Fight against unemployment-Ghana: In men dominated sector, Iddrisu Kande, a woman running Marouf Aluminum Fabrications

The West African nation Ghana, where women are still counted minority in the construction sector. Despite all the odds, Iddrisu Kande opted to venture into aluminium fabrication and her firm Marouf Aluminum Fabrications, participates in the fight against unemployment.

In Ashaiman, a large town in the Greater Accra region of South Ghana, Iddrisu Kande, a craftswoman and entrepreneur, has carved out a place for herself in construction, a sector generally dominated by men. Iddrisu’s company Marouf Aluminum Fabrications (MAF) designs and develops custom made aluminium frames for sliding doors and windows, slatted windows, balustrades, projection windows, partitions and hinged doors among others.

Iddrisu, who used to play soccer and after countering an injury during a match, her brother convinced her to drive to another vocation and supported hers to get into aluminium craftsmanship. It approaches local manufacturers for training but has to face their refusals or hesitations.

Iddrisu explained to the Commission for Technical and Vocational Educational and Training (TVET Ghana): “The apprentices told me that they were not convinced that their employer was going to accept me, that they had never seen a woman in this trade.”

According to a study conducted by the local media Align Platform in 2020, in Ghana, women are making great efforts to integrate into local trades. As in many other countries, they are under-represented in the construction sector. Only about 3% of workers in this sector are women and the reasons delivered are stereotypes, perceptions and societal norms that want women to turn to less difficult jobs.

The construction material industry is nevertheless an important provider of jobs and the increasing demand for skilled items for construction work gives women a chance to access meaningful positions, but in a patriarchal society, they have yet to demonstrate that they can take on such a career.

Iddrisu Kande admitted having had a lot of difficulties making her way through aluminium joinery.

“When my colleagues made mistakes and I wanted to correct them, they would ask me to go away, thinking that I wanted to prove that I knew the job better than them, and that pissed them off. Later I started my own business and it is flourishing” she added.

Presently, Iddrisu Kande is self-employed and employs 3 men. She also trains others in this profession, thus contributing on a small scale to job creation in her country.