The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has joined the rest of the world in observing the International Women’s Day (IWD) in the country.
The event, which was under the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” celebrated the technological contributions and achievements of women throughout the years.
It was also aimed at educating participants on the continuous struggle for equality, gender bias, and the need to eliminate discrimination and create knowledge sharing opportunities for both male and female officers of GIS to gain new perspectives on gender issues.
The event which was funded by the Strengthening Border Security (SBC) project saw some students of Accra Girls and Presbyterian Senior High schools participate in the activities.
Keynote speaker at the event, Adelaide Anno-Kumi, lauded the achievements of women in the world and pressed on the need for African women to become more abreast with ICT in order to catch up with the western world.
According to her, what separates highly knowledgeable individuals from the rest was their ability to gather information, and that is usually done through the use of ICT tools.
In a statement read on her behalf, the head of region for West Africa at the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Mojisola Sodeinde, highlighted on the need for further inclusion of women in ICT fields to help reduce inequality in all sectors.
“Involving female officers in ICT fields can help achieve a higher rate of productivity and innovation to lessen professional shortage. We look forward to seeing more female officers shattering the glass ceiling and attaining higher laurels in ICT,” she said.
Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Francisca Oteng Mensah, hailed GIS for their continuous work to include women in all aspects of their work and encouraged faith-based organisations, traditional leaders, and other fraternities to put women in leadership positions in their institutions.
By Abigail Atinuke Seyram Adeyemi