Savana Signatures

Menu

Women’s Innovation for Sustainable Enterprises (WISE) Project

Year of Implementation: 2023

Background

In Ghana, unpaid care work remains a significant burden disproportionately carried by women, particularly in rural communities. This unequal distribution of domestic responsibilities limits women’s economic opportunities, reduces their participation in household and community decision-making, and contributes to emotional exhaustion and persistent poverty. Recognizing this systemic challenge, Savana Signatures with support from Plan International Ghana and Global Affairs Canada, implemented the WISE project in 2023 targeting 15 rural communities in the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region. The program aimed to address gender inequalities by promoting awareness and equitable sharing of unpaid care work among all family members.

Strategy​

The program implemented three core strategies:

  1. Economic Empowerment
    • Placed 500 adolescent girls in non-traditional vocational apprenticeships (welding, electrical work, masonry, painting, auto mechanics, tiling, etc.)
      Provided specialized toolkits to all apprentices
      Secured internships for 80 high-performing participants with public/private sector partners
      Arranged mentorship sessions with female master craftspersons
  2. Community Transformation
    • Engaged traditional leaders (chiefs, queen mothers) as gender equality champions
    • Conducted weekly life skills sessions reaching 2,000 girls
    • Organized community dialogues using sports/music/radio reaching 42,000 residents
    • Established reporting mechanisms through the SHE+ Helpline
  3. Institution Strengthening
    • Trained 32 teachers and community volunteers as program monitors
    • Developed sustainability plans with Social Welfare departments
    • Created apprenticeship tracking systems
    • Built partnerships with vocational training institutionsÏ

Key Highlights

  • Directly engaged 1,495 individuals across 15 rural communities
  • Successfully highlighted the economic and social consequences of unequal care work distribution
  • Initiated important conversations about redistributing domestic responsibilities
  • Advanced the narrative of shared responsibility between men and women, boys and girls
  • Laid groundwork for improving women’s economic participation by reducing care burdens

The initiative marks an important step in addressing systemic gender inequalities in rural Ghana, with potential for significant long-term impacts on women’s economic empowerment and community development.