Joyce Bawah Mogtari: Women must be given opportunities to grow into leadership

Senior Presidential Advisor and Senior Aide to President John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has called for greater opportunities for women to participate in political leadership, arguing that leadership skills are often developed through responsibility, exposure and experience. In a Facebook post, Madam Bawah Mogtari reflected on her own political journey, recalling how she was appointed by then-President John Dramani Mahama to take over from Hannah Tetteh at a relatively young age. She said while some questioned whether she had the experience for the role, she was conscious of the enormity of the responsibility and grew into it through the challenges that followed.

“Sometimes, when a woman is given an opportunity, people ask whether she is ready. What we should be asking is whether we are prepared to give women the opportunity to become ready,” she wrote. She said her experience demonstrated the importance of creating space for women to develop their leadership capacities, noting that President Mahama had consistently promoted women in political leadership, including nominating Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as his running mate in two successive elections.

According to her, the growing presence of women as ministers, chief executives, advisers, strategists and decision-makers represents progress towards making women’s participation in political leadership normal. Reflecting on her political journey in a Facebook post, Madam Bawah Mogtari said her appointment by then-President John Dramani Mahama to succeed Hannah Tetteh came at a time when some questioned whether she was sufficiently experienced. She said the NDC’s subsequent defeat in the election presented her with the opportunity to grow, eventually becoming one of the regular voices speaking for the former President and the party.

She also highlighted what she described as President Mahama’s deliberate effort to create space for women in political leadership, pointing to his choice of Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as his running mate in two successive electoral cycles. She said the NDC’s return to power in 2024 has since seen women occupy positions as ministers, deputy ministers, chief executives, deputy chief executives and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives. “I see women becoming part of the political architecture not merely as candidates, communicators or supporters, but as trusted advisers, strategists, aides and decision-makers operating at the highest levels of political leadership,” she said.

Madam Bawah Mogtari acknowledged that women continue to face challenges relating to parity, visibility and recognition, but said the growing number of women in political leadership signals progress, adding that “the most powerful form of political communication is not simply talking about women’s representation. It is making women’s representation normal.”