Majority of Ghanaians think gov’t has failed at pushing gender equity – Afrobarometer

Women are still tailing men when it comes to educational attainment in Ghana.

“Women are less likely than men to have secondary education (37 per cent vs. 45 per cent) or postsecondary education (13 per cent vs. 24 per cent) and more likely than men to have no formal schooling (20 per cent vs. 11 per cent) or only primary education (30 per cent vs. 20 per cent),” a recent Afrobarometer survey has revealed.

Women are also behind men when it comes to control over how household monies are spent, according to the survey findings.

Fifty-one per cent of Ghanaian women, representing half, “say they make household financial decisions independently, compared to 60 percent of men.”

Ghanaians, however, strongly support women to have equal rights as men when it comes to land ownership and inheritance.

“Most Ghanaians (85%) say women should have the same right as men to own and inherit land,” with men being “less inclined than women to believe in equality when it comes to land (82% vs. 89%),” the survey indicated.

When it comes to politics, a majority of Ghanaians believe that a woman who runs for political office will gain standing in the community, but many say it is likely that she will be criticised or harassed.

“More than eight in 10 citizens, representing 86 per cent, think a woman will gain standing in the community if she runs for elective office while 42 per cent also say it is likely she will be criticised or harassed, and 35 per cent think she will probably face problems with her family.”

Ghanaian citizens also expect greater efforts from government to wipe out gender inequalities that exist in the country with majority of citizens giving government a failing grade for its efforts to promote equal rights and opportunities for women.

“Fifty-five per cent of Ghanaians say the government is doing “fairly badly” or “very badly” at promoting equal rights and opportunities for women,” according to the Afrobarometer survey.