Wednesday was International Women’s day and it was amazing to see the support of women all over the world coming together in celebration of the day.

It was an honour for me to be invited to the University of Cape Coast as a Guest of Honour. As an alumna it brought back a lot of memories.

The theme for the year was ‘Be Bold for Change’. As I prepared my speech, a lot flooded my mind but more questions than answers. Are we really bold for change? My Headline for this blog post was going to be ‘Women Empowerment – Bold or Cowards?’ but I felt coward was too strong a word for a headline addressing people so I searched the internet for an acronym and discovered ‘pusillanimous’ which means showing a lack of courage or determination. Aside making a lot efforts in building our homes (including FBI ones), how much efforts and determination do we put in our careers? There is always that cliche line, “Men are putting us down”? How determined and far up the ladder have we gone? How much have we done to earn their respect? I take examples of women who are topping the ladder in their career and they are all tough and determined women.

I was raised by a great dad, I have wonderful brothers and cousins…. One thing I have seen by being surrounded by men is their unfailing determination to be in the top cycle. It’s interesting how we have so much courage and inner strength yet find ourselves cowardly shifting from the top cycle because we have been marginalized against. We seek to be heard, respected and considered for leadership in all fields of life. It is clear that many women are getting leadership positions over the years… But What is the ratio?

Are we bold enough to take the wheels when we get the opportunities? Creating awareness of Gender equality is not enough when we do not have the courage to make it work. Education is also a tool we need in this vision. Gender parity must be unbiased in order to give women the qualification for various leadership positions.

What more is there to be said that has not been said already in the many women gatherings worldwide? The difference is action. Let’s act now. Let’s be bold for that change that will put women on top of the world where we are meant for. Boldness is critical in bringing about change, Through hard work and fair accessibility of opportunities to lead in the corporate world, entertainment, sports, government and every other.

It’s time to talk less and do more. Our voices must be brought to life with action.

God bless women. God bless the world.

(Below are pictures from the event including my favorite with the SHS students. Very brilliant girls. They asked the most intelligent questions.)