CHAPTER 5 the early independence era and to the creation of the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD) in 1972. A recent development has been the creation of the Cabinet-level Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in 2001. Ghana has also adopted or ratified several international conventions and human rights instruments designed to improve women's welfare and to promote gender equality. The international law obligations deriving from these conventions and instruments have been reflected, by and large, in domestic legislation and policies. 71. Despite policies put in place by the government and NGOs to make gender mainstreaming a reality, implementation has been disappointing. As the CSAR report makes clear, “in many respects, Ghanaian women have made important strides in the public service … But, in other ways, the position of women has not changed much. The bulk of women employees have remained at the lower end of appointments, specifically in clerical jobs” (page 140, paragraph 361). 72. The CSAR cites elements of a strategy being put in place to enhance progress in this area. These include: ? ? ? ? ? Strengthening the institutional framework; Motivating greater political will to act on gender issues; Establishing clear benchmarks so that the government can be held accountable; Strengthening women's skill in advocacy and representation of their constituencies; and Addressing the cultural constraints that make it difficult to eradicate gender inequities. ii. Findings of the CRM 73. The authorities were eager to stress that there is no lack of political will to address the issues of gender resolutely. Yet, they do not dispute that cultural biases may be hampering women's progress in this regard. They agree that, as the majority of women work in the informal sector as small farmers, food processors and traders, the cultural biases against women, which appear to be stronger in the informal sector, are aggravated by the greater concentration of women than men in this sector. 74. Many stakeholders called for specific programmes to enhance women's access to resources and services. Among the challenges facing women in the economy are: 134