The Member of Parliament for Bantama, Mrs Cecelia Abena Dapaah, on Thursday urged political parties to field more women in safe constituencies.
"Political parties should also train and groom women well in advance of the next general election in 2012," she said in remarks at a two-day media sensitization seminar on the theme: "Promoting Greater Visibility for Women in Leadership in Ghana."
It was organized by Women, Media and Change (WOMEC) and supported by Women's Manifesto Coalition (WMC), Abantu for Development and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
The aim of the seminar was to create an avenue for reflection on gender issues and media coverage for women aspirants during election 2008 as well as developing new strategies to offer more visibility for women in diverse leadership positions.
Mrs Dapaah said most women were qualified to take up political appointments but some of them were shy while societal norms prevented others from contesting elections.
Some of the good ones also fell at the primaries, she noted.
She said there was the need for collective responsibility to adequately support women, who she said, constituted more than half of the population, for a fair representation.
Mrs Dapaah encouraged women to take opportunities that were open to them to serve the nation and their constituencies to improve the conditions of children and the underprivileged.