Parliament has officially passed the Affirmative Action Gender Equity Bill 2024 into law.
The bill, which has navigated through numerous parliamentary sessions over the years, received unanimous approval from the House.
This legislation is designed to ensure that a substantial number of women hold key positions in governance, public life, and decision-making roles, thereby enhancing the overall well-being and representation of women in the country.
The motion for the passage of the bill was moved by Gender Minister, Darkoa Newmann, who emphasized its importance for gender equity. Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, acknowledged the achievement but stressed that there is still much work to be done to achieve true gender equity.
“Don’t just celebrate and don’t really put in place the vision that we have created for the country. But more importantly, I hope that members will commit themselves to the constitutional reforms. We need to do more there to be able to create this free and just society we are looking for to liberate more of our women to be able to support us to be able to develop mother Ghana,” he remarked.
The new law aims to address various socio-cultural, political, economic, and educational gender imbalances as outlined in Clause 4 of Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution.
It seeks to progressively increase and encourage the active participation of women in public life, targeting a minimum representation of 30 percent by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This legislative move is expected to catalyze significant advancements in gender equity across both the private and public sectors.