The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Ghana has urged organisations to implement intentional, system-wide reforms to tackle ongoing barriers hindering women’s career advancement, cautioning that improvements in hiring have not led to equal progress in leadership representation.
Speaking at ACCA Ghana’s International Women’s Day 2026 event in Accra, themed “Making equity a reality in a changed world,” PwC tax expert Mrs. Ayesha Bedwei Ibe highlighted that although more women are joining the workforce, deep-rooted structural issues continue to restrict their progression into senior roles.
Referencing global statistics, she pointed out that women occupy roughly 29% of senior leadership positions, with even lower representation at executive levels, while the gender pay gap stands at 16%. She emphasized that these figures reflect lost opportunities and systemic shortcomings that continue to influence career outcomes.
Drawing from her professional experience, Mrs. Bedwei Ibe noted that many capable and high-performing women fall short of reaching their full career potential not due to lack of ability, but because workplace systems often fail to support their advancement.
She stressed that the focus should shift from simply increasing female recruitment to ensuring long-term growth and retention. “The real question is whether women are progressing, leading, and staying. Representation without progression cannot be considered true equity,” she explained.
To address these challenges, she called on organisations to go beyond good intentions by implementing practical strategies such as pay transparency to uncover disparities, sponsorship initiatives to complement mentorship, and structured leadership pipelines that actively prepare women for top roles.
She also underscored the importance of flexible work arrangements that support caregiving responsibilities without limiting career ambitions. Many of the obstacles women face, she noted, are embedded in organisational culture rather than formal policy such as restricted access to influential networks, unconscious bias in evaluations, and fewer opportunities to take on high-visibility assignments crucial for advancement.
Despite these challenges, she acknowledged that some organisations are making strides by revising policies, questioning entrenched norms, tracking progress, and holding leaders accountable. She concluded by urging leaders to take deliberate and consistent action, stating that achieving gender equity requires conscious effort and commitment.
