Female Civil Servants Celebrated In Pursuance of Empowerment Via Self-Help Initiative

Women of the Civil Servants Association (CSAL) of Liberia were applauded on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, for crafting programs in home economics intended to seek needed knowledge and skills for an alternative income generation source.

The Guest of Honor and Chief Launcher, Hon. James A. Thompson, Director General of the Civil Service Agency, (CSA), emphasized the importance of self-reliant programs for female civil servants in Liberia, highlighting that empowering women through home economics training is essential for the nation’s overall progress.

The Director-General celebrated the women’s wing of the CSAL, who, as a group, were able to come up with such a creative strategy to build their own capacity instead of depending on the government.

During his speech, the Director-General stated that “empowering our women with skills in basic home economics such as baking and pastries not only adds to their salaries but also contributes to the overall economic growth and development of our nation. Home economics is a fundamental field that will equip female civil servants with essential life skills, enabling them to manage their households efficiently and even pursue entrepreneurial opportunities.”

The Director-General also commended the collaborative efforts of the Civil Servant Association of Liberia and that of the Civil Service Agency, who together contributed to the establishment and successful launch of the women’s wing empowerment program. Hon. Thompson also encouraged participants, upon completing the program, to later collaborate with each other to form entrepreneurship that would compete against foreign businesses in the areas of pastries and baking.

The three-month training program will kick off on August 17, 2023, and will begin by training twenty (20) female trainers who will thereafter train interested participants in a diverse range of subjects, including baking, pastries, and the production of super gari, amongst other things. The participants, composing of women from various sectors of the civil service, expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to enhance their skills and contribute more effectively to their families and communities.

Giving an overview and objective of the program, Madam Beatrice W. Davies, Women Coordinator, CSAL, said the program aims to provide the required skills for self-empowerment that would enable female civil servants to have alternative sources of income during and after employment within the public sector.

As Liberia continues its journey towards gender equality and sustainable development, initiatives like the Civil Servant Association of Liberia Women Wing’s empowerment program serve as shining examples of how education and training can uplift individuals and contribute to the nation’s growth.

The launch was also graced by Mr. Moibah K. Johnson, President of the Civil Servants Association of Liberia, and Mrs. Aretha M. B. Divine, Deputy Director-General for Administration, Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC), amongst others, who respectively spoke and alluded to Hon. Thompson’s acclamation and thought of a promising step in empowering female civil servants to become self-reliant and an economically gender-balanced workforce within the civil service.

The Civil Service Agency is a central government agency with a legislative (May 1973) mandate and responsibility to supervise and advise the government on human resource management and the policy of the civil service or public sector, while the Civil Servants Association of Liberia is an umbrella association of all civil servants of Liberia.