The Ghana Diaspora Women (GDW), a nonprofit organisation headquartered in the UK has said it is committed to reaching as many women and girls in Ghana and the diaspora “to shift the paradigm and increase female presence in policymaking.”

Founded in June 2019, GDW was officially launched in London on Saturday, 26 October 2019 and is a registered not-for-profit organisation with five other chapters around the world including Italy, USA, Hungary, Ghana, and Canada.

Speaking at the launch, the founder of GDW, Marie Amoakwa-Boadu, indicated that its commitment as an orgainisation is to “reach as many women and girls as we can, both at home and abroad, to shift the paradigm and increase female presence in policymaking. We seek to achieve this through amplifying the voices of women as agents of change so that we can keep the conversation alive and ongoing.”

Mrs Amoakwa-Boadu also revealed that: “In order to be more effective and efficient, GDW has structured the organisation on a three-thronged approach, where the main focus areas will be to provide women and girls, who come in to serve Ghana the opportunity to function effectively based on their areas of preference.

“We have the Voice Up Platform for women who are particularly interested in policy and decision-making, activism and to keep the ongoing conversation on gender equity and equality going strong.”

She also emphasised the organisation’s corporate social responsibility activities which include the elimination of schools under trees.

“We are committed to petitioning to eliminate schools under trees; however, we want to be a part of the process to solving the problems. As such, we have embarked on a journey to do so. Our aim is to build decent structures for the children to learn, as well as the educators amongst us can contribute through their expertise effectively to make a tangible impact in the lives of the children and adults who support them.”

Present at the launch of GDW was Ghanaian broadcaster Gifty Anti, who was also the keynote speaker; Ghana’s Deputy High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland, Rita Tani Iddi; award-winning British Ghanaian entrepreneur, TV presenter and actress, Dentaa Amoateng MBE among other personalities.