By Hafsa Obeng/ Jennifer Ansu, GNA
Accra, Nov. 15, GNA – The Centre for Legal Advocacy Research Education and Training on Wednesday organised a training programme for senior female professionals striving to contribute significantly to the effectiveness of corporate governance at the highest level.
The training programme is to provide participants with deep insight into the workings of boards, at the same time offer a breakdown of the legal and regulatory framework governing boards in Ghana.
The leadership training programme, dubbed ‘GETTINGONBOARD’ was specifically designed to equip senior professional women current or aspiring board members with the requisite ‘get on board’ skills to enable them excel in their current or future board work.
Mr Felix Ntrakwa, said in Ghana, women constitute about 17 per cent of board membership. And in many parts of the world women on various boards were lower and such women were always keen on risk management.
He said discussing corporate governance was important to consider the legal and regulatory framework, which consisted of the constitution, acts of parliament, statutory legislation, and governance policies among others.
He said the board of every company was not an island but a part of a system of governance, a team whose borrowing priorities was restricted and accountable to members, adding that the minimum size of a board was two, and the maximum varies.
Mr Ntrakwa said an appointment as a director should not be seen as a compensation or reward, but a test, and it was meant for one to prove that they were worth the trust that had been reposed in them.
He said taking charge of a company was about taking full responsibility of governance, and the powers of directors were limited and not absolute.
He said directors have a duty to the corporate body and not themselves. Board matters were always confidential both in and outside the boardroom. Directors must try as much as possible to avoid regular personal contacts with employees.
« The competence of directors is tested at every meeting and directors must make sure to use their expertise all the time, avoid conflicts of interest. You need different ideas, it is the diversity on the board that helps it take good decisions, » he said.
The board of directors must be interested in risk management, compliance as well as human resource, saying, reputation risk if not managed well could destroy the image of the company.
Mrs Jennifer Owusu, Executive Director, CLARiT, said internationally, women’s equality and empowerment was the fifth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, and for the realization of this, CLARiT was working at challenging females in all sectors to be innovative in creating more opportunities for women to change the world of work.
She said women on boards can contribute their special skills and experiences, which could provide an alternative perspective in the deliberation of issues.
She said ensuring women have the same opportunities to resources within a society was essential to the society’s growth and economic development.
For public and private enterprise investment in women and empowering them for leadership was a business strategy that could increase productivity and result in growth.
« In spite of the continued effort from both government and the business communities to improve boardroom gender diversity, women were still largely under-represented and under-utilized in corporate organisations, » he said.
Mrs Owusu noted that bridging the gender divide in the workforce therefore required an effective and inclusive advocacy and capacity building and knowledge promotion programmes.
At the end of the programme we expect participants to understand how boards function and the legal and regulatory framework governing them, to have the requisite tools and skills for effective board membership and to learn strategies for achieving their organisations goals and career objectives.
GNA
FA/DSA
