The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is to roll out the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions (GES-PI) initiative next year as part of intensified efforts to strengthen gender equality across the sub-region.

The initiative is expected to help public institutions under ECOWAS strengthen gender mainstreaming by assessing their performance against internationally recognised standards and implementing reforms that promote gender-responsive governance.

It is being implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), with the goal of attaining the highest “Gold Seal” certification.

The Director of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC), Sandra Oulaté Fattoh, disclosed this yesterday at the opening of the fourth and final regional planning meeting in Accra to finalise a comprehensive action plan for implementation across all ECOWAS institutions.

The meeting brought together all directorates and specialised institutions of the Commission, including the ECOWAS Parliament, the Community Court of Justice, the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and the West African Health Organisation (WAHO).

It was to review and validate evidence gathered against the programme’s benchmarks and finalising ECOWAS’ self-assessment ahead of the implementation phase.

According to Ms Oulaté Fattoh, the initiative would assess gender equality within the Commission’s own structures, including recruitment, leadership, career progression and staff representation, to ensure the institution leads by example.

“We need to practise better what we are preaching. We implement programmes across the ECOWAS region, but within the institution we need to take a closer look at gender equality,” she said.

The framework, she explained, would examine whether women had equal access to employment opportunities and leadership positions and whether institutional systems promoted fairness, equal opportunity and shared responsibility.

“The Commission must serve as a model so that when we engage our member states on gender equality, we can point to our own institution as an example. We must practise what we preach,” she stressed.

On Ghana’s role, Ms Oulaté Fattoh commended the country for providing leadership in advancing gender equality initiatives within the region, describing it as a model of effective inter-ministerial collaboration.

She noted that Ghana’s selection to host several regional gender meetings reflected its leadership on gender issues and its role as the African Union’s gender champion.

She also praised Ghana’s long-standing implementation of ECOWAS programmes on obstetric fistula, scholarships for girls pursuing technical education and women’s agricultural empowerment.

Responding to concerns that gender equality initiatives focused disproportionately on women, Ms Oulaté Fattoh said the emphasis reflected persistent inequalities that continued to disadvantage women across West Africa.

“We are not doing well on the status of women in our region and we need to acknowledge that. We must first take deliberate steps to close those gaps before we can address other concerns,” she said.

She explained that while some ECOWAS initiatives already included boys and men, targeted interventions remained necessary to improve women’s participation in education, employment and leadership, particularly in technical and decision-making fields.

The Acting Secretary-General of the ECOWAS Commission, Muazu Umaru, said the meeting would review progress made under the Gender Equality Seal framework and agree on practical measures to support its full operationalisation across the Commission.

The GES-PI is anchored on five pillars: planning and management for gender equality, gender equality capacity, an enabling workplace environment, participation and accountability, and policy results and impact.