A gender expert has said that parity in Ghana's parliament by 2050 can only be achieved through women's quota.
Worldwide, quotas are said to have significantly increased women's participation and representation in both elective and appointive political decision-making positions.
Thus, it can be established in a country's constitution or its electoral law or can be voluntary on the part of political parties or governments.
The Country Director of ActionAid Ghana, Mrs. Adwoa Kwarteng-Kluvitse noted that quotas accelerate women's ascension to political power and are effective while work to change societal attitudes and behaviour is ongoing.
"Quotas are not discriminatory. Quotas compensate for the historical exclusion of women from politics. All forms of affirmative action including quotas must be supported in Ghana", she stressed.
She was speaking at the 4th biennial conference of district assembly women under the auspices of Abantu for Development and ActionAid Ghana.
In spite of the several UN Charters, Convention signed and ratified by Ghana that call for 30 to 40 % female representation at all levels of power and governance , implementing the conventions has at snail pace, if any at all.
Only a handful of women are appointed as District and Municipal Chief Executives and as regional ministers which is indicative of the fact that Ghanaian women are not being given the chance to fully participate or be at the top hierarchy of decision-making.
Mrs. Kwarteng-Kluvitse cited lack of legislative framework to promote women in decision making and leadership as a major reason for the low participation of Ghanaian women in politics.
Likewise, she stated societal beliefs about women's roles, women's less access to education, employment and to sources of income.
She said that clearly there is an uneven playing field of which women have to compete to access political power and leadership.
Therefore, she stressed there is an urgent need for interventions to address this imbalance.
"Quotas or other forms of affirmative action can respond to the problem. Quotas are temporary, compensatory and 'fast track' measures to address historical injustices and the exclusionary practices of political institutions and societies that discriminate against women in electing and appointing political leaders," she explained.
In the 1996 parliamentary elections, out of 59 women who contested, 18 (30%) were elected, constituting 9% of 200 MPs, in 2000, the number of female candidates increased to 101 but the number elected was 19 (18.8%), constituting 9.5% of 200 MPs.
In 2001, 19 women went to the third Parliament of the Fourth Republic, while in 2005, 25 were elected to Parliament.
The number of women that contested in 2004, was 104, including 14 sitting MPs, out of which 25 (24%) were elected constituting 10.9% of 230 MPs.Presently, 20 women are in the Fifth Parliament.
Available data shows that so far only 15 (20%) out of 75 ministers are women, three out of 25 members of the Council of State, one woman on the Police Council and none on the Economic Advisory Council.
It would be recalled that the manifestoes of the various political parties during last year's electioneering campaign, contained different sections on gender and women empowerment. But out of the 170 appointments only 11 are women, representing 6.47%. Three were rejected.
Ghana is not faring better either regarding female representation in Parliament. Information provided by National Parliaments to the Inter-Parliamentary Union as at 31st May 2008 compares data from 188 countries put in perking order taking into account the number of seats in the parliament; the number occupied by women and expressed in percentages.
Rwanda tops the list with 48.8% of the parliament constituting women followed by Sweden 47%, then Cuba 43.2%.
Ghana comes a distant 99th with 10.9% of our parliament made up of women. Obviously women are not getting there and women's rights activists are not enthused. Gender is directly linked to broad national issues, and needs to be addressed when discussing country wide problems, according to Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin, Head of ABANTU for development.
"The forum's main focus is to increase women's participation in decision-making and broad national issues like oil, climate change, transportation and social security. Women need to increase their knowledge of and participation in key national issues", said Mensah-Kutin.
She said the lack of commitment to women's rights and the pursuit of a neo-liberal economic agenda limit possibilities for inclusiveness, and accountability to marginalized groups.
"The state seems to be shrinking its responsibility of ensuring the well being of its citizens, particularly women." She believes that the local governance system needs to shift policy and legal frameworks to comply with gender-responsive principles.
With the review of the Local Government Act, Mensah-Kutin urged the assemblywomen to speak out their concerns. Affirmative action must be taken in representation in district assemblies, traditional authorities and religious bodies.
"The aim of the conference is to build on efforts at ensuring that women continue to play an effective role in all governance processes in Ghana by arguing for the promotion of gender responsiveness in all aspects of the national decision-making process," stated Mensah-Kutin.
Minister for Women and Children Affairs, Ms Akua Sena Dansua lamented that Ghanaian women make up more than half of the country's population, but fill less than ten percent of Parliament and District Assemblies seats.
She believes it is important for women to be represented in District Assemblies, and become involved with local planning, budgeting and monitoring activities.
"MOWAC is working on a project to identify at least twenty potential women leaders in each district some of whom would be prepared to contest for the 2010 District Assembly election as well as the 2012 General election" she disclosed.
She urged the assemblywomen to support these candidates through sensitization and role modeling in your churches, market and work places.
"We need to surmount the challenges that have restrained women from active participation in decision-making for so long."
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