Two young female alumni of Plan International Ghana, Roberta Quansah and Rahama Issah, both pursuing different science courses in the university took over the role of Country Lead and Senior Sales Manager of AstraZeneca Ghana respectively.

Acting in their respective capacity as the country lead and Senior Sales Manager of AstraZeneca Ghana, Roberta and Rahama interacted with various stakeholders in the medical value chain and commissioned nebulization centres at 3 different government hospitals namely, Lekma hospital, Police hospital and the Port Medical Centre.

Christiana Asante-Nkansah, the Communications Specialist for Plan International Ghana, explained that the initiative dubbed: “GirlsTakeOver”, was to expose the girls to challenging leadership roles that they aspired to occupy in future and build their capacity to fight for positions within the male-dominated business space.

Last year, she explained that two of Plan International female beneficiaries took over the roles of the Australian High Commissioner and the Swiss Ambassador. In their roles for the day, these ladies assisted in commissioning some projects, attend high-level meetings, and have media engagements.

Speaking at a virtual meeting, Barbara Nel, the Country President, Africa Cluster, AstraZeneca, called on young ladies to have the self-confidence to be able to attain leadership positions to contribute to sustainable development.

She said women deserved equal privileges to succeed in life and called on all stakeholders in Ghana and beyond to give equal opportunities to women as they gave to their male counterparts.

Mr Mawuli Atiemo, the Country Lead, AstraZeneca Office, said everyone had a critical role to play in spreading the message and objectives of the “Girls Belong Here” project.

“We pledge to use our voices and to work together, with communities, government and industries, to shine a spotlight on the need for gender equality in our business and in our community. We recognize the need for continued opportunities for girls, for better health outcomes,” he said

Ms Quansah also reiterated the lack of self-confidence among capable girls and women who admired leadership positions.

She appealed that the “GirlsTakeOver” initiative be extended to all villages in the country to be of benefit to more girls.

“Women naturally are caring and ready to assist always, so when given leadership positions they can do it better as compared to males,” she added.

Expressing her view on why a lot of women don’t occupy leadership positions, Ms Issah, said it was as a result of some cultural practices and perceptions, especially in Africa that women could not play an active part in leadership roles including businesses that deterred women and girls from contending for leadership positions in many facets of life.

“With the way women are underestimated in societies, it makes it difficult for a woman to approve her fellow woman who comes out to challenge the male counterpart over the position.

She suggested that the barriers preventing many women and girls from taking up leadership positions be broken by sensitising the entire public to know the importance of giving females topmost positions as well.

“If a woman comes out for a top position, I think women should also come out collectively to support her, by educating themselves to understand how important when a woman gets to the top, it is.”