Support women in international relations to achieve full potential

Ms. Christabel Dadzie, a senior specialist at the World Bank Group has called for intentional support for young women professionals in Ghana’s International Relations ecosystem to enable achievement of their full potential.

This, she stated, would enable them to become more effective and successful in their career roles.

Ms. Dadzie shared these views as part of her presentation on a panel discussion organized by the Institute of International Affairs, Ghana (GhIIA.org) as part of activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.

In her further remarks, Ms. Dadzie applauded the milestone of 8 years of female leadership at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana noting, “Honorable Hannah Tetteh and Honorable Shirley Ayorkor-Botchway have shown that female leadership should not be about tokenism but results in clear impact.”

In celebrating these two torch-bearers, she also acknowledged numerous other women achieving peak performance in any organization. “Indeed, here at the World Bank, two Ghanaian ladies have achieved high rank and serve as an inspiration to us all. I speak specifically of Ms. Victoria Kwakwa and Ms. Yvonne Tsikata who serve as vice presidents here at the World Bank”, she added.

Speaking at the same event Dr. Afua Yakohene, of the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy, stressed the need for the adoption of support and training networks for women interested in international affairs careers.

She noted in her presentation that over 50% of the officers in the foreign affairs offices were women.

She further remarked, “The time has come for women to take their rightful place in the public administration of Ghana, and the achievements of women in this ministry is a glowing tribute to what women can contribute”

She highlighted further the continuity of women leadership at the Ministry of Foreign affairs and expressed the hope that, such a feat would be replicated across other key ministries.

The MFARI – 8 panel discussion was organized to highlight and celebrate the achievements of Ghanaian women in the fields of diplomacy and international Relations

Other members of the panel included veteran ambassadors, their excellencies’ Awinador-Kanyirige and Ayikoi Otoo and the Head of Programs and Outreach of the GhIIA.org, Mr. Cherk Klutse.

Mr. Klutse shared an interesting research paper which addressed the fact  and factoids  on the impact of women in Ghana’s diplomacy, which included interesting points on the fact that all High Commissioners to Ghana from South Africa have been women. This report can be accessed on the GhIIA.org website.

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Marked annually on March 8th, International Women’s Day (IWD) is one of the most important days of the year to celebrate women’s achievements and raise awareness about women’s equality. This year’s celebration was held under the theme ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’.

In Ghana, the GhIIA.org has organized a number of events to mark the occasion, which has been extended to a month in their iteration.  Activities here include

• #Choose to Challenge Social Media Campaign
• Panel Discussion – MFARI –XX8 (Celebrating Women in Leadership -8 years of Female leadership at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana)
• Panel Discussion – Role Modelling: Showcasing successful female careers in International Relations Careers.
• Essay competition on the topic: Women in Leadership, achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 World- The Case of the Ghanaian Foreign Affairs Ministry

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