Women advised to stay active in the workforce

Ms Vickie Bright, the Chief Executive Officer of International Legal and Consultancy Services, on Tuesday advised women to stay active in the workforce and strive to make a difference where ever they found themselves.

She said: “Most women nurse the idea of dropping off work once they get married or even desire to have children,” hindering many women from reaching the height of their careers.

Ms Bright, who was a legal Adviser to Former President Kufuor, was speaking to young African Women leaders selected for the 2015 Milead Fellows Leadership Institute.

The Milead Fellows Leadership Institute is a long term leadership programme that brings young African women leaders to Ghana for three weeks mentorship.

This year, the Milead Fellows Leadership Institute assembled 27 women from Botswana, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Africans living in the USA and Denmark.

The Fellowship is held under the auspices of the Moremi Initiative.

Ms Bright, who spoke on the theme: “The Power to Lead: The Commitment to Serve,” emphasized the need to keep women in the workforce, to ensure that they became economically powerful to be able to contribute meaningfully to their societies.

“Women have to be strong and powerful," she said, explaining that a competent woman in most African societies is often referred to as aggressive whilst the male counterparts are seen as assertive.

She encouraged women to always look for ways to enhance their fellow human beings lives," ask yourselves how can I become agents of change?” and endeavor to make a difference.

Mrs Mona Quartey, the Deputy Minister of Finance, said leadership positions were still elusive for women, noting that, only 17.2 per cent of ministerial posts were held by women worldwide.

She said: “It is time the world recognized that advancing the cause of women requires the strengthening of different dimensions of women’s autonomy.

Mrs Quartey said: “The most successful women leaders I know do not seek to become the star of the show but they enable others to create a great show.”

The Deputy Finance Minister commended the Moremi Initiative and their board for providing the platform for mentoring, and noted that, such platforms prepared women to take their rightful places and to engage effectively.

Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Former Attorney General, who chaired the programme, expressed satisfaction about the caliber of participants and stressed the need for African women to talk of empowerment.

“Women, the time to act is now, and please dare to dream and dream big,” she said.