To complement its aim to inspire, empower and support women executives to be successful and influential both at the local and international levels, the Executive Women Network (EWN) has organized an empowered women webinar for its members to commemorate International Women’s Day 2021.

The virtual program was held under the theme ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’ and aimed to celebrate women's achievements, share growth experiences to inspire, raise awareness about women's equality, and lobby for accelerated gender parity.

In her welcome address, the EWN Executive Committee Chairperson, Eunice Biritwum, noted that the discussion also aimed to explore the peculiar challenges women in leadership are experiencing in the face of the global pandemic.

“As the world evolves, the challenges women face are also taking on new dimensions and require different approaches to manage them. This year’s IWD theme offers us a huge opportunity as EWN to engage accomplished women in leadership to share their perspectives on the theme and how they are leading through the pandemic to ensure Women’s issues are brought to the forefront and properly addressed for effective change where necessary.

As an association, we are fully committed and devoted to championing women empowerment and we believe that the discussions at this webinar should help our members understand specific actions our panelists are taking to challenge the status quo for a better future for women now and post-COVID”.

Speaking during the panelists’ session moderated by Dr. Geraldine Abaidoo, CEO of Perfocus Innovations, Dr. Stellar Agyenim-Boateng – Deputy Chief Executive, Services at VRA, outlined some intentional efforts to challenge the status quo amidst the pandemic.

“COVID-19 has become the new normal but I believe the leadership of women should be seen and felt irrespective of the challenges of the pandemic. To intentionally challenge the status quo, double your effort; do not let history define your future, instead it should guide you; know your self-worth - take a self SWOT analysis as an individual to know your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats so that you can continuously develop yourself and lift other women up; also, always make it a point to package properly yourself professionally and personally to inspire others”.

On her part, Whitney Boakye-Mensah, CEO, Innovations and Event WBM, and Co-Executive Producer 3Music Women’s Brunch, urged women in leadership positions to accelerate gender parity by helping other women.

“Come out, tell your truth and your story to inspire other women. Work with other women because collaboration helps us to come together and achieve more. You need to take care of yourself and take care of other women as well. Let us be a sister’s keeper”.

Also speaking on the importance of mental health for women in leadership, Rosy Fynn, CEO of Busy Internet advised women to take care of their mental health.

According to her, balancing home and work schedules during this period of remote working has not been without peculiar challenges for women.

“The time between work and home life has become blurred as women deliver both in the same environment. The stress is real and that is why we shouldn’t take our mental health for granted. As we work through these odds and make conscious efforts to lead and bring other women along, we must take care of our mental health”, she concluded.

The Empowered Women brand of EWN helps to create the platform, through events and talk series to inspire and motivate members in their decision-making within the corporate and enterprise environment.