Chief Executive Officer of Charterhouse Productions, Theresa Oparebea Ayoade, has stated that the imbalance often seen in nominations within Ghana’s music awards schemes reflects the broader realities of the creative industry.

According to her, the limited number of female nominees in certain categories is largely due to the wider challenges women face in the industry.

Speaking in an interview on Joy Prime on March 9, 2026, Theresa Ayoade explained that efforts are underway to address some of these gaps through a newly established foundation.

“I think the scheme is probably the reflection of what is really going on in the industry. If we have to fix this, we have to fix the challenges in the industry,” she said.

She disclosed that Charterhouse has set up the Charterhouse Africa Foundation to introduce initiatives aimed at supporting and strengthening Ghana’s creative industry.

“To address that, we have set up a foundation. We’ve called the Chaterhouse Africa foundation and in that foundation, we’ve come up with initiatives that address some of the gaps that we see in the creative industry,” she stated.

Theresa Ayoade noted that after over two decades of working across various sectors of the industry, the organisation has gained significant insight into the areas that require improvement.

We must think bigger and be more imaginative – Theresa Ayoade on Ghana’s entertainment industry

“Having been in the industry for 25 years, we’ve practically worked with all sectors and we’ve seen where the gaps are. The foundation was set up to come up with initiatives to partner with sounds and like-minded institutions to address some of these gaps,” she explained.

One of the key focus areas of the foundation, she revealed, is supporting women in the creative arts by creating opportunities that encourage their growth and visibility.

“One of them that we’ve addressed is women in the creative arts so we have come up with some initiatives that can bring them together more as a collective and see how we can be more deliberate and intentional about promoting them,” she shared.

She further highlighted some of the challenges female musicians face in the industry, including the demanding nature of music production and late working hours.

“It’s quite a hustle getting out your music, the kind of studios you have to go to and the late-night working hours and all of that. It’s not easy for women to break through in the industry. That helping hand is needed; we have taken notes of that and we will do something about it,” she said.

Theresa Ayoade also emphasised that awards schemes largely depend on submissions from artistes, which often leads to a noticeable gender imbalance.

“The awards scheme just reflects what happens in the industry. We can’t do much if we are not getting entries from female musicians as much as the males. It’s just a big imbalance,” she added.


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