PROMOTING WOMEN

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PROMOTING WOMENS PARTICIPATION AND BRIDGING
GENDER GAPS IN THE PROFESSIONS AND PUBLIC LIFE
ACHIEVEMENTS, RELEVANCE AND PROSPECTS A CIVIL
ENGINEERS PERSPECTIVE

• Presented By
• Ing. Mrs. Rita Ohene Sarfoh

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OUTLINE

• INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
• ACHIEVEMENTS?
• JOB PERFORMANCE CAREER DEVELOPMENT
• RELEVANCE OF GENDER MAINSTREAMING
• BEYOND SOCIAL JUSTICE, GENDER MAINSTREAMING
  RATIONALE
• TRACTION FOR GENDER MAINSTREAMING
• CONCLUSION

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INTRODUCTION

• Addressing the issue of traction in gender
  mainstreaming
• Reflexive experience sharing encounter
• Reviewing deepening the lessons of past GM
  actions
• Benchmarking the GM outputs
• Framing guidelines for future GM activities

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INTRODUCTION (2)

• CE profession and the challenges for women
  practitioners
• Male-dominated
• Emphasis on personal experience and observations
• Constrained narrative due to lack of comparable
  reference

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BACKGROUND

• Work
• Ghana Highway Authority
• Largest single employer of civil engineering
  professionals in Ghana
• Long existence with track record on staff
  relations and deep-rooted organizational culture
• Personal
• Employed with GHA for 16 years, Principal
  Engineer and Manager for Environmental Unit,
• Council member of Ghana Institution of Engineers
• President, Women in Engineering (WINE)
• Married with children

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ACHIEVEMENTS

• Mixed results in GM in CE
• Improving enrolment base (KNUST CE Dept)
• from 135 or 2.8 in 1990 to 17148 or 11.4 in
  2010
• Critically short numbers especially high up the
  career ladder
• No Director, 1 Principal Eng., 2 Senior Eng., 2
  Eng., 3 Assist. Eng.,
• 0 Tech. Eng., 1 Tech. Eng., 2 Assist. Eng.
• Academic qualifications
• 0 PhD 1 Masters level 7 Bachelors 3 HND
• Professional standing
• No Fellow 1 Sen. Member 5 Member 2 Graduate
  Member 3 Assoc. Member

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ACHIEVEMENTS (2)

• In November 1994, only 1 Female Engineer,
• Notwithstanding improvements since 1994,
• men women 12111 (less than 10)
• Posting to perceived soft sectors
• Preponderance women engineers in Planning
  Division
• Increasing interest in placing women engineers in
  Environment and Road Safety
• No woman placed on projects to date (except
  Accra)
• Excuse of conflict between full time demands
  and women roles

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ACHIEVEMENTS (3)

• Site constraints
• Relocation to other Regions
• Facilities
• Security
• Arditi and Balci (2009), in project management
  positions, women men
• Women bring added value of sensitivity,
  costumer focus, and authority and presence.
• ? Success of GHA projects being potentially
  retarded by lack of women project managers

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PERFORMANCE CAREER DEVELOPMENT

• Factors for assessing job performance
• Clarity of job description and role definition
  of engineers
• Expectations Attitudes towards Females
• Conditions of service
• Career development
• Opportunities
• Constraints

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PERFORMANCE CAREER DEVELOPMENT (2)

• Job description / role definition
• No distinctions made between men women
  engineers
• Intention to curtail women placement outside of
  Accra
• Expectations and Attitudes
• Patronizing attitude of peers and seniors
• Ridicule of career development initiatives
• Issues of acceptance of capacity
• I cannot allow my wife to work as you do
• You this small girl......
• How can a woman be travelling all the time
• Lack of respect to women in spite of seniority.

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PERFORMANCE CAREER DEVELOPMENT (3)

• Opportunities for capacity building and career
  growth higher for women at the early stages of
  engineering career
• Men focusing on financial stability and thus
  giving women better prospects for access to
  financial and technical support
• Example B.Sc. (1993), M.Sc. (2001) MPH (2006)
  MGhIE (2001)
• Most male contemporaries finished Masters
  post-2006 and GhIE membership post-2005
• Social constraints imposed on career growth plans
• Marriage and Childbirth
• Generally my performance is at par and even
  better

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RELEVANCE OF GM

• Relevant and affirmative action required in CE
  profession because
• Presently, the normative gender roles are based
  on psychological rationale and not based on
  individual merit
• High incidence of gender disparity in civil
  engineering profession, especially in GHA
• Glass ceiling still in place. No Female
  Technical Director in MRH and Agencies

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RATIONALE FOR GM POST-SOCIAL JUSTICE

• Work place diversity
• Sustainable organisational and sectoral
  development
• Appreciation of diversified client needs
  (different users with different needs)
• Example of DANIDA assistance to Konongo-Ejisu
  road side vendors

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TRACTION FOR GM

• Continuous public sensitization and advocacy
• Short courses on staff relations
• Matrix or task team approach therefore compelling
  gender mix
• Public interest law and rights based approach
• Affirmative action especially for rural and urban
  poor and female groups
• Constitutional / legislative reviews

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Conclusion

• Gender Inequality is a reality in CE in Ghana
• Enrolment and Output ? Practice
• Mentoring in Educational and Practitioner levels
• Women professionals as guest speakers to serve as
  
• role models
• Do not Perceive as a woman but Crave to perform

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• THANK YOU