VZCZCXRO9529
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAR #2511/01 3460720
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 120720Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5810
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 002511 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN SOCI ECON ELAB GH
SUBJECT: WOMEN IN GHANA'S DEVELOPMENT - ACHIEVEMENTS AND OBSTACLES 
 
Ref: Accra 2443 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Women have contributed significantly to Ghana's 
social and economic development since its independence fifty years 
ago.  They play a critical role in agriculture, Ghana's largest 
economic sector, and are responsible for most of the nation's food 
production.  In recent years, Ghana has also made noticeable 
progress in girls' enrollment rates at school.  Despite these 
achievements, various obstacles impede women's contribution to 
Ghana's development, such as exclusion from national processes, 
limited access to economic assets, and inadequate training in 
financial management and business planning.  Gender inequalities in 
higher education, health and decision-making power, also frustrate 
women's full participation in economic, political and social life. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
WOMEN'S ROLE IN THE ECONOMY - LOOKING BACK 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Historically, Ghanaian women have been under-represented in 
the public sector, although in recent years several women have been 
appointed to high-level political positions. [NOTE: Women's role in 
Ghanaian politics and civil society was reported reftel. END NOTE] 
Moreover, their important contributions to Ghana's economy resulted 
in a temporary backlash several decades ago.  According to the 
Acting Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and 
Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Anna Bossman, successful female 
traders who dominated public markets in the late 1970s were 
physically abused and socially ostracized for their significant 
economic power, and were blamed for fiscal problems that troubled 
the nation at the time.  As a result, Bossman says, some women 
became withdrawn and hesitant about actively participating in the 
public economic and social arenas. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Notwithstanding these setbacks, women have played, and 
continue to play, a key role in sustaining Ghana's economy.  In the 
view of Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, a Ghanaian women's rights advocate 
and Executive Director of the Ark Foundation, women often provide 
"stopgaps" during periods of economic crises, by supporting their 
husbands and families and doing any kind of work that is needed to 
ensure that their children go to school.  In terms of unpaid 
activities, Ghanaian women continue to assume primary responsibility 
for childrearing, cooking, washing and collecting fuel and water. 
It should be noted, however, that Ghana's ethnic, socio-economic, 
religious and regional diversity mean that the role and status of 
women varies significantly from one community to the next. 
 
WOMEN IN GHANA'S ECONOMY TODAY 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) More than three-fourths of all Ghanaians in the labor force 
are working in the informal private sector, of which 53% are women, 
according to the 2000 Census.  This dominance of the informal sector 
makes it difficult to accurately determine relative contributions to 
gross domestic product (GDP).  Nevertheless, it is clear that women 
are critical contributors to all three sectors that account for most 
of Ghana's GDP: agriculture, industry, and services.  According to 
Jane Quaye, Executive Director of the International Federation of 
Women Lawyers (FIDA) in Ghana, women are key actors in all stages of 
the food chain, especially food production and small-scale farming. 
As such, they are largely responsible for food security in Ghana. 
In addition to dominating the manufacturing sub-sector (within 
industry) and wholesale/retail trade (within services), some 
successful female entrepreneurs have emerged in marketing, banking, 
and other commercial industries. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Women are increasingly the head of Ghanaian households, in 
part because of divorce, spousal separation of residences due to 
seasonal rural/urban migration, and polygamy.  However, at least in 
the lower ends of the economic spectrum, this is not an economic 
handicap.  To the contrary, according to the Ghana Statistical 
Service's "Pattern and Trends of Poverty in Ghana 1991-2006," the 
percentage of female-headed households living in poverty is lower 
than that found among male-headed households - and the population as 
a whole.  In 2005-2006, 19% of female-headed households fell below 
the poverty line, while 31% of male-headed households and 28.5% of 
the total population fell in that category.  This aggregate 
situation is not new.  In 1991-1992, poverty among female-headed 
households was 43% compared to 55% among male-headed households and 
nearly 52% for the population as a whole.  There has, however, been 
a charge in the urban-rural picture.  The rate of poverty among 
female-headed households in rural areas declined relatively more 
than among male-headed households, dropping 30 percentage points to 
26% while poverty among male-headed households in rural areas 
declined only 23 percentage points to 66%.  In urban areas, the 
status of male-headed households has improved at a slightly faster 
rate than female-headed households and poverty rates are now 
virtually the same at 10.9% and 10.7%, respectively. 
 
