Madam Perfect Ayatey, a Gender Champion and a Tutor at the St. Francis College of Education (FRANCO), Hohoe, says empowering women to attain higher heights and break all barriers meant that the entire humanity was being empowered. She said women at all levels and in all spheres of their lives irrespective of their occupation must be included in processes that aimed at empowering them. Madam Ayatey was speaking at the St Francis College of Education during the 2024 International Women's Day (IWD) on the theme: 'Inspire Inclusion.' Madam Ayatey said the IWD was not only to celebrate women but also to identify the significant roles women played in their various societies. She said the voices of women must be heard and the IWD came in handy to showcase the importance of women in society. Madam Ayatey said it was realised that there continued to be a gap between males and females in some aspects of life such as the political and economic. She said some reports had shown that it could take more than a century to ensure gender parity, hence, the continuous celebration of the Day would help in getting to a level. Madam Ayatey noted that the celebration of IWD was in line with achieving the Goal Five of the Sustainable Development Goals adding that it could not be achieved alone if women do not get empowered. She said inspiring inclusion called on all to celebrate women with diverse backgrounds, ideologies, and occupations as well as break barriers that affected women. Dr Adwoa Kwegyiriba, Principal of St Francis College of Education, said the Day was to help women especially those of the FRANCO community to identify their problems and design solutions to help them overcome the problems. She urged the students to invest in themselves, strategise and remain focused on their goals to enable them to reach greater heights in life. The International Women's Day which is marked annually on March 8, is observed as a holiday in some countries including Armenia, Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, Georgia, Laos, Mongolia, Montenegr o, Russia, Uganda, Ukraine, and Vietnam. Source: Ghana News Agency