Participants at a roundtable discussion have called for policies that will promote women's businesses. They said most policies formulated did not consider them. They made the call during a roundtable discussion of women in the private sector organised by the Network for Women's Rights (NETRIGHT), Ghana, with support from the Open Society-Africa in Accra. It is aimed at exploring the impacts of the current debt restructuring on women-owned businesses and advocating gender-transformative social policies that address the challenges faced by women in the private sector. Ghana is currently going through economic hardship caused by the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising global food prices, rising crude oil, and energy prices, the Russia-Ukraine war, and internal structural economic challenges. The goal of the debt restructuring is to put Ghana on a sustainable development path. Ms Fatima Abigail Abdulai, the Executive Director of the Widows and Orphans Movement (WOM), said although w omen-led businesses were feeding the country, they were not prioritised. 'So, if we really want to support the businesses and make it work, we can change the policy. The policies are for human beings, it is not the other way around. So, if something is not serving us, we need to relook at it and then amend it,' she said. Ms Abdulai said high interest rates and conditions for loans and some incentives discouraged and hindered the growth of women-owned businesses. The Executive Director said in the northern parts of the country, some social norms prohibited women from owning lands, which were mostly a requirement in loan acquisition in banks. She attributed the failure of some informal businesses to a lack of information on many issues, including how to grow their businesses and access loans. Madam Maureen Erekua Odoi, Executive Vice-Chair of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), suggested that women be given a percentage of the projected revenue from taxes in the restructuring programme as support to develop their businesses. She said women must have a balance in life to succeed in business. Mrs Deborah Freeman, General Secretary of the Union of Informal Workers Association, (UNIWA), said the informal sector did not gain from interventions by the Government due to bureaucracy. She advised women in businesses to save and subscribe to pension schemes for the future. '… In this economy, if you don't do something to help yourself, you will be found wanting, 'she added. Professor Akosua Darkwah, Convenor, NETRIGHT, said the Network was concerned about economic justice issues where women would not lose out in the current debt restructuring. She said women and girls endured most of the past debt restructuring programme such as girls having to drop out of school. Prof Darkwah acknowledged that the IMF Chief Mission to Ghana said his outfit would pay attention to vulnerabilities in the new structural adjustment programme. However, she said it was important for women in that sector to ascertain if their vulnerabilities had been considered. She said NETRIGHT with the support from the Open Society-Africa was implementing a two-year advocacy intervention on 'Empowering Women for Change: Advocating for Gender Transformative Special Policies' through Feminist Mobilising in Ghana. The project underscores the vital role of diverse constituencies in driving a sustainable shift towards gender-transformative social policies. It is, therefore, mobilising and empowering broad constituencies of women across the country to drive systemic change by demanding gender-transformative social policymaking. Source: Ghana News Agency