Women hold just 26% of public sector managerial roles                                                   

By Wisdom JONNY-NUEKPE

The Public Services Commission (PSC) has revealed that women account for only 26 percent of public sector management positions, a situation it says requires urgent attention with increased opportunities to promote female participation in leadership.

Commission Chairman Prof. Victor Agyeman told B&FT that the low proportion of women in public service decision-making roles is concerning, particularly given evidence that women often demonstrate stronger management capabilities in the workplace.

Prof. Agyeman was speaking at the 4th Annual Leadership Conference (ALC) of Ghana Employers’ Association in Accra.

Indeed, women in the public sector face significant challenges reaching managerial positions – including entrenched patriarchal attitudes, gender stereotypes that assign domestic roles and unequal access to training and education.

These factors contribute to the glass-ceiling, limiting women’s representation and hindering their influence in policy-making.

Even when women attain leadership roles, many continue to face discrimination and prejudice. Some however demonstrate resilience by drawing on their age and ‘pseudo-motherhood roles’ to gain respect and build networks.

With men occupying 74 percent of management positions in public service, Prof. Agyeman noted that government is banking on the Affirmative Action Act passed by parliament in 2024 to help close the gender gap.

He described the law as a significant step toward achieving gender balance in managerial positions within public service and across the wider work environment.

Under the law, government aims to ensure a minimum of 30 percent female representation in governance and decision-making roles by 2026 – rising to 50 percent by 2030.

On job creation, Prof. Agyeman explained that government’s vision is to generate over one million jobs within the next four years, with a substantial proportion targetted at women.

He said government seeks to absorb over 300,000 new entrants into the job market this year, with key focus on women entrepreneurs.

“The National Apprenticeship Programme, which was recently launched by government, seeks to provide free technical and vocational education particularly to women,” Prof Agyeman added.

He reiterated government’s commitment to ensuring women are empowered at various levels of leadership, adding that: “A key vision of this government is to create sustainable jobs for women entrepreneurs”.

Data from PSC indicates that of 150,000 graduates produced annually by the country’s universities, only about 10 percent secure employment in the formal sector. This, the Commission notes, creates a significant annual rollover of unemployed graduates.

Despite this challenge, PSC maintains that government’s strategy of reducing unemployment by 120,000 each year with an aim of bringing the national rate below five percent by 2034 is achievable.

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