Women's Leadership
This year, 18 of Africa’s 54 countries went to the polls for presidential or general elections, making 2024 a significant year on the continent. There were high hopes for renewed commitment to fair governance, transparency and equal representation. In particular there were hopes for women’s political participation, for more women to be elected to office to shape policies that address the needs of all citizens.
For more than a decade, we at the human rights organisation Make Every Woman Count (MEWC) have been tracking women’s political participation across Africa. Unfortunately, we did not see the progress we hoped for this year. In 2014, there were three women serving as heads of state across Africa. In 2024, there were two: the president of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, and Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who became Namibia’s first female president-elect on 3 December; the result is being contested in court. Nandi-Ndaitwah was the sole woman among 15 candidates, underscoring the persistent gender disparity in contests for high office.
Ghana also made history by electing Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as its first female vice-president.
Read here the full article published by The Guardian on 31 December 2024.
Image by The Guardian
Claudia Sheinbaum’s election as Mexico’s president has captured global attention for several reasons. Mexico is the world’s 12th largest economy. Sheinbaum secured a decisive victory, garnering nearly 60% of the vote; she is the first woman to assume the presidency in over 200 years of Mexican independence—all within the context of a deep national crisis of gender-based violence.
In recent decades, the world has seen a rise of women to power, with gender quota laws in Latin America and 13 of the world’s 20 largest economies having witnessed female leaders. Although Sheinbaum was not Mexico’s first female presidential candidate, her presidency has sparked diverse reactions in Mexico, ranging from unfortunate instances of sexism to critical feminist perspectives, as well as the enthusiastic support of younger generations and women’s organizations who see Sheinbaum´s rise to power as a moment of direct representation in government.
Although the presence of a woman in leadership does not automatically ensure positive change, empirical evidence underscores the broader impact of having more women in public decision-making roles. This shift is associated with higher economic growth, improved gender equality, and greater social investment in education, healthcare, and environmental protection.
Read here the full article publsihed by the Wilson Center on 13 December 2024.
Image by Wilson Center
Significant and, arguably, profound changes took place in Baltic high politics over the past four years. The peak pandemic years — 2020 and 2021 — proved quite pivotal for both Lithuania and Estonia, as both saw the emergence of the first most gender-balanced cabinets in the history of these countries, with Latvia following in 2022. The Estonian parliament elected the first woman prime minister, Kaja Kallas, whose cabinet had the largest number of women ministers. For almost a year, Estonia’s top political positions — the presidency and prime ministership — were held by two women, making Estonia the only parliamentary democracy ruled by elected women. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian prime minister, Ingrida Šimonytė, was the second woman to hold this position. Unlike her predecessor, Danutė Prunskienė, who served as the first woman prime minister of Lithuania more than 30 years ago (1990-1991) and was the only woman in her all-male cabinet, Šimonytė’s cabinet was the most gender-balanced in the modern history of the country. With the election of Evika Siliņa in September 2023 as Latvia’s prime minister, all three Baltic prime ministerships were held by women for about ten months — a historical first in the Baltic states’ politics.
Read here the full article published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute on 19 December 2024.
Image by Foreign Policy Research Institute
Ghana made history when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) nominated Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as the running mate to former President John Dramani Mahama for the 2020 general elections. Her nomination marked a significant milestone in Ghanaian politics, as she became the first female to run for vice presidency on a major party ticket. This bold move by the NDC proves a progressive shift towards gender inclusion and amplified discussions around women's representation in governance.
Nomination by the NDC
The selection of Professor Opoku-Agyemang was met with widespread praise from various quarters of society. As a former Minister of Education and an accomplished academic, her nomination was seen as a strategic and progressive decision by the NDC. John Mahama, in his announcement, highlighted her integrity, leadership, and commitment to national development as key reasons for her selection. The party’s decision to choose a woman of her caliber sent a strong signal about its commitment to promoting gender equality and diversifying leadership.
Read here the full article published by My Joy Online on 9 January 2025.
Image by My Joy Online
MOST often during political elections in Tanzania and across the world, women face a number of gender-based barriers to leadership, something which contributes to their defeat.
Recently, the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) in collaboration with the Coady International Institute brought together a number of women who vied for different leadership positions in last year’s civic polls.
On November 27th, 2024 Tanzanians voted for their leaders at local government level whereas posts being vied for included 12,280 village chairpersons, 4,264 street chairpersons, 63,886 hamlet chairpersons, 230,834 village council members and 21,320 street committee members.
The facilitator of a two-day training on psycho-social support, Mayasa Kalinga mentioned several factors which contributes to women being defeated in elections including gender inequality, harassment, psychological torture, cultural norms and stereotypes.
Traditional beliefs often prioritize male leadership, placing women primarily in domestic roles. This perspective limits women's opportunities in leadership positions.
Read here the full article published by IPP Media on 8 January 2025.
Image by IPP Media
Introduction
Gender equality has been a point of debate in the recent past. This is based on the ability to accord equal rights and opportunity for both genders where discrimination and prejudice are prevented. In Nigeria, gender equality and related issues are prevalent in different cases.
This is where the female gender is facing different inequalities and challenges, which are making it hard for them to cope and become effective in community participation and development (. This is based on the rise of various forms of conflict in the region, such as the Boko Haram and Harder-Farmer conflicts.
These are negatively impacting the country’s economy, and they are also affecting women and gender dynamics in the area. Therefore, this research outlines the way such conflicts have led to issues impacting women, such as gender-based violence, and also impacts the roles of women in society. Also, the discussion outlines the relationship between conflict and political participation of women in the country and the post-conflict challenges and opportunities available in the case of women in Nigeria.
Read here the full article published by The Vanguard on 7 January 2025.
Image by The Vanguard
Abstract
What explains the gender gap in political engagement and economic policy preferences? Many scholars point to material resources, while others credit cultural determinants. We identify and test an important link between these factors: cultural lineage norms that structure entitlements to resources. Studying the relationship between culture and resources is challenging in societies where both disadvantage women. We analyze a unique setting: northeast India, where matrilineal tribes live alongside patrilineal communities. Patriarchal cultures and political institutions are shared, but lineage norms are distinct: patrilineal groups distribute inherited wealth through men, while