In a historic move, Parliament has passed the Affirmative Action Bill aimed at promoting gender equality and addressing Ghana’s persistent gender imbalances.
The bill, which has been in the making for years, seeks to provide a framework for achieving gender parity in various aspects of national life, including education, employment, and decision-making positions.
Ghana has struggled to achieve significant progress in gender equality, despite implementing various policies and guidelines since the 1990s.
The country’s statistics on gender equity have been discouraging, making the enactment of this legislation imperative.
The Affirmative Action Bill consists of 34 clauses and six schedules, covering key areas such as gender equality principles, policy direction, and accountability mechanisms.
It also addresses discrimination against women with disabilities and promotes their inclusion in social, economic, political, and cultural spheres.
While acknowledging the challenges in achieving the bill’s objectives, the Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs recommended continuous education, advocacy, and pragmatic policies, such as quota systems, to ensure successful implementation.
The passage of this bill is a significant step towards addressing Ghana’s gender inequality gaps and achieving international targets, including the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 and the African Union Agenda 2063.
Members of Parliament (MPs) stated that the bill intends to establish an accountability framework for gender equality and women’s empowerment, with the goal of providing both executive and legislative yardsticks for monitoring the country’s commitment and progress toward gender equality.
Contents Highlight
Clauses 1 to 4 deal with the principles of gender equality and equity, the object of the bill and the targets to be achieved in accordance with the First Schedule of the bill.
Clauses 5 to 14 of the bill deal with the establishment of a multi-sectoral Gender Equality Committee, policy direction of the Committee and the issuance of Gender Equality Compliance Certificate to deserving organisations on an annual basis.
Clauses 15 to 20 of the bill deal with the role of Independent Constitutional Bodies in promoting gender equity and equality.
It also focuses on the need for the government to ensure equitable representation of women in public offices and decision making positions with respect to government appointments, the judiciary and Parliament.
Clauses 21 to 24 deal with gender responsive budgeting and the need for political parties to ensure progressive achievement of gender equality targets.
Clauses 25 to 30 of the bill focus on gender equality in private employment, the need for employers to submit gender equality reports annually and dispute resolution procedures available for parties.
Clauses 31 to 34 provide for various offences upon the violation of sections of the bill. The section also provides an opportunity for the minister to make regulations to cover matters including prescribing specific measures for gender equity and equality, its programmes policies and code of practice.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House