Senior women leaders across Ghana came together for an evening of film and frank conversation in Accra earlier this month, as the International Women’s Forum (IWF) Accra chapter marked International Women’s Day with a deliberate departure from formal ceremony.
The event, held at Diamond in the City in Accra, centred on a screening of the film “When Women Speak,” followed by open discussions on mentorship, solidarity and the shared responsibilities of accomplished women toward the next generation. The forum’s organising committee described the gathering as intentionally casual, designed to allow members to speak freely and celebrate their achievements without the structure of a formal conference.
Opening the evening, IWF Accra President and Business and Financial Times (B&FT) Board Chair Dr. Edith Danquah said the format reflected the forum’s core identity. She explained that IWF operates on three pillars: leadership, global networking and mutual support among accomplished women, and that this year’s internal theme of “Give to Gain” aligned those principles with the act of passing lived experience to younger professionals entering leadership.
Human rights lawyer and former Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection Nana Oye Bampoe Addo addressed attendees with a call for women to remain each other’s keepers, framing resilience not as a solo endeavour but as something sustained through community. The Deputy Chief of Staff at the Office of the President echoed that message, drawing on her personal experiences to argue that a dependable support network can carry any individual through adversity.
The global commemoration of International Women’s Day 2026, marked on March 8, carried the United Nations theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For All Women and Girls,” with gender equality advocates warning that at the current pace, full parity remains more than a century away. The IWF Accra event sat within that broader moment, choosing to channel it inward through personal storytelling and professional solidarity rather than public advocacy.
The forum, which describes itself as an invitation-only organisation of preeminent women leaders, used the evening to strengthen ties among its membership while setting a tone of accountability and generosity for the year ahead.
