Female teachers have been urged to re-orientate
themselves and design appropriate self-development plans to improve on their
professional competence to take up challenging leadership roles.
Mrs Irene Duncan Adanusa, General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), who made the call, asked female teachers to support activities of GNAT and take advantage of opportunities that were being offered by the Union.
She was addressing the opening of GNAT Ladies (GNAT-LAS) second national women's round-table conference, in Kumasi on Monday.
The four-day meeting, being held on the theme: "strengthening Female Teachers, Participation in Union Activities in the face of the Global Crisis", was aimed at stock-taking, setting targets for the next four years and adoption of a resolution on critical issues affecting female teachers.
It was also to educate Ghanaians on activities of GNAT-LAS as well as the importance of West African Women in Education Network (WAWEN).
Mrs Adanusa said that the only way out of the current global ecological and economic crisis was to create opportunities that would enable people develop and sustain new competencies in their various fields of endeavour.
She stressed that female teachers should strengthen their participation in the activities of the Union in the face current economic pressures, need for good governance and gender equity.
Mrs Janet Serwaa Boateng, Lecturer, University of Cape Coast, observed that gender inequality, stereotyping and sexual segregation were affecting women's participation in activities of associations.
Ms Helena Awurusa, National Coordinator for Gender Programmes of GNAT, said the conference would expose the delegates to trade union politics and build their confidence.
She said that entrenched organizational rules and policies of the Union, inadequate funding and disproportionate burden of family
responsibilities as well as male chauvinism are some of the challenges facing the gender desk of the Union.