Parliament Passes Affirmative Action Bill into Law After Decades of Deliberation.

The Bill aims to increase women’s participation in active public life to a parity level of 50% by the year 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. It all happened on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, when the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, declared, “Honourable members, the ‘ayes’ have it. The Affirmative Action Gender Equality Bill 2024, now the Affirmative Action Gender Equity Act, is duly read the third time and passed.”

The bill of Affirmative Action in Ghana defines Affirmative Action as a set of measures adopted by Government, Public, and private institutions, public and private, to address a history of systemic discrimination and exclusion of women. It is further aimed at encouraging the equal participation of both men and women in addressing political, social, cultural, economic, and educational gender imbalances in both public and private life, consistent with the provisions in clause (4) of article 17 of the Constitution.

Although lots of efforts have been made in Ghana towards striving for a good balance in political representation and participation between women and men, these have been unsuccessful due to low commitment and political will. Ghana’s quest for an Affirmative Action Law started in 1998 when guidelines were passed by the Cabinet. However, by June 2020, the Bill had still not been passed due to the lack of stakeholder commitment towards pushing for its enactment.

This low commitment has been attributed to the unclear communication of the purpose, relevance, and benefits of the Bill to all citizens.

Key Points:

• Bill focused on ensuring the participation of 50% of women in public life by 2030.
• Aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Speaker Alban Bagbin announced the passage on July 30, 2024.
• Affirmative Action defined as addressing systemic discrimination against women.
• Targets political, social, cultural, economic, and educational gender imbalances.
• Historical efforts to balance political representation in Ghana have been inadequate.
• The quest for the law began in 1998 with Cabinet guidelines.
• The Bill remained unpassed by June 2020 due to low stakeholder commitment.
• The Ministry’s failure to communicate clearly on the benefits of the Bill to citizens contributed to the delays.