participation in decision-making must translate into lasting structural change.
“Representation must lead to opportunity, opportunity must yield participation, and participation must deliver lasting, structural transformation for women and girls everywhere,” she said.
She also referenced Ghana’s National Gender Policy and the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024, as measures aimed at increasing women’s participation in decision-making.
Beyond political representation, Mrs Bawah Mogtari called for greater attention to women’s economic independence, particularly their ability to create, retain and transfer wealth across generations.
“The question is no longer simply: ‘How do we empower women?’ The question must now be: ‘How do we help women create, retain, and transfer wealth across generations?’” she said.
