The ECOWAS Resident Representative to Ghana, Ambassador Mohammed Lawan Gana, has described the ECOWAS Gender Equality Seal as a strategic instrument for strengthening institutions and promoting inclusive governance across the West African sub-region.

The Seal is a voluntary certification program that recognizes public sector bodies for integrating gender equality into their policies, practices, and organizational cultures

Ambassador Gana was speaking at the opening of the ECOWAS Commission’s technical meeting of the Gender Equality Seal Programme Implementation (GES-PI) Committee in Accra on Monday, August 3.

The three-day meeting, which ends on Wednesday, August 5, has brought together representatives of ECOWAS directorates, departments and specialised institutions to review and validate evidence for the Commission’s self-assessment process and finalise an action plan towards attaining the Gold Level of the Gender Equality Seal certification.

“Today’s technical working session on ECOWAS Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions is therefore timely to review and validate the self-assessment process to ensure the process remains credible, transparent, and evidence-based,” Ambassador Gana said.

He explained that participants’ technical expertise would help ensure that the findings accurately reflect institutional performance while identifying areas requiring improvement to advance gender equality and strengthen accountability within ECOWAS institutions.

The meeting forms part of an ongoing initiative being implemented by the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

It seeks to strengthen gender equality within the ECOWAS Commission by assessing areas including recruitment, staff representation, leadership responsibilities and institutional policies before serving as a model for member states.

Ambassador Gana stressed that the initiative goes beyond measuring performance and is intended to drive institutional reforms that promote equal opportunities and inclusive workplaces.

“The ECOWAS Gender Equality Seal is more than an assessment tool. It is a strategic mechanism for promoting institutional excellence by integrating gender equality into policies, programmes, governance systems, human resource management, service delivery, and organisational culture,” he stated.

According to him, the meeting is expected to help ECOWAS strengthen its internal systems and reinforce its commitment to implementing regional and international frameworks on gender equality and women’s empowerment, including the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.