General and Pediatric Radiologist at RAND Medical Imaging and Health Systems, Dr. Rosemond Naa Dedei Aboagye, has called on Ghanaian society to show commitment towards achieving gender equality and inclusion.
Dr. Aboagye expressed worries about the lack of progress in achieving gender equity despite the increased presence of women in several sectors, during an interview on a special episode of e.tv. Ghana’s Fact Sheet to commemorate International Women’s Day.
Dr. Aboagye highlighted that gender stereotypes and discrimination are still prevalent in Ghana, even in sectors where women are well represented, such as medicine.
She recalled her experiences of being discriminated against by male doctors in the workplace, solely because of her gender. Dr. Aboagye emphasized the need to address these issues and create an enabling environment for women to thrive in their chosen fields.
“We expect that there will be equity and, in addition, gender inclusion, but the fact is that the environment in which we have been brought up has not made it very possible, and we have a lot of stereotypes that are limiting us, even in sectors like medicine where women have become more represented. I mean, when I was in medical school, about half the people in my class were actually women, but in spite of these advances, there’s still a lot of discrimination against women, even in my field. As a doctor working for over 15 years, many times I’ve come across other male doctors who have discriminated against me in the workplace just because I’m a woman,” she shared.
According to Dr. Aboagye, it is commendable that International Women’s Day is celebrated every year to bring attention to the challenges faced by women. However, she expressed her hope that the celebration goes beyond the one-day fun fair and that there is a commitment to implement measures that will ensure that women’s rights are protected and their aspirations realized.
Dr. Aboagye called on Ghanaians to do more than just talk about gender equality and inclusion, emphasizing the need for practical action. She challenged everyone to show their commitment to achieving gender equity by establishing an environment that allows women to excel in their chosen fields, regardless of gender.
She continued, “We really do have a lot of issues that are affecting women, even for those of us who have broken the status quo and are not in the traditional marketing and low-income jobs or high-profile jobs. We still have limitations, and it is a good thing we come out every year to talk about this. I hope it goes beyond the one-day fun fair where there’s a lot of noise and then we go ahead to actually implement and see to it that the things that we are wishing for come into fruition.”
International Women’s Day is a global event observed annually on March 8 to draw attention to topics such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. This year’s theme is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”