Women advised to project positive attitudes

04/28/08
Story: Salome Donkor
An American Attorney, Dr Yvette E. Taylor-Hachoose, has advised women to project positive attitudes in life and free themselves from negative thoughts that affect their progress.
She said globally women faced obstacles through wars and civil strives, while cultural practices such as female genital mutilation, betrothal of girls, widowhood rites, as well as abuse of women in the domestic setting tend to degrade and dehumanise women.
She however pointed out that “the role of women has diminished but the spirit has not” and advised women to take inspiration from people with positive attitudes to spur them on to attain success .
Dr Taylor-Hachoose, who is also the president of a U.S law firm, made the statement at a media round table dialogue in Accra. Her firm focuses on business formation, corporate transactions, business succession planning, estate planning and elder law including Wills, Trusts and Estate Administration and Guardianship, as well as protection.
She is currently in Ghana on a two week visit to conduct a series of dialogues on the status of women as business owners, and to hold discussions with female lawyers, business leaders, academics, journalists and university students about laws and business practices that promote the success of women. The visit has taken her to Kumasi and Cape Coast.
She said she undertook the trip to coincide with the celebration of International Women’s Day, which was marked globally on March 8, and pointed out that her visit which was aimed at sharing experience with women entrepreneurs had offered her tremendous leaning experience.
Touching on the theme for the celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day, she said investing in women and girls was critical for the development of the world in general and Ghana in particular since it would have positive results on the development of the country’s economy.
She said in dealing with women entrepreneurs, there was the need to analyse the transfer of wealth and look at what to do with wealth when it was created , stressing that to achieve success as an entrepreneur, one needed a positive attitude, uphold integrity and make sure he or she balanced whatever she or he did.
Dr Taylor-Hachoose spoke about the benefits of estate planning, and said it was necessary to plan to save one’s estate and address family situations in areas where children needed support, adding that an entrepreneur was a teacher .
She also said parents needed to be empowered to plan their inheritance, and indicate who they will want to benefit from the asserts they had acquired, adding that that offered a solution to the problem of who took care of the children when parents were not there.
She also spoke about the need for more access to credit in the formal sector for women entrepreneurs at a reasonable interest rate and also creating public opportunities for women to obtain credit, which is a necessary prerequisite for the growth of any business.
According to her, it was important to publicise organisations that could offer assistance to women entrepreneurs to make them know the benefits available to enhance the growth of their businesses.
Dr Taylor-Hachoose also touched on the need to educate women on their legal rights; including ownership of property in their own name, forms of marriages and their consequences, requirements and inheritance.
She said in many parts of the world, including Ghana, inheritance is not in the name of women, and expressed the hope that Ghana’s Interstate Succession Law,(PNDC Law 111), and other related legal enactment will benefit women.
She touched on mentorship programmes for women entrepreneurs, as well as mentorship programmes for young girls to encourage them to be independent, and pointed out that dependence, whether on government or a human being, puts one at a disadvantaged position.
She spoke about education and training through the provision of technical assistance for women entrepreneurs, including market women and stressed the need for relevant programmes to reach out to women at the grassroots to empower them to make a difference.
She thanked the women of Ghana and said she was warmly welcomed in all the places visited.
Participants at the meeting urged the media, women human rights organisations, governmental organisation to take a front role to support the fight to uplift the status of women and pointed out that institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice should be strengthened and fortified to perform their respective roles effectively.
An Information Officer of the US Embassy, Mr Benjamin East, said the visit of Dr Taylor-Hachoose to the country was in line with the commitment of the US Embassy in Ghana to occasionally bring people to talk about relevant issues including those affecting women.