Speaking for the first time on the issue since she was appointed boss of the EC by former President John Mahama, she said the comments did not bother her.

“My sense of self should not come from somebody who does not know me. If the person thinks I got my job through sexual favours, surely, there are other more rewarding and less difficult jobs I could use those sexual favours for.

“And in any case, this is a man who is sleeping with other women, so why didn’t he give the job to those women,” she queried.

She was answering a question posed by Mrs Samira Bawumia, the wife of Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who hosted the International Women's Day edition of Joy FM's Super Morning Show yesterday.

Mrs Bawumia wanted to know how Mrs Osei felt when she heard the comments.

Background

After Mrs Osei was appointed EC boss, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Agyapong, said she was behaving as if she got her job by exchanging sexual favours.

Mr Agyapong was roundly condemned for the comments which he later said were taken out of context.

Mrs Osei’s response

On the day set aside to celebrate women – the International Women’s Day – Mrs Osei responded to the issue.

In response, the first female head of Ghana's election governing body, the EC, said although it was unpalatable, she saw it as a challenge to do better.

In her view, men generally tend to prevent women from coming into their space, so once a woman is given the opportunity to be like them, they do all they can to bring her down.

“So they are going to throw everything at you just to get you out of that space. Once you recognise that, then you recognise those comments for the distractions that they are and you just focus on doing what you have been called to do and to do an excellent job,” she said.

Instead of letting this get to her, Mrs Osei said she was drawing strength from God and did only what she had been told by Him.

“That’s all that matters to me. If God tells me, 'go and do this assignment', I may not like the assignment, but I have to trust that there is a reason why I have been asked to do it. And also you believe that the person who has sent you, will empower you to do it.

“So for me, that is my starting point, and so I go in with that confidence that comes from the person that has given me the assignment.”

She bemoaned the societal attitude which tended to vilify all women and discriminated against them because one woman has failed at a particular assignment.

"We don’t have the right to fail, to make mistakes or to be mediocre,  Men have been failing throughout history, but they do not think that other men should be judged by the failures of one man," she said.

She encouraged women to psyche themselves up that men would not give them the chance, but they must show up prepared to deliver and also offer their very best at all times.

“So you know that you need to apply yourself, you need to work really hard, you need to be very diligent in what you are doing and you need to constantly add to your knowledge base and your skills.”

Mrs Osei challenged women to acknowledge that they could not excel at everything they would do;  at the same time they should not be hard on themselves when they fail at a particular task while they juggle with their roles as mothers and career women.

She advised women  to watch out for each other and "be more supportive and less judgemental of other women."

Host

Mrs Bawumia, wife of Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, yesterday (Wednesday) was the host of the Super Morning Show!

She hosted the special edition of the Super Morning Show on Joy FM as part of activities to mark International Women’s Day.

International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women's Day, is celebrated on March 8 every year to commemorate the struggle for women's rights.

Mrs Bawumia was joined on the show by the  EC  Chair, Charlotte Osei a former Deputy Finance Minister, Mona Quartey; a former CEO of Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Joyce Aryee; and the Senior Director, Government Relations Newmont Africa,  Ama Sarpong Bawuah.