After days and week of political gamesmanship, the Foreign Minister in the Boris Johnson administration, Liz Truss, finally emerged as emerges as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
The contest which saw her defeat her closet rival and former finance minister in the erstwhile administration that they both served, Rishi Sunak, was bad tempered and divisive, a situation that almost tore the Conservative party apart.
Liz Truss becomes the third female prime minster, after Margaret Thatcher, who was nicknamed the Iron lady and Theresa May.
In looking at how she rose through the ranks, as a newspaper we have observed some factors that also apply to politics in this country, which have continued to divert attention unnecessarily from issues that are of importance to us.
The first should serve as a lesson to female politicians in Ghana who insist on waiting to have power dropped on their laps.
Truss did not wait for concession on the basis of her gender. Actually, that was not even at issue because the contest, while it lasted, was focused on matters that are critical to the welfare of the people as well as the place of the country in world politics. The gender of who was engaging in the debate was inconsequential.
She achieved this feat, through conscious and deliberate effort, coupled with an impeccable record in public service. She did not wait for approval from anyone, before stepping forward to serve her nation, at the highest level.
Ghanaian women, desirous of taking up front seat role, should emulate Liz Truss’s steadfastness; they deserve to be counted on the basis of merit.
According to a report by the BBC, Senegal, Senegal now has the highest proportion of female MPs in West Africa, following July’s elections. 73 out of 165 parliamentary seats are held by women.
Senegal ranks fourth in Africa and 18th in the world for gender parity in parliament, ahead of Switzerland, France, Britain and the US, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva.
According to a UN report, outside Senegal, only 15 of 111 elected or appointed parliamentary or ministerial positions were filled by women in West Africa and the Sahel between December and June.
Women in Ghana can also change the narrative, making the country one of the highest representation of women in leadership in Africa, if not the world.
