The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) have called for greater participation of women in Ghana’s refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) sector, warning that the industry could lose significant economic opportunities by failing to tap into female talent.
The institutions said the growing demand for cooling services, driven by urbanisation, industrialisation and climate change, was creating new opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and investment that should be accessible to both men and women.
Dr Saeed Abdul-Razak, Head of Environment and Climate Cluster at the UNDP, said the RAC sector remained predominantly male, with women facing barriers to technical training, employment, business ownership and leadership.
He made the observation at a Stakeholder Validation Workshop on the Gender Equality Strategy for Ghana’s RAC sector in Accra.
“As a country committed to sustainable development and gender equality, we cannot afford to leave more than half of our talent pool behind in such an important industry,” he said.
Expanding Skills And Business Opportunities
Dr Abdul-Razak said increasing female participation in the RAC industry was not only a gender-equity issue but also an opportunity to expand Ghana’s skilled workforce and strengthen the sector’s capacity to meet rising demand.
He said the draft Gender Equality Strategy was therefore designed to create practical pathways for attracting more women into RAC training, supporting women-led enterprises and developing workplaces where both women and men could contribute to the industry.
The strategy, he said, would help create an enabling environment for women to build careers and businesses in areas such as refrigeration installation, air-conditioning services, maintenance, energy-efficient cooling technologies and related technical services.
Dr Abdul-Razak said UNDP, through its technical expertise, financial support and strategic partnerships, had continued to support Ghana’s efforts to develop a sustainable cooling industry.
Energy Efficiency And Industrial Growth
Mr Joseph Amankwa, Acting Director of the EPA, said Ghana had made considerable progress under its Institutional Strengthening, Hydrochlorofluorocarbon Phase-out Management Plan (HPMP) and Kigali Implementation Plan initiatives.
He said the transition towards energy-efficient cooling technologies, however, must be inclusive to ensure that the economic benefits of the emerging cooling industry were broadly shared.
“Bridging this gender gap is not only a matter of fairness; it is essential to national development, to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality, and to realising the full potential of our climate action ambitions under Goal 13,” he said.
Mr Amankwa said UNDP and the EPA, through the National Ozone Unit, had therefore engaged a consultant to undertake a comprehensive gender analysis and develop the draft Gender Equality Strategy.
He said the strategy was expected to guide efforts to mainstream gender considerations into Ghana’s sustainable cooling programmes while expanding access to skills and economic opportunities in the sector.
The strategy is built around five pillars: awareness creation, education, workplace reform, leadership and entrepreneurship, and institutional sustainability.
It is supported by a phased five-year implementation plan with measurable targets to track progress.
Parents, Industry Urged To Promote Technical Careers
Ms Jennifer Asuako, Programme Analyst for Gender and Human Rights at UNDP, said efforts to increase female participation in the sector must begin with awareness among parents and young people.
She said parents often played a major role in determining the courses and career paths pursued by their children and should therefore be made aware of the employment and business opportunities available in the RAC industry.
Mr Solomon Quaye, President of the National Refrigeration Workshop Owners Association of Ghana (NARWOA), encouraged young women to take advantage of training opportunities in the sector.
He said the Association was committed to supporting women who entered the industry and helping them develop sustainable careers and businesses.
The growing demand for cooling services presents opportunities for Ghana to develop a stronger local technical workforce, create new businesses and accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient technologies, while reducing dependence on external technical expertise.
