Women must be given opportunities to grow into leadership – Joyce Bawah

Joyce Bawah Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and Senior Aide to President John Dramani Mahama, has emphasized the need for women to have more opportunities to grow into leadership positions. In a Facebook post, she reflected on her own political journey, recounting how she was appointed to a significant role at a young age after the departure of Hannah Tetteh.

Despite some doubts about her readiness, Bawah Mogtari highlighted the crucial role of responsibility, exposure, and experience in developing leadership skills. She challenged the question of whether women were ready for such roles, instead asking whether society was prepared to offer them the necessary opportunities to develop those skills.

Bawah Mogtari's career exemplifies the importance of creating spaces for women to grow into leadership, a theme that resonates with President Mahama's consistent promotion of women in political leadership, such as his nomination of Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as his running mate in two consecutive elections. She views the increasing presence of women as ministers, chief executives, advisers, strategists, and decision-makers as a significant step toward normalizing women's participation in political leadership.