Mrs Bou-Chedid, a product of  Wesley  Girls and Presbyterian Secondary, Legon becomes the 49^th President of the GhIE, replacing Ing. Dr Kwame Boakye, immediate past president of the institution.

She was sworn into office by a Court of Appeal judge,  Justice Gertrude Torkornor at a banquet held in her honour and attended by dignitaries, including ministers of state as well as representatives of  fellow engineers from Africa.

Ing. (Mrs) Bou-Chedid is a Structural  Earthquake Engineering Consultant with more than 30 years of experience, covering a wide range of areas.

She holds a BSc. (Hons) in Civil Engineering from the University of Surrey, UK (1983) and an MSc. in Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London UK(1993).

She became the first Ghanaian female Structural Engineer upon graduation and subsequently joined the Architectural and Engineering Services Corporation (AESC) from1985-93.

Ing. (Mrs) Bou-Chedid was engaged in designing structures, supervising the work of contractors and managing engineering projects, among other portofolios.

She is a fellow of the Ghana Institution of  Engineers, a member of the Ghana Earthquake Society, and a member of the First Class of Housener Fellows of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute(EERI) , as well as serving on several boards of institutions in the country.

Deliverng her inaugural speech Ing. (Mrs) Bou-Chedid said she was humbled and grateful  to be elected to lead the GhIE as its first female president saying, “ I feel the weight of responsibility as I see the hopes and expectations of many, all wishing me well, urging me on and praying for me to achieve, but I know I am not in this alone. I have the support of the Women in Engineering(WINE), my past presidents and many others.”

She paid glowing tributes to those who have supported her through her life journey especially her late father E.Y.S. Engman, a civil engineer and a past president of GhIE, saying that, “My parents understood the need to encourage the natural creativity of children and I had access to items such as bulbs, magnets, science sets and so on, which I could explore.”

Under her tenure, which is one year, she promised to operate in five thematic areas, comprising corporate governance, education and training, and professional practice to keep the institution moving forward.

The Minister for Gender,Children and Social Protection, Miss Otiko Afisa Djaba, who was the guest of honour, congratulated the new president for defying all odds to realise her achievement.

She said her achievement would inspire other young females to aspire for greater heights and congratulated the members of the institution for electing and accepting Ing. (Mrs.) Bou- Chedid as their new president.

According to the minister, government was working towards increasing women in corporate and political leadership, adding “we are building on our legal and policy environment to empower women.”

She said government was also working on the national gender policy and the Affirmative Action Bill to be passed into law to promote and ensure that there was gender equity, adding that the government was committed to implementing laws and policies which will create more opportunities for women to actively participate in national leadership.

From Daniel Dzirasah-Sunyani