Celebrating International Women’s Day:
A Conversation with Dr. Gloria Clarissa Dzeha
Every year on March 8, people around the world celebrate International Women’s Day, a day dedicated to recognizing the achievements of women. It is a day to reflect on the progress that has been made towards gender equality, but also to acknowledge that there is still much work to be done. “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” is the theme for this year.
In celebrating International Women’s Day, we had a conversation with Dr. Gloria Clarissa O. Dzeha, the Dean of Students and a Senior Lecturer in Finance.
Here is the summary of our conversation:
PR:
From where you sit at CU as Lecturer and Dean of Students of the University, how would you describe the role of women in the development of Ghana, especially in the tertiary/higher education space?
Dr. Dzeha:
The pivotal role of women in development cannot be overemphasized with respect to stability, progress, and the long-term development agenda of Ghana. Development goes beyond economic growth. It comprises welfare enhancement abilities, which include primarily access to affordable good health care, better education, and decent stable incomes.
Increasingly, as an active player in the higher education space, I am encouraged to see how more women are enrolling to educate themselves to enable them to make informed choices and decisions that will invariably affect their children, families, and society at large, positively.
Educating themselves as women leads to decent jobs and entrepreneurial activities with innovative ideas that grant them incomes that enable comfortable lifestyles, and enhanced welfare. Women get better appreciation of the value of education when they are educated themselves and therefore will hardly compromise on the education of their young children which is key to national development.
More women are engaging courageously and confidently in the sciences, pharmacy, nursing, medicine, and physician assistantship, which inure to the development of Ghana in so many ways. These women invariably become the mothers preserving child health care and nutrition as they play major role in dietary and meal planning of the family.
Again, women are delving passionately into the ‘hard core’ courses such as architecture, engineering, and computer sciences, which used to the preserve of men. Retrospectively, Women in the study of law was hard to envisage. Thankfully, the plumb is swinging toward an era of change. The value of more women reading law cannot be exaggerated, as having a diverse society with equal opportunity notwithstanding gender and race remain key to development.
Ghanaian women are truly pushing the boundaries of development, veering into disciplines and breaking all status quos that have existed. More women are setting up their private businesses and expanding economic activities in the formal sector space which leads to employment and increased livelihood of households in Ghana.
PR:
What are your thoughts of the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day: “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”?
Dr. Dzeha:
Right from infancy, male children have the opportunity of being tech savvy through socialization. How so? The type of toys and other sophisticated play items made available to them such as dummy phones, cameras, and computers etc which in the opinion of parents are masculine. Auspiciously the quest for gender equality is inexorably getting even more vigorous with time.
This year’s IWD theme ‘DigitAll’, therefore, presents every opportunity as the levelling point. Inherent in the theme is the goal to empower young women to enter the digital space, economically to be self-sufficient and ignite and sustain their participation in the economy. That is key.
Because technology and digitalization is the way forward for our world. And you guessed right. Women cannot be left behind on this train of modern transformation. By technology great incentives and opportunity are offered for the socio-economic and political advancement of our nation.
Digital technology brings about cost-effectiveness and makes it easier for women to part take in the economic agenda. Here are some specific examples. Women with all their busy schedules can educate themselves and acquire skills virtually (online) from the comfort of their homes.
With more digital payment options available today, there is huge boost in the trading of goods and services. Not to mention digital savings, credit, insurance, and investment opportunities, all leveraging widely available technological platforms. And that step by itself promotes financial inclusion and supports the view that the digital revolution had the power to reduce inequalities across the world.
Again, digital technology has been the levelling field for both the male and the female students in Central University. With the introduction of digital technology, students have access to study materials online. To a very large extend, these digital learning platforms make it easy for student research payment of university fees. And yes technology eliminates boredom; students watch films and games on their phones, laptops and tablets.
PR:
Given the opportunity to speak to a group of young girls aged between ten to fifteen years, what three nuggets or life experiences would like to share with them, and why?
Dr. Dzeha:
I would rather put the question this way. That if I were to speak to my young self, what would I tell her? That everyone –young or old- could learn from my experience:
Growing up as a teenager is exciting because your body goes through changes. It’s normal to feel attracted to boys, but remember that it’s not okay to have sex at this age. Instead, focus on doing well in school and becoming the best version of yourself. That point is key – becoming the best version of yourself. Because it sets the foundation for other matters of life to follow.
Secondly, it is important to have good communication and relationships with your parents or other trusted adults. Charting with adults saves the youth from some avoidable mistakes. Being interested in your schoolwork and taking care of your appearance and hygiene is very important. How you look and smell, especially as a young lady is very imperative. Again I will recommend that, children must learn about money and inculcate the habit of savings and investment very early in life so they don’t become wasteful in their teenage and early adult life.
Last but not least, have faith in God and have good values and character. When all fails, it will take your faith in the Almighty to keep going strong. They that wait upon the Lord, the Scripture says, shall renew their strength. Life can be exhausting and tiring. In those moments, you need the supernatural. It is for that reason that at Central University, we uphold faith as one of our three values.