Dorcas Coker-Appiah is a lawyer by profession. She started her professional career at the Attorney-Generals Department as a state Attorney. She left to join then State Hotels Corporation as the Solicitor Secretary.

As an active member of FIDA Ghana, she served as President from 1992 to 1994. As a legal aid volunteer, she managed to receive the first funding to start FIDA’s simplification of some family laws. Dorcas also participated in the first conference of WiLDAF in Harare, which inspired her to actively engage in setting up WiLDAF Ghana.

Dorcas was the first coordinator of WiLDAF Ghana, developing the Legal Awareness programme in Western and Volta Regions. As one of the 4 founding members of the Gender Centre, Dorcas has been the driving force behind the organisation, serving as the Executive Director to date.

Dorcas’ activism expands beyond the national level. She served two terms on the CEDAW Committee. She is also one of the founders of an international network to end violence against women and girls, INEVAWG. The network was formed by a group of black women and women of colour from and of the global south. Dorcas has a number of publications to her credit.