Gender-based Civil Society Organisations led by Women In Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) have called on government and relevant stakeholders to as a matter of urgency implement policies to address gender disparities in the mining, petroleum and cocoa value chain sectors.

According to the organisation, when these policies are implemented, they will deal with challenges such as poverty and vulnerabilities that women face in the various sectors.

According to a 2024 data by the International Labour Organisation ILO l, women’s participation in Labour in Ghana stands at 65 per cent against 72 per cent of their male counterparts.

Most of these women are found in the informal sector with the prime purpose of making time for domestic duties.

Against this backdrop, gender-based CSOs are demanding deliberate policies tailored towards creating an enabling environment for women in the mining, petroleum and cocoa value chain.

Speaking on the sidelines of a breakfast meeting on “inspiring inclusion in the mining, petroleum and cocoa value chains,” Executive Director of Eduwatch Africa Kofi Asare intimated “These value chains are very important because they are critical to employment creation and wealth creation and that is why having gender equality in these sectors is critical and you cannot have a high representation of females at the management level if they are not highly represented at the lower levels.

Programmes Manager at WiLDAF Ghana, Lois Aduamoah Addo, identified capacity and skills building as key measures being put in place to encourage more women to take up male-dominated jobs in the sector.

She said “The intention for this particular event is to engage the regulatory bodies within the petroleum, the cocoa and the mining sectors on opportunities available to deepen women’s participation in these sectors

“You know these sectors have been described as male-dominated areas so women are not encouraged to want to be a part of the sector. But when we consciously work towards encouraging women, we create the opportunity for them to be able to access it, we encourage more women to be part.”

The workshop which attracts over ten CSOs, hopes to change the narrative of marginalization against women and the girl child for equal participation across all sectors in contributing meaningfully to the economic development of the country.