The Aya Institute for Women, Politics and Media has called for urgent action to improve gender diversity in political representation and speaker panels in Ghana.

In a statement marking International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8, 2025, the Institute highlighted progress in gender equality but stressed the need for concrete commitments to accelerate change.

The statement acknowledged key achievements, including the election of Ghana’s first female vice president and the passage of the Affirmative Action law in late 2024. However, it stressed that more needed to be done to ensure gender balance in governance and leadership roles.

“While we are still working towards parity, we must celebrate significant leaps that have been recorded within the gender space in Ghana,” the Institute stated.

The group urged the government to prioritise gender representation in political appointments, referencing the World Bank’s ‘Representation Matters Report’ 2025, which links women’s political participation to economic growth and legal equality.

“According to the World Economic Forum, in its 2024 Global Gender Gap Report, at the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity,” the statement warned.

The Institute also raised concerns about the lack of gender diversity in media panels and speaker events, citing the 2024 Ghana Women Experts Report, which revealed that only 14% of experts featured in Ghanaian media are women, with some media houses recording as low as 3% female expert representation.

“Panels constituted are especially non-gender sensitive on media platforms,” the statement noted, adding that the dominance of male speakers in media and conferences overshadows the expertise and voices of women.

As Ghana joins the world in celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day under the theme ‘Accelerate Action’, the Aya Institute is calling for a national commitment to gender equality. The statement concluded with a call to action,

“In celebration of International Women’s Day, let us keep working to achieve gender diversity in our society to ensure that our collective efforts yield the best outcomes towards an equal and fairer society where women’s voices, talents, and achievements are recognised, and made visible to make our democracy properly situated and functional.”