Employers push for passage of Affirmative Action Bill

Employers in the country have heightened calls for the quick passage of the Affirmative Action Bill to increase women’s representation in top positions in the corporate environment.

Speaking at the 3rd Women in HR Conference held in Accra, Abiola Bawuah, MD and CEO of the United Bank for Africa, urged government to as a matter of urgency, prioritise the need to have more women in leadership to drive organisational success.

The conference, which was under the theme: “Women in HR: Building on the Best”, brought together HR practitioners from all over the country to share ideas and find ways of addressing peculiar challenges of women in the profession.

It also aims to encourage them adopt contemporary industry trends to help in the delivery of the HR work in their respective organisations.

Mrs. Bawuah who also served as the guest speaker of the conference said: “I will encourage the government to quickly pass the bill. The reason here is that we need more women in leadership, in government, and in the corporate world. If you look at the statistics, women do better as heads of organisations all over the world.

In this vein, I want to encourage the government of Ghana and of course the Parliament to quickly look at the bill and pass it.”

She also encouraged women to invest in improving themselves in order to be fit for top positions and be treated on the same level as men, adding: “Employers want value from staff and any great staff is what we look for.”

“So, I want to encourage any young girl out there not to compromise on their values and educating themselves. They should invest in themselves and come out as “Alpha women”, because the world needs us and Ghana needs us,” she said.

Adding his voice to the call for the advancement of women’s empowerment and gender equality at the workplace, the C.E.O of the Ghana Employers Association, Alex Frimpong, told the B&FT on the sidelines of the event that the proposed extension of maternity leave for women is in the right direction and needs to be considered.

This, he noted, is the only way the country can boast of its next set of generations of workforce to drive the economy.

“I think that the proposed increase of the maternity leave is something that GEA supports, because women need more time especially after birth to take care of the babies.

After all, that is the only avenue for ensuring that society does not become extinct, and it is by procreation that we expect to get the next generation of workers.”

The Affirmative Action Bill, when passed into law, would provide legally mandated systems and policies to ensure women's equal participation.

In June 2016, the Bill received cabinet’s approval and has since been tabled before Parliament awaiting passage.

The Bill seeks a 40 percent representation and participation of women in governance, public positions of power and decision-making.