Jada Badu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Uber Ghana, has called for a major transformation in how female leadership is defined in the global technology industry.
Speaking at the just-ended Females in Tech (FEMITECH), Jada Badu stated that breaking the “11% glass ceiling” of female tech CEOs will require more than ambition.
She urged women to rethink leadership not as a title or corporate rank, but as a combination of courage, competence, and clarity.
She recounted that her early experiences helped shape her approach to leadership long before she entered the tech space.
From Sunday school to library representative, she developed the ability to persuade and empathies, skills she now believes are more important than hard power in the modern corporate landscape.
Badu also highlighted the severe gender imbalance within the technology sector.
“Despite women representing nearly half of the global population, leadership within major firms remains overwhelmingly male-dominated,” she stated.
She noted that none of the industry’s ‘Big Five’, which are Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google, have ever been led by a female CEO.
According to her, this demonstrates the need to actively challenge societal norms and encourage women to pursue opportunities in traditionally male-dominated fields.
Within Uber, she said the company is working to expand opportunities for women across both corporate roles and platform-based work.
Her final message to young professionals at FEMITECH was a call to action: excellence is the ultimate equalizer.
“I didn’t wait to be chosen. I went off and did my own thing. Wherever you are, stand out. And you do that by excellence in everything you do. That is the only way to be recognised, irrespective of who you are,” she disclosed.
She encouraged women to embrace courage, challenge traditional expectations, and leverage the resources at their disposal to make meaningful contributions wherever they are.
The event brought together several distinguished speakers, including: Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann, Associate Professor and Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Ghana; Ing. Dr. Lucy Agyepong, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Academic City University College; Mrs. Etta Mosore, Deputy Director General, Managerial Operations – National Communications Authority (NCA); Ms. Margaret Ansei, CEO, Ghana Enterprise Agency and Winifred Kotin, Eagle Innovations
This year’s FEMITECH Conference, marking its fourth edition, was simultaneously held in Bolgatanga, Upper West Region; Nkwanta South, Oti Region, and Sunyani, Bono Region.