Former Deputy Minister of Transport Joyce Bawah Mogtari has called on young women to work on building their capacities in order to bridge the gender gap in society.

She was speaking at the 4th Obaasima Summit held at the University of Ghana, Legon.

According to Ms Mogtari, men are dominating most spheres of the economy because many women prefer to be in their comfort zones.

She said: “I also have no doubt that the challenge has been that sometimes, we [women] have not been forthcoming to step into the doors that have been open for us, largely because of misogyny, also sometimes because women probably are not as bold as our menfolk.”

The former deputy minister who is also a Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, bemoaned the phenomenon of teenage pregnancies as another canker hindering the progress of women.

“One of the main things that have always saddened me, is our issues with teenage pregnancy. I think in the course of the pandemic, this has actually become an epidemic. Large numbers of girls such as you will never make it to places such as this. They will never walk the halls of these universities because they have had to cut their education short because of early pregnancy.

"It will call for an intense education of young women, as well as reaching out to women leaders to ask how they have done it,” Ms Mogtari said.

She added that: “We must build capacity, which is why talking about this theme is particularly insightful. We must build on good attitudes. We also need to persevere just as the men do, we should create women who are empowered in various working places. We should also try to be adaptable because that’s another challenge for women”.

She urged the participants to avoid asking for counsel from people that will not inure to their development but instead seek counsel from those that will strengthen and position them for leadership roles in society.