She advised them not to think that success in careers was attained on the back of luck, but must work hard to earn that rise as the business world now had room for women.

That is what it takes for one to succeed in any sphere of life, particularly at the workplace,” Ms Opare stressed.

Addressing the Ninth Quadrennial Congress of Power Queens of the ECG in Accra recently, Ms Opare, who was the guest of honour, urged women not to be deterred to climb up the professional ladder, or see themselves as additions to their male counterparts, but rather, consider themselves as strategic partners who also have key roles to play in the success of organisations.

Power Queens

The ECG Power Queens is the umbrella that brings all the female workforce of ECG together.

Established 30 years ago, the club started with its membership built around the junior staff, but it has extended to include management and senior staff and now has two directors out of a total of 23.

The number of ladies occupying management positions has also increased significantly.

This year’s conference, held to commemorate the International Women’s Day, was on the theme: ‘Harnessing Talents to Increase Productivity in Building a World Class ECG — The Role of the Queen.’

Zero tolerance

Ms Opare encouraged women to identify their potential, get out of their comfort zones and harness their talents to play their roles effectively in the progress of their organisations.

She encouraged management to harness the full potential of members of the Power Queens to optimise business, which is the key to ECG’s success in this competitive market, stressing that it was key for employers to see women as a strategic resource in growing business.

The board member indicated that ECG had zero tolerance to women suppression, that there is, and will always be equity for male and female staff of ECG and thus encouraged the women to positively assert themselves to help in the success of the company.

The Managing Director of ECG, Mr Kwame Agyeman Budu, indicated that with the gender policy in place, it was expected that gender parity and social inclusion would be achieved in the company, with zero tolerance to sexual harassment which women mostly fell prey to. He further stated the recognition of the board and management of the ECG of the contributions of the club in achieving the company’s mission. He urged the Power Queens to continue executing initiatives towards achieving their set goals as a club.

Client satisfaction

The Chairperson for the occasion, Mrs Jacqueline Ofori Atta, who is also the Director for Procurement of ECG, commended the leadership for coming up with the theme for the celebration, describing it as ‘apt’ and appropriate

She indicated that ECG, for the past 53 years, had gone through remarkable changes with 2019 being a very challenging one, thus the company needed to be poised for the ever-changing needs of its customers.

She commended the role members of the Power Queens Club had played in the company’s customer service interface, describing it as “a very necessary tool to achieving client satisfaction; hence the need to develop ECG ladies to put in their best in the line of duty.

The President of the association, Mrs Rosemond Asamoa-Frimpong, said members recognised that they were an integral part of the change ECG was going through and were positioning themselves to play their roles effectively and efficiently.