The Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA) has engaged the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection on plans to extend its Female Future Programme to female Members of Parliament.

A delegation led by the Chief Executive Officer of the GEA, Alex Frimpong, paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, to discuss the initiative and explore areas of collaboration in promoting women’s leadership development.

The delegation briefed the Minister on the Female Future Programme, a leadership development initiative that has been implemented in Ghana for the past eight to nine years to equip women in senior management with the knowledge, skills and confidence required to take up higher leadership positions.

The programme focuses on leadership development, effective communication, governance and other competencies needed for executive and strategic roles.

Building on the programme’s successes, the GEA expressed its intention to extend it to female MPs, noting that similar initiatives in other African countries had produced positive outcomes.

The Association expressed the hope of working with the Ministry to facilitate the implementation of the programme in Ghana.

Dr Lartey welcomed the initiative, saying interventions that promote women’s empowerment and leadership development were important to advancing gender equality.

She said the Ministry remained committed to supporting initiatives that create opportunities for women to excel in leadership and decision-making.

The Minister encouraged the GEA to submit a comprehensive concept note to enable the Ministry to review the proposal and provide the necessary technical input.

She added that the Ministry would engage relevant leadership and stakeholders to explore possible areas of collaboration, while ensuring that the programme was adapted to Ghana’s local context and priorities.

Both sides agreed to continue discussions towards developing a possible partnership on the initiative.