The media has been urged to give prominence to the implementation of Ghana’s Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), and intensify coverage of gender-based issues to support women’s participation in leadership and governance.
The call was made by the Convener of the Affirmative Action (AA) Law Coalition, Ms. Sheila Minka-Premo (Esq.), at the end of a media training and capacity-building workshop organised by ABANTU for Development in collaboration with ActionAid Ghana in Accra.
Ms. Minka-Premo stressed that the media has a critical responsibility to educate the public on the importance of the Affirmative Action Act, noting that sustained and informed reporting would strengthen advocacy and support the effective implementation of the law.
She expressed concern over what she described as the frequent trivialisation of women-related issues by sections of the media, particularly coverage of women who venture into politics.
The workshop, held under the theme “Strengthening Advocacy for the Implementation of Ghana’s Affirmative Action (Equity) Law, 2024 – The Case of the Media,” brought together journalists from selected media houses.
While commending both the Legislature and the Executive for the passage and presidential assent of the Affirmative Action Bill into law, the AA Law Coalition Convener appealed to government to address existing gaps.
These include the constitutional provision of 30 per cent women’s representation in politics, inadequate policy frameworks to advance affirmative action, and weak compliance by state institutions.
Ms. Minka-Premo noted that although the earlier Affirmative Action Bill did not receive the level of attention required to achieve equality, the current Equity Law could serve as a critical stepping stone towards that goal.
She charged the media to highlight and promote the role of women in leadership and to actively support a smooth and effective implementation process of the Act.
In her welcome address, Executive Director of ABANTU for Development, Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin, said the workshop was designed to deepen media practitioners’ understanding of the Affirmative Action Law and its role in addressing gender imbalances, disparities and inequalities in national representation and public discourse.
She explained that the training also sought to strengthen journalists’ advocacy skills to enable them to educate the public on the provisions and significance of the law.
Dr. Mensah-Kutin commended ActionAid Ghana for supporting the advocacy efforts and expressed optimism that the engagement would yield positive outcomes, urging the media to prioritise the law to ensure its sustainability.
The Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121) was passed by Parliament in July 2024 and received presidential assent in September 2024, following years of sustained advocacy by women’s rights organisations, gender activists and other stakeholders.
Media participants at the workshop pledged their commitment to support advocacy efforts aimed at strengthening the implementation of the Act.
