Sigh of relief for Ghana’s (not-so) new gender equality law
Women’s rights advocates are demanding the immediate implementation of a nearly 30-year-old gender equity bill which Ghana’s president signed into law on Thursday.
This ends a process which began in 1998, with the bill shuffling between parliaments until the legislature passed it in July this year. Many campaigners faulted Ghana’s law-making body for the long delay.
Ghana now joins Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Mozambique and others in Africa that have working affirmative action laws.
These countries have a 30% quota for women in decision-making bodies, in parliament and other state agencies.
What changes does Ghana’s new law bring in?
Ghana’s Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act 2024 is expected to ensure a critical number of women hold key positions in government, security, commerce and other decision-making spaces.
The law promotes the progressive and active participation of women in public life from a minimum of 30% to 50% by 2030, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of achieving gender equality by 2030.
The country’s trade unions are mandated by this law to ensure gender balanced representation on their executive boards, while private industries which enforce provisions of this law to employ women would benefit from tax incentives.
After the law passed in July, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin said he hoped lawmakers would commit to the reforms and “do more to create a free and just society to liberate more women to support us develop mother Ghana”.
What happens if people break this law?
Subjecting an employee to gender-specific verbal attacks, stereotyping, hate speech or harsh rhetoric as well as discriminating against, intimidating or seeking to disqualify a candidate on grounds of gender are all banned under this law.
Penalties include fines, and jail terms of between six and 12 months.
Any act that victimizes, obstructs or exerts “undue influence on a person” in a way that undermines the new law is deemed an offence.
Trade unions who fail to comply could lose their registered status.
