By Ferdinand Gunn | 11 June 2013
Ghana’s growth story and potential means it is fast becoming a country to watch, even in a continent evolving as rapidly as Africa’s. But how is it approaching the subject of diversity? The country’s Chief Economics Officer, Magdalene Apenteng, gives Ferdinand Gunn some answers
It’s a good time to be in Ghana. An increasingly important part of a continent well on the way to becoming one of the most dynamic places in the world to do business, the country is a shining example of how an encouraging economic environment has catalyzed rapid growth that is set to become sustainable and inclusive in the future.
As Africa moves forward — a process driven by factors that include hugely favorable demographics, macroeconomic reforms and abundant natural resources — Ghana’s ongoing transformation rests on high economic growth rates (boosted recently by oil production), political stability and an environment that is generally conducive to doing business. Little wonder, then, that conversations about the investment options available are increasingly shifting from “why” to “where” and “how.”
But that’s not to say Ghana is without its share of challenges. It may have enjoyed robust GDP growth of approximately 8.5% in 2012 (and 14.4% in 2011), but its Government is focusing on issues such as strengthening the domestic capital market, containing inflation and making the tax system more efficient. Playing a key role in this process is Magdalene Apenteng, the country’s Chief Economics Officer and Director of the Public Investment Division of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. As one of the Government’s few women in senior ranks, she is well placed to comment on the issue of diversity, describing it as key to informed decision-making and constructive participation at all levels. “Having and sharing views and discussions with counterparts both male and female improves management processes and productivity,” she says.
Apenteng has enjoyed a career that has spanned different countries and both the public and private sectors. A specialist in international aid and debt management techniques that enhance aid effectiveness, she has consulted for organizations such as the World Bank Group, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the West African Institute for Economic and Financial Management. She has also provided support and advisory services to countries including Cameroon, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Suriname, Guyana, Zambia, Uganda, the Gambia and Sierra Leone.
Breaking down barriers
When asked to describe the visible barriers she has encountered during the course of her illustrious career, she pinpoints several key challenges. “The situation is even more prevalent in most African countries where other factors such as cultural biases are very common,” she says. “This has often led to inequities in leadership positions, with men always commanding a very high percentage in such positions of influence and authority.” A key reason for this, she believes, is the ineffective implementation of policies aiming to help women progress.
“Girls and women who aspire to top positions have not been encouraged or provided with the opportunity,” she continues. “These barriers are observed through infancy, through the educational systems, and even through marriage or family relationships as well as in the workplace. Visibility of women in high places may at best represent about 20% to 25% of existing leadership positions.”
Invisible barriers such as conscious and unconscious bias are even more difficult to address in a country like Ghana. “In our chieftaincy hierarchy women would normally not be chosen as kings or chiefs; they would at best be advisers or queen mothers, mostly elders relegated to the background,” she points out. “On a daily basis, women have to balance activities of family life and work-related issues effectively to avoid being stigmatized as ineffective mothers and caretakers of the home. They therefore double up to work very hard in both the workplace and also at home taking care of their families including the men who invariably occupy top leadership positions.” In this context it is even more crucial for women to possess a raft of strong character traits, with Apenteng listing “confidence, aptitude for excellence, patience, accommodating, vigilant, bold, hardworking, diligent and firm” as key to enabling career progression.
When asked to account for the main reasons behind a relatively low number of women in leadership positions in the public sector, Apenteng says it often comes down to the fact that men use their dominant positions in the governance structure to give themselves the relevant strategic positions. “As most women play the dual role of housewives and combine both activities at home and the office and encumbered with the stress of this dual role, they become hesitant in taking leadership positions as they juggle between being bread winners, housewives and mothers,” she says. “Most women in such leadership positions have to work very hard to maintain their positions.”
An important step in addressing such systemic barriers often lies with women themselves, says Apenteng, who believes they need to be more assertive in the workplace. “I would urge women to stand out very tall amongst their male counterparts by being consistent, diligent and bold in undertaking all their endeavors,” she says. “Most of all women should be truthful and be examples to their peers, superiors and juniors in all they do be it home, family, workplaces or at any social places of interest.”
The role of government
Aiding and abetting such a call to arms is the country’s recently established Ministry of Gender and Social Protection, which seeks to promote the welfare of women and children. “I am hopeful that this new Ministry would clearly identify the inhibitions that prevent girls from aspiring into various leadership roles even as they are educated,” says Apenteng. “There should be a concerted effort to encourage women and girls to aspire to positions of decision-making and responsibility from home, classrooms and workplaces. The Ministry should identify mechanisms that would promote and enhance the role of women and [girls] in society but not ignoring the boys as well.”
Apenteng’s interest in diversity extends to acting as a mentor to women in her workplace and serving as Vice President of her alma mater, a girls secondary school that trains and provides education to girls aged between 13 and 17. Networking, too, is important and she firmly believes that governments have much to learn from each other. “The initial steps could involve the use of a global network, possibly chaired by Ernst & Young, with the view to soliciting concrete views and suggestions on moving this global process forward,” she says. “There could be developed a library of activities and examples of how women have been able to break the barriers of becoming leaders and assuming leadership roles in their respective societies and the problems that they face and how these have been tackled.”
But while this type of activity is important, it does not represent a magic solution to the diversity problem. Indeed, Apenteng is skeptical over whether any government is able to do enough by itself, citing the fact that other issues and problems can impact efforts to make progress on this agenda. “The most important role of government is to have the willpower to continue ensuring that these problems are addressed and make concerted efforts to promote actions that promote women empowerment at all times,” she concludes. “Once critical areas for improvement have been identified, the Government may have to promote legislation to ensure that some of its policies for women empowerment are actually accepted and implemented by a broader section of the people.”
But she remains optimistic — and doesn’t rule out the possibility of a woman serving as President of Ghana in the near future. “Why not? There are challenges, but that is not so misplaced. Women in Ghana will have to be more assertive to ensure that we are able to aspire confidently to this position in the next 10 to 15 years.”
Ferdinand Gunn is Country Leader, Ernst & Young Ghana.
This article first appeared in the April edition of Ernst & Young's Citizen Today magazine
