YAWC Network Calls for Economic Justice and Women’s Ownership of Wealth

Accra: A leading Ghanaian lawyer and gender advocate, Sheila Minkah-Premo Esq, has called for a renewed focus on transforming women's economic empowerment from mere participation in economic activities into meaningful ownership of assets, wealth creation, and economic justice. Speaking at the 10th Anniversary Public Lecture of the Young African Women Congress (YAWC) Network held at the Africa Trade House in Accra on July 31, 2026, Minkah-Premo, Managing Consultant of ALC Law Consult, emphasized that the next phase of Africa's gender equality journey must focus on ensuring that women own productive resources, control wealth, and benefit fully from economic growth. According to Ghana Web, Minkah-Premo's lecture, themed 'Beyond Empowerment: Ownership, Wealth and Economic Justice for African Women,' acknowledged significant progress in education, financial inclusion, legal reforms, and entrepreneurship initiatives. However, she argued that the continent must now confront the deeper challenge of women's ownership of productive assets. She highlighted that while women may be economically active, they often lack ownership of land and other wealth-generating assets. Minkah-Premo explained that empowerment creates opportunities, but ownership gives women control over the benefits generated from those opportunities. She stated that empowerment opens the door, ownership provides the keys, and economic justice ensures those keys are never taken away. The lawyer noted that although women have historically played significant roles in agriculture, trade, entrepreneurship, and community development across Africa, their contributions have not always translated into ownership of wealth-generating assets. Using Ghana as an example, she cited constitutional provisions and legal reforms like the Intestate Succession Act, Lands Act, and Affirmative Action Act as steps toward advancing women's rights. However, she cautioned that legislation alone cannot guarantee economic equality unless effectively implemented and unless women are e quipped with the knowledge and resources to claim their rights. Minkah-Premo stressed the need for comprehensive legislation on the property rights of spouses, highlighting the importance of recognizing women's contributions to wealth creation within marriages. She also urged society to shift conversations around women's economic advancement to focus not only on income generation but also on asset ownership. Minkah-Premo challenged the audience to consider what women own, advocating for investments in land, businesses, shares, pensions, and intellectual property to ensure long-term financial security. The public lecture was part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Young African Women Congress Network, an organization dedicated to leadership development, mentorship, advocacy, and empowerment of young women across Africa and the diaspora. In his welcome address, Founder and Executive Chairperson of YAWC Network, Daniel Osei Tuffuor, highlighted the organization's decade-long journey and its impact on women's leadership and economic potential. Over the past ten years, YAWC Network has expanded to 12 countries, empowering more than 15,000 women and impacting over 500,000 grassroots women through community projects. Tuffuor emphasized that the anniversary theme reflected the organization's belief in the importance of women moving beyond participation to becoming owners, investors, and decision-makers. He called for stronger partnerships between governments, businesses, development organizations, academia, and civil society to remove structural barriers preventing women from achieving economic independence.