The National Council on Women and Development (NCWD) now known as the Department of Women under the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC) has been in existence since 1975. It was established by the Government of Ghana by the NRCD Decree 322 to serve as the official national machinery for promoting the advancement of women in Ghana.

The Department sought to enhance the participation of women in development and in the long-term work to eliminate inequality between the sexes, thereby raising the standard of living of women particularly on a broad national basis. With the repeal of the decree (NRCD 322) that set up NCWD by the Act 693, NCWD has become a decentralized department of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs.