Magnificently positioned on the wall in the lobby of the office of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in Ridge is a plaque displaying the past presidents and national secretaries of the GBA dating back to 1957. One conspicuous observation is the absence of a single woman among the listed presidents and national secretaries for the previous 33 leadership terms.
This majestic display of leadership invokes a disturbing question– “are there no women at the Ghana Bar”? Measured against the current data of the number of lawyers called to the bar from 1958 to 2023, women currently make up 42%[1] of all registered lawyers. In the past decade, the number of women graduating from the Ghana School of Law has increased exponentially. Yet, these numbers do not translate into women’s representation in the GBA’s leadership.
Figure 1: Gender disaggregated data of registered lawyers in Ghana
Source: GBA August, 2024
In a 2021 publication on Break the Glass Ceiling! Why Women Deserve a Seat at the Presidency of the Ghana Bar Association, I made a case for changing the picture of leadership at the Ghana Bar. With the forthcoming elections in September, will it be business as usual, or will women be entrusted with leading the Bar Association?
WOMEN IN THE PROFESSION
A brief historical mapping of women’s entry and rise in the Ghanaian legal scene indicates that women have distinguished themselves as professionals and leaders.
Essi Matilda Forster was called to the English Bar at Gray’s Inn in 1945 and subsequently to the Ghana Bar in 1947, making her the first Ghanaian woman lawyer. This significant achievement came 58 years after the first man, Mensah Sarbah, was called to the English Bar in 1887.
Following Essi Matilda Forster’s trailblazing achievement, Annie Ruth Jiagge was called to the Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inn in 1950 and appointed the first woman magistrate in Ghana in 1954. She was elevated to the High Court in 1961 and promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1969. Annie Jiagge later served as the President of the Court of Appeals from 1980 to 1983.
In 1972, Akua Kuenyehia joined the pioneer women as the first law lecturer at the University of Ghana Faculty of Law, Legon. Beyond these three trailblazers at the bar, bench and the legal academy, several women have set records as pioneers in different sectors of the legal and judicial professions.
Table 1: First women in law
In September 2024, members of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) will meet in the beautiful city of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region for the Annual Conference. The election of the GBA's next executive officers will be part of the annual meeting agenda. The slate includes candidates for the positions of President, Vice President, National Secretary, Treasurer and Public Relations Officer. This election, like previous ones, presents the GBA with an opportunity to make history by electing its first female president and second female vice president. It is an opportunity for the GBA to continue the historical record of women’s leadership while showcasing that the profession is an inclusive and equitable profession, with equal opportunities for all members, irrespective of their gender.
WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?
In recent years, many women have been called to the Ghana Bar. Women have also received the most awards, including the Mensah Sarbah Award, for the overall best-performing law graduating student. In several top law firms in Ghana, women make up most of the associates, and three of the top law firms are currently managed by women.
Table 2: Women managing partners in selected top law firms
Source: Law firm data collected from firm websites
Women are leading in some of the commercial and private sectors, such as the oil company Tullow Ghana, the communications company MTN, and the public sector—the Bank of Ghana. Women are running the largest public legal sector—the Ministry of Justice, where women make up 237 (80%) of the 297 State Attorneys. [2]
Despite these statistics, women have been woefully underrepresented in the largest body representing the legal profession—the GBA. Why is the increasing number of women at the bar not translating into leadership and decision-making at the bar?
I offer three plausible explanations– masculinization, politicization and qualification.
Masculinization of the profession
Source: Ghana Bar Association:https://ghanabar.org/about-us/
The legal profession has traditionally been viewed as a man’s profession. Whether in the common law, civil law, or hybrid systems, women had to fight to join the profession, be accepted as equals and rise to top positions. The phrase “gentlemen at the bar” epitomizes this traditional masculinist thinking. However, over time, with the gradual feminization of the profession, women have increased numerically, but the work practices, norms and expectations have been slow to change. The historical masculinization and current slow-changing trends have converged to create a profession that is still largely founded on a masculine ethos of work ethic, expectations and outcomes.
Politicization of the bar presidency
The presidency of bar associations has become an increasingly politicized position. The traditional expectation that the bar leadership would advocate for members of the bar and society has gradually given way to the bar's involvement in politics. In the past, the bar president was considered an active voice and a check against political interference in the justice sector and the protection of citizen rights. While the president of the Ghana Bar has recently cautioned against the politicization of the judiciary, the past advocacy and watchdog role of the Bar Association has waned, leading some pundits to argue that the bar is no longer a check on government excesses. This gradual shift of the bar presidency into politics has a correlational effect – increased masculinization and expectation that the bar presidency will be occupied by men– the dominant group in Ghanaian politics.
Qualification as a masculine standard
The struggle for women’s leadership in the bar is a global phenomenon; however, this is gradually changing in some jurisdictions. In Ghana, the convergence of masculinization and politicization of the bar has led to the expectation and socialization that “qualified” candidates for the bar presidency must be male. During the past cycles of bar elections in Ghana, voters have claimed to vote for the “most qualified candidate and not because of gender.” This disturbing assumption that “qualified candidates” are often not women is parodied not only among male lawyers but also among female lawyers. The presumption that the “most qualified candidate” is male must be challenged through a consciousness re-evaluation and resocialization that women are equally (and maybe more) qualified to lead.
THE WOMEN RUNNING
This year, two women candidates are running for the national president and vice president positions at the national bar, and one is contesting for the presidency at the Accra bar. The three candidates bring over 80 years of experience at the bar.
Efua Ghartey, the founding partner at Ghartey & Ghartey, was called to the bar in 1991. She specializes in corporate, commercial, intellectual property and alternative dispute resolution. Before contesting for the current position, she served on the National Executive Council of the GBA for ten years and as President of the Greater Accra Regional (GAR) Bar for six years. As president, she introduced several innovations, including a welcome orientation for new members, free and regular CLE sessions, and successfully hosted the first bar conference in the Greater Accra Region in 20 years. In August 2024, she was appointed to the governing board of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Center in Ghana.
Victoria Barth is the managing partner at Sam Okudzeto & Associates, one of the top law firms in Ghana, founded by the veteran lawyer Sam Okudzeto. The firm has been in the legal field for over 50 years, and its numerous achievements include producing a Supreme Court Judge, Justice Nene Amegatcher and the Deputy Attorney General, Honorable Diana Asonaba Daapah. Victoria Barth has distinguished herself as a litigator with a growing practice in alternative dispute resolution. Her expertise has been recognized globally, as shown by her election as a member of the ICC Court of Arbitration and her ranking in the Chambers Global Ranking in 2024 and 2023. She has served on several GBA Committees.
At the regional level, Isabel Boaten is contesting for the presidency of the Greater Accra Regional Bar. Isabel brings over 25 years of legal experience in corporate & commercial practice and consulting on legislative reform in Ghana and across Africa. She is the managing partner at AB & David, one of the largest law firms in Ghana, with offices in Mauritius, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and an affiliate office in Kenya. Under her leadership, AB & David became the first law firm in Africa to secure the Law Society of England and Wales Lexcel management standard. She is ranked by Chambers Global and IFLR1000. In 2023, she received the Robert Legh Award for Leadership Excellence.
TIME FOR CHANGE AND A CALL TO ACTION
The women candidates contesting for the top positions this year bring stellar leadership skills to the bar. They have distinguished themselves in other leadership positions, including serving as President of the Accra Bar (Efua Ghartey), Vice President of the Accra Bar (Isabel Boaten) and several GBA Committees (Victoria Barth). These candidates have combined their stellar professional profiles with their caregiving obligations as mothers, daughters, aunts and active members of their social and religious communities. They are not only women, they are leaders.
Leadership should not be gendered. Women have the skills, talent and experience to lead at all levels of society.
The masculinization and politicization of bar elections should give way to a gender-neutral qualification assessment that does not privilege the male over female or masculine over feminine.
Women are not running as candidates because they are women. They are running as candidates because they are qualified to do the job and committed to service.
Is the Ghana Bar Association ready to give women the equal opportunity to lead? How will your vote measure up against the needs of a rapidly feminizing legal profession? Can Ghana join the ranks of Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Cape Verde and several other countries that have elected women bar leaders?
Your vote matters in changing the picture of leadership at the Ghana Bar. It is time to show that women are numerically strong at the bar and professionally qualified to lead.
It is time for lawyers in Ghana to demonstrate their support for equality and the equitable representation of women in leadership. The descriptive representation of women at the bar must translate into their symbolic representation in leadership.
Achieving equitable and inclusive policies at the bar requires leaders who are sensitive and aware of the intersectional gaps at the bar and committed to fostering new visionary leadership for the profession. Ghana’s commitment to achieving UN SDG 5 and 16 and AU Agenda 2063 Goal 17 must begin with transforming the face of leadership. It is time for a change. It is time to show that there are indeed women at the Ghana Bar!
1. Gender composition of the bar, total registered lawyers- 7664, female (3265) and male (4399). Data collected from the Ghana Bar Association, on Aug 11, 2024.
2. Data collected from the Office of the Attorney General, August, 2024.
Comments