Make Mentorship For Girls In Digital Technology A Priority – Minister

Samuel Nartey George (M) with dignitaries and NCA officials

 

The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has called on stakeholders to make mentorship for girls in digital technology a priority, in order to dismantle the barriers that prevent them from fully participating in the digital world.

Speaking at the commemoration of the 2025 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) yesterday in Accra, the minister said such efforts will not only provide increased opportunities but also help build a pipeline of confident and capable women in the tech industry.

“I propose we concentrate our efforts in three critical areas of digital education and mentorship. We must multiply opportunities such as today’s workshop.

“Platforms where women lead, learn and lift each other up. We must introduce girls to technology early, mentor them consistently and invest in their success,” he stated.

He said the ‘One Million Coders programme introduced  to equip young people with essential digital skills are some initiatives undertaken by the government to support women, to ensure that they do not become only participants in decision making rooms but also shape policies in the digital economy.

“World-Telecommunication and Information Society Day is a global reminder that ICTs are not merely tools, they are gateways to opportunity, but those doors must be open equally for everyone.

“If we’re serious about building a digitally empowered nation, then we must be equally serious about gender equality in digital spaces. The cost of inaction is not borne by women alone, it’s a loss for all of us,” he added.

Acting Director General of the National Communication Authority (NCA), Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko, said his outfit has already supported gender empowerment initiatives, including the Girls in ICT project because women largely remain on the margins of digital innovations.

He said the NCA will continue to work with the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations and partner other industry players to enhance female participation in the development and use of digital technologies.

He stated, “We believe that building an inclusive environment where everyone, regardless of gender, can thrive is paramount to fostering innovation, accountability and sustainable growth in Ghana’s communication sector.”

Touching on sites for telecom mass, the Director General said these sites were necessary to improve mobile coverage and service quality, which provides better mobile services the closer people are to these sites.

He, therefore, appealed to communities to support environmental approval for the erection of towers, while encouraging operators and tower companies to build environmentally friendly sites.

He also assured the public that structural integrity of sites and emissions of from towers are safe as it works with the Radiation Protection Institute to measure emissions from towers.

Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, for her part, said though the digital environment has become invaluable in the lives of girls and women, they could be lured into becoming victims of cybercrimes or groomed to become perpetrators of cybercrimes.

She stated that the establishment of a child online protection department by the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovations would therefore help protect, monitor and ensure a safer internet environment for children.

The minister further mentioned that her outfit in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication have revised and expanded the National Child Online Protection Framework to cover all forms of online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Ghana, while reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to strengthen the digital rights, protect and promote girls and women’s technological empowerment.

The event, held under the theme “Gender Equality in Digital Transformation,” was climaxed with the hoisting of flag by the Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations with support from  representatives of WTIS and UN at the forecourt of the NCA tower.

By Ebenezer K. Amponsah

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