The GRIDCo Ladies Association (GRIDLASS) has commemorated the International Women’s Day (IWD) as they called on women to incorporate technology in their work and activities.
Members of the Association encouraged each other to contribute their quota to the success of the grid company while patting themselves on the back for their resilience over the years.
The IWD is celebrated globally every year to acknowledge the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, while focusing greater attention on women’s right.
The 2023 United Nations theme for the celebration is ‘DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,’ with a hush tag #EmbraceEquity.
Nana Yaa Obenewaa Okudzeto, the Director and Principal Engineer at Built Services Consult, touching on the theme, said without the incorporation of technology and innovation, women would become stagnant and lose the hold on their jobs.
‘Women need to take up the responsibilities that make them important…and they can only do this when they take technology seriously and improve themselves for the gig economy,’ she said.
‘Knowledge in the gig economy will make them more marketable, allow for flexibility, get innovative, and have financial benefits while improving upon their skill set with technology.’
Mrs Okudzeto said it was about time women shoved off the imposter syndrome, which made them feel inadequate.
‘Women have the innateness in them to create and make things happen and, therefore, should stop playing it small as they are enough on their own.’
She called for policies that would ensure equity for women and children instead of equality, as they had peculiar issues that resources must be consciously allocated.
‘The lip service paid to women’s issues every year during the celebration of IWD must be replaced with practical achievable plans.’
Accessibility, affordability of data for women, education-related issues, and cultural norms were some of the challenges preventing women from reaching their full potentials and embracing technology and innovation, Mrs Okudzeto said.
She revealed that even though there were a number of women graduating from universities in the technical and engineering fields, most of them had to divert to banking and other works due to the unlevelled ground created in the field of work.
Ms Azara Amadu, GRIDCo Ladies President, said women needed to be celebrated for their contributions to the social, economic, and political development of Ghana and the world as a whole.
Mr Mark Baah, GRIDCo’s Southern Sector Director, said the number of women staff in the company had increased from 23, which formed three percent of the total workforce when the company started operation in 2008, to over 160 currently, representing 19 per cent of the workforce.
Mr Baah commended the women for mastering the management of their homes and succeeding in their chosen fields of work.
There were solidarity messages from the Volta River Authority Ladies, GRIDCo Board of Directors, GRIDCo Union, and the Electricity Company of Ghana’s Power Ladies.
Madam Nicolina Nkang-Ma Yembila, Director Procurement, GRIDCo, was honoured for her numerous contributions and successes achieved in the company.
Source: Ghana News Agency
