Former Municipal Chief Executive of Oforikrom, Gloria Temmah Gambrah, has challenged women to invest in themselves to be better prepared for positions of authority.
She believes being a female alone does not guarantee an opportunity in a decision-making position.
According to her, competence is a necessity.
“It is not like we will have to sit for them to get the opportunity. We will not have to sit to get the opportunities. We do not have to be included because we are women but we have to get ourselves well prepared for us to be preferred,” she explained.
Sustainable Development Goal Five on gender equality stipulates all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere come to an end by 2030.
Achieving this puts women in key decision-making roles in society.
In Ghana, 40 out of the 275 Members of Parliament are women. To many, this shows the country is far from achieving gender equality.
“If we are talking about biases, we know it goes against women more than the male. So we have to do more work, make a conscious effort to make sure that the bias is broken,” Miss Gambrah added.
The She Summit Mentorship Africa, organised by Glitz Africa, was on the theme, “Breaking the bias: Leading by example for sustainable tomorrow”.
Prominent women from diverse fields inspired the over five hundred young women present at the event.
They included; Actress, Nana Ama McBrown, Dr. Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, the Chief Executive Officer of the Peace and Love Hospital and Senior Lecturer at the KNUST Chemistry Department, Dr. Mercy Badu.
Founder of Glitz Africa, Claudia Lumor, is anticipating the event will positively affect the lives of young people.
“Bringing SHE summit to the Ashanti Region was one of the things dear to my heart because I want those of us from the region who are on a journey, should come to the Region and inspire the young ones,” she said.
“Today, seeing the turn-up, the questions the young women have been asking, their faces being lit up because they have seen all these women that they see on TV come to them and engage them on such issues.”