Targeted support critical in entrenching the milestone of female Foreign Ministers

Ms Christabel Dadzie, a Senior Specialist at the World Bank Group, has called for intentionally targeted support for young women professionals to be achievers in Ghana’s International Relations ecosystem.

This, she said, would enable them to become more effective and successful in their career roles.

Ms Dadzie was making a presentation on a panel discussion organized by the Institute of International Affairs, Ghana (GhIIA.org) as part of activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration 8 panel discussion was organized to highlight and celebrate the achievements of Ghanaian women in the fields of diplomacy and International Relations.

She applauded the milestone of eight years of female leadership at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana noting, “Madam Hannah Tetteh and Mrs Shirley Ayorkor-Botchway haD shown that female leadership should not be about tokenism but results in clear impact.”

In celebrating these two torch-bearers, she also acknowledged numerous other women achieving peak performance in organizations.

“Indeed, here at the World Bank, two Ghanaian ladies have achieved high rank and serve as an inspiration to us all. I speak specifically of Ms Victoria Kwakwa and Ms Yvonne Tsikata who serve as Vice President here at the World Bank,” she added.

Dr Afua Yakohene, a Research Fellow at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy, stressed the need for the adoption of support and training networks for women interested in international affairs careers.

She said in her presentation that over 50 per cent of the officers in the foreign affairs offices were women.

Dr Yakohene said, “The time has come for women to take their rightful place in the public administration of Ghana, and the achievements of women in this ministry is a glowing tribute to what women can contribute."

She acknowledged the continuity of women leadership at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and expressed the hope that such a feat would be replicated across other key Ministries.

Mr Cherk Klutse, Head of Programmes & Outreach at GhIIA.org, shared an interesting research paper which addressed the fact and factoids on the impact of women in Ghana’s diplomacy, which included interesting points.

The research discovered that all High Commissioners to Ghana from South Africa have been women.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

Marked annually on March 8th, IWD is one of the most important days of the year to celebrate women’s achievements and raise awareness about women’s equality.

This year’s celebration was held on the theme: ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’.

In Ghana, the GhIIA.org has organized a number of events to mark the occasion, which has been extended to a month in their iteration including #Choose to Challenge Social Media Campaign.

Others are panel discussion on Role Modelling: Showcasing successful female careers in International Relations Careers, and Essay competition on the topic: “Women in Leadership, achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 World- The Case of the Ghanaian Foreign Affairs Ministry”.