The National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), under the Partnership for Municipal Innovation - Women in Local Leadership Programme (PMI-WILL) Programme supported by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), has launched a three-months coaching and mentorship programme aimed at empowering young female leaders at the tertiary level.  

The launch was held on 30th June 2026 in Accra, with participation by selected mentors, mentees and key stakeholders.

Bridging the leadership gap 

Although women constitute about 52% of Ghana’s population, they occupy fewer than 10% of seats in local assemblies - a disparity that continues to weaken inclusive political leadership representation nationwide.

While Ghana has made commendable progress in decentralisation, significant gaps remain in ensuring inclusion - particularly of women and youth in local governance, leaving their perspectives and priorities underrepresented in grassroots decision-making. Following the 2023 local government elections, for example, only 4.1% of elected assembly members were women.

Also, only 0.9% of women were appointed as assembly members by the central government to complement the work of the elected representatives. Notably, this figure was achieved through rigorous lobbying and advocacy spearheaded by NALAG and its stakeholders. Their efforts successfully reversed a 16-year constant decline in the number of both elected and appointed assembly women, securing a 1.3% increase in the total number of elected women.  

In 2024, Ghana’s Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act was passed to systematically address these imbalances. This law promotes women’s participation across all areas of society - including politics, the economy, education, and social life, while simultaneously addressing gender inequality. The following target gender equity percentages were established in the Act:   

All institutions and organisations, including the private sector, are mandated to adhere to these targets.  

In this context, this programme’s main purpose is to bring together emerging women leaders and experienced practitioners through structured engagements, knowledge transfer, professional guidance and sustained leadership development, to boost the interest of the young women leaders in local governance, with the expectation of contributing to increasing the representation of women at the local government level in the future. The programme also seeks to strengthen the confidence of the mentees, expand their networks, and prepare them for greater roles in governance and community development. 

Participants involved in this initiative include:  

• The mentees who are already serving in leadership roles, such as the Students Representative Council (SRC) presidents and political parties representatives at the tertiary institutions level across Ghana  

• The mentors who are selected seasoned Assembly Members and women empowerment professionals. 

Mentors and mentees of the programme. Photo credit: © Joyce Ekuful / CLGF, 2026
 

Investing in future leader 

The programme was officially launched by Dr. Rose Kutin, Director of ABANTU for Development - a civil society organisation focused on women development. Dr Kutin emphasised the importance of investing in young women and building their capacity for effective leadership.  

The launch event also served as an initial training session, sensitising both mentors and mentees on their respective roles and responsibilities to ensure their sustainable, impactful relationship.   

Synergies with ongoing initiatives 

Present at the launch, Ms Joyce Ekuful, CLGF West and Central Africa Programme Manager, commended the initiative, indicating that it lays a solid foundation for the ongoing CLGF-NALAG poly-crises project to build on.

“Mentoring of young leaders is one of the activities that is going to be implemented under the CLGF-NALAG poly-crises project, and so this PMI-WILL programme launch is going to help NALAG cover more young women leaders for much longer period of time”, she said.