Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment George Opare-Addo says the government has made it a policy to ensure that at least half of all participants in programmes under his ministry are women.

Speaking to Joy Learning TV at Plan International Ghana’s Girl Takeover initiative in Accra, he said the decision forms part of deliberate efforts to promote gender equality and empower women to take up leadership roles across all sectors.

“Almost every policy that His Excellency is implementing through this ministry, we have made it part of our policy to make sure that at least a minimum of participants, 50 percent, should be women,” he said.

According to him, gender equality must be intentional if it is to be effective, stressing that real progress depends on creating the right structures and opportunities for women to lead.

“If we are not very deliberate and intentional about issues of women, we may want to get to the top, but we must make a deliberate attempt to make sure that door is open for many more young women or young girls to go through,” he stated.

The minister described the achievement of Ghana’s first female Vice-President as a milestone worth celebrating and one that should inspire collective action to open more opportunities for women.

“We believe strongly that it is what we should leverage on to leave the door open for many more young girls to climb that ladder. As a ministry, we will champion that and do whatever it takes legally to make sure that many more young girls are encouraged to assume leadership roles,” he added.