Elizabeth Ohene: Passing Affirmative Action Bill Will Be Difficult

Elizabeth Akua Ohene, the former minister of state in the John Kufuor government, has said it will be extremely difficult to pass the Affirmative Action Bill into law in its current state.

The Affirmative Action Bill seeks an equal representation and participation of both women and men in governance, public positions of power, and all decision-making spaces of the country and also requires all sectors to reserve a percentage of their employment for women.

The former minister of state argues that the bill appears to be a threat to the position of men.

Talking to Nana Yaa Mensah on International Women’s Day on Tuesday (8 March), Ohene said the bill can only be passed into law if men are educated not to see it as a threat to their positions.

“I am going to take a deep breath and I am going to say no, because the men don’t think there is anything in it for them. They think that passing an affirmative action bill into an act means they have to give up something.

“I think that is how it is looked at, that men give up something so that women gain something. I have been thinking about it and I think we have to find a way to convince everybody that it is not a question of women gaining something and men losing out,” the journalist said.

“But it is a question of society getting more balance and that is for everyone’s gain,” Ohene added.

According to her, more should be done to educate people about the bill in order to get a buy in from men in passing the bill into law.

Source: Asaase Radio