WOMEN IN EDUCATION 
------------------ 
 
 
ACCRA 00002511  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) In addition to achievements in overall poverty reduction, 
progress has also been made in achieving the education-related 
Millennium Development Goals.  According to USAID-Ghana, the Gross 
Enrollment Rate for girls in primary schools - that is, the total 
enrollment in primary schools expressed as a percentage of the 
population in the official age group in this grade level - increased 
from 75% in FY2003 to 89% in FY2006.  Moreover, the Gender Parity 
Index - that is, the female to male ratio - in primary schools has 
increased from .93 to .96 over the same period. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Although school enrollment and retention rates have 
increased for both girls and boys, the gender gap persists at higher 
grade levels.  In its 2006 Concluding Comments on Ghana, the United 
Nations Committee on the Elimination on the Discrimination against 
Women reported that girls represent 33% and 22% of enrolled students 
in secondary and tertiary education, respectively, and have high 
drop-out rates in part because of gender discrimination.  In 
addition, limited access to financial management skills, credit, and 
technology further impede women's ability to contribute to Ghana's 
economy.  Women's under-representation at higher grade levels and 
persisting illiteracy rates for women in turn limit their choices in 
employment. 
 
OBSTACLES IMPEDING THE CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Aside from women's under-representation in high-level 
decision making positions (reftel), health for women is a major 
obstacle.  The maternal mortality rate of 540 per 100,000 live 
births has not declined in the past decade.  Child health, 
especially under five mortality, has increased from 108 to 111 per 
1000 since 1998 due to increases in the neonatal mortality rate and 
a slight increase in post-neonatal rates.  While the HIV infection 
rate in the adult population in Ghana is relatively low (less than 
3%), the Ghana AIDS Commission Program Work Plan for 2007 reports 
that the incidence of HIV/AIDS is higher for women than men, with 
about 63% of infected persons being women and girls.  [NOTE: This 
difference can probably be explained in large measure due to very 
high rates of male circumcision in Ghana, which provides significant 
protection to them. END NOTE]  Girls and women also face 
discrimination in household nutrition and health care, exacerbating 
the health issues facing women and girl-children. 
 
¶9. (SBU) As in other societies, Ghanaian women's traditional roles 
at home have additional negative effects on their economic and 
social advancement.  According to a 2004 study conducted by the 
research institute Friedrich Ebert Stiftung on "The Role of Women in 
Ghana's Economy," women devote a great deal of time to childcare 
responsibilities and often have a large number of children - all 
factors that restrict their job choices, work productivity, and 
mobility.  Additional obstacles to progress include discriminatory 
customary practices and social tolerance of domestic violence, 
prostitution, and sexual harassment in the workforce.  In addition, 
traditional systems often limit women's role making decisions 
related to economic development and inheritance claims, especially 
with regards to land. 
 
BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR GHANAIAN WOMEN 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) COMMENT: Despite progress made in Ghanaian women's 
contribution to development, continuing gender inequalities have a 
negative impact on a number of critical development areas, including 
economic growth, democracy and health.  To overcome the obstacles 
will require policies that proactively empower women to participate 
in the economy, education and politics by facilitating their access 
to secondary and tertiary education, providing credit to women-owned 
businesses, and improving women's health.  This will also require 
socio-cultural changes that give Ghanaian women equal 
decision-making power within traditional communities, the public 
sphere, and at home. END COMMENT 
 
BRIDGEWATER