Madam Janet Kpan, the Upper West Regional Girl Child Coordinator has encouraged Girls and Young Women (GYW) to develop self-confidence, which is a prerequisite, if they are to aspire for leadership roles.
She urged them to also identify their talents, build on them and dare to explore such talents wherever they found themselves.
Madam Kpan said this at Dr. Hilla Limann Technical University (DHLTU) in Wa when she addressed some female students in some tertiary institutions in the Upper West Region during a leadership capacity-building seminar for GYW.
Female students from the SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), Nusrat Jahan College of Education, DHLTU, and St. Joseph’s Midwifery Training College attended the seminar.
The Community Aid for Rural Development (CARD)-Ghana organised the seminar on the theme: “Empowering female leaders for the next generation” as part of efforts to break the barriers against female leadership.
It was under the She Leads project being implemented by the CARD-Ghana in the Upper West Region in partnership with Plan International Ghana aimed at increasing GYW influence in decision-making at all levels.
Madam Kpan urged young women to dare to assume leadership positions saying, “Challenge yourself to do something, which is beyond your normal comfort zone.”
She said self-confidence was not only necessary in leadership but in all spheres of life including education and marketing or advertising.
She said they should endeavour to identify their weaknesses and work hard against those weaknesses, citing speaking in front of a class to work against the fear of a crowd.
She said one other way of building self-confidence was to develop their knowledge through research and learning to develop their confidence.
Madam Kpan also took the participants through some tips in public speaking, which included engaging the audience and observing their body language, maintaining a good posture, and not moving around restlessly.
Others were avoiding fidgeting with their hands, trying to connect with the audience and letting them feel involved in the presentation.
Ms Ernestina Binney, the She Leads Project Coordinator for CARD-Ghana, observed that girls and young women found it difficult to go in for leadership roles for reasons including low self-confidence and social and gender norms.
She said the seminar was therefore to serve as an eye-opener for the young women in the schools to develop their confidence to take up leadership initiatives and to aspire for leadership roles.
Ms Amadu Ramiza, the tertiary Institution Network (TEIN) President at the Nusrat Jahan College of Education in Wa, observed that men’s desire to lord over females deterred some females from venturing into leadership.
“The stereotypes are there that you will face just because you are a female. They say you are proud; she is a female, she is weak and all that, but the most heartbreaking one is sometimes the negative comments that come from your fellow females…
“Sometimes you can be a leader yet your subordinates that are men would not give you a listening ear, they will not make things easier for you, and when it comes to decision making, they want to undermine you … and it has always been a big challenge,” she explained.
