Koforidua, April 7, GNA - Mr Alex Asamoah, the New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), has expressed worry at women's low representation in national policy making structures which, he said, remained below the minimum United Nations (UN) recommended threshold of 30 percent.

He said even though women constituted more than half of the population of the country and contributed immensely to the creation of national wealth, their participation was ineffective and policies continued to exclude their perspective in all sectors of economic, political and social life.

Mr Asamoah said this in a speech read on his behalf at a Consultative Forum organized by ABANTU for Development, a gender and policy advocacy organization, in collaboration with Window of Hope, Women's Manifesto Coalition with support from the European Union (EU). The forum aimed to sensitize women to increase their participation in decision making at all levels of public life to influence policies from a gender perspective. Mr Asamoah said the gender gap that existed in the country influenced development in the negative way and limited the capacity and participation of both men and women in specific activities. He said by the existence of gender gap, there was a difference between the number of women and men receiving a benefit, having access to an opportunity or difference in the impact of the opportunity on men and women.

He said the gender gap also showed that development was not reaching all citizens and that the country's potential for development was underdeveloped and the rights of all citizens were not being adhered to.

Mr Asamoah said there were international milestone in advancement of women such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which opposes discrimination against women and the International Convention on Political Rights of women, which was the first global endorsement of equal political rights under the law.

He said Ghana also had some interventions such as the establishment of Women's Desk in some Government Ministries and Departments and the creation of Women's and Children's Affairs Ministry among others. Mr Asamoah appealed to women to grab the empowerment offered them and make use of opportunities to enable them occupy positions which seemed to be preserved for men.

Ms Jane Kwapong, Eastern Regional Director of the Department of Women, called on political parties to make efforts to provide equal access to training void of discrimination to ensure an increase in women's representation at the executive level. 07 April 11