Employers urged to adhere to Gender Act

Church and Society, a development wing of Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Nkhoma Synod, has urged human resource managers in the civil service and other sectors to respect Section 11 of the Gender Equality Act (GEA) in recruitment.

The section says an appointing or recruiting authority in public service shall appoint no less than 40 percent and no more than 60 percent of either sex in any development in the public service.

Speaking yesterday in Lilongwe during    a meeting for appointing committees  and people working in human resources departments, Nkhoma Synod’s advocacy officer Dr Phoebe Chifungo said recruitment processes should be gender-sensitive so that the country achieves gender equality in all decision-making positions.

She said: “It is unfortunate that in the civil service more men are recruited and appointed than women.  In many departments, out of every six men there is only one woman.

“Others think women are not educated enough to take leadership positions. But that is not true. Women are equally qualified to be recruited and appointed in top positions. Therefore, it is our call to all recruiting and appointing authorities to adhere to Section 11 of GEA.”

NGO-Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN) chairperson Emma Kaliya agreed with Chifungo, saying the GEA has been around since 2013 but many sectors are not adhering to it.

“Gender is a human rights issue; hence let us respect it to ensure that both men and women enjoy this right by getting decision-making positions. We should ensure that there is gender parity in all sectors,” she said.

Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) principal gender and women’s rights officer Grace Mtawali said plans are underway to conduct a research on the actual percentage of women and men in civil service.

The meeting was funded by Tilitonse Fund.n