bridge the gap? to be clear, women have no inherent limitations. let us also be clear that what is needed in most cases is not singling women out for special favour. what is needed is a concerted effort by women and men alike, businesses, schools, governments, and everyone to identify formal and informal constraints that sometimes work against women in their quest to reach their full potential. sometimes sub - conscious cultural and social norms and stereotypes are the culprit. sometimes women themselves have to make choices that put the interests of others ahead of theirs. the proverbial “ a woman can ’ t have it all ” means that sometimes women must choose to put their own economic and social advancement on hold while they care for children, husbands, or aging relatives. nothing wrong with these choices. research however shows that women are sometimes more able to participate fully in business and formal work while playing these other roles well, given the right support structures such as good and affordable child care, good healthcare for the family, reliable transportation, and access to finance. it is these types of constraints that need to be addressed to help make our socio - economic development agenda allinclusive. the contributions of both the private and the public sector are required to promote opportunities for women to participate fully in the formal economy, in order to improve their earning potential, assist families to move out of poverty and contribute to the overall economy, while empowering those in the formal sector to move up the corporate ladder. designing equal - opportunities employment policies and laws, familyfriendly work - place policies and anti - discriminatory practices, and promoting increased technical and coaching support for women - owned small businesses will go a long way. ghana ’ s financial services industry is blessed with a fair representation of women. today is a good day to celebrate the contributions of the women who have contributed to the development of ghana ’ s financial sector whether in the securities, banking, insurance, and pensions industry. the financial industry has a key role to play in helping to remove formal barriers to women ’ s socio - economic development, chief among which is access to finance. we must ensure that women are able to access appropriate forms of finance in order to sustain and grow their businesses. the gse should encourage the listing of more female - owned and run businesses and promote diversity in the management and boards of listed companies, with a fair representation of women. we must encourage more women to take advantage of emerging technologies to run their businesses and to improve their access

lionel van lare dosoo : risk - based supervision keynote address by mr lionel van lare dosoo, deputy governor of bank of ghana, at the “ regional seminar on risk - based supervision ”, accra, 24 april 2006. * * * mr. chairman, distinguished resource persons, workshop participants, ladies and gentlemen, i am delighted to be asked to deliver the welcome address and open this very important workshop that is jointly organised by the bank of ghana and the office of the superintendent of financial institution ( osfi ), ottawa, canada. let me take this opportunity to extend to you and especially our foreign guests a warm welcome to ghana and to this important workshop. i am informed that apart from the resource persons who come from canada, we have assembled for this workshop participants from nigeria, the gambia, sierra leone and ghana. i therefore perceive this gathering as constituting a small international community with an opportunity for cultural exchanges in addition to the specialised knowledge and skills to be acquired. even though i recognise that this week - long workshop is quite loaded and tight, i will encourage you to find time outside this busy schedule to explore and sample all the wonderful delights accra has on offer. ladies and gentlemen, there could not have been a better time for this workshop than now given the strategic importance of financial stability to the overall performance of our economies. most of our economies ( in particular ghana ) at the moment are at the threshold where sustainable macroeconomic stability, of which financial stability is key, has become the imperative condition for the growth and development process. the international banking scene in general has in recent years witnessed strong trends towards globalization and consolidation of the financial system. stability of the financial system has become the central challenge to bank regulators and supervisors throughout the world. the multi - lateral initiatives leading to evolution of international standards and codes and evaluation of adherence thereto represent resolute attempts to address these challenges. these are major challenges to both developed and developing economies alike and developments over the recent past suggest that one cannot begin to imagine the cost of inaction. ladies and gentlemen, the growing diversities and complexities of banking business, the spate of product innovation with complex risk phenomena, the contagion effects that a crisis can spread given the linkages and interdependence of banks and the growing trend of businesses without borders, calls for a new approach to ensuring the financial health of our economies and that is what risk - based supervision is all about. the risk based supervision process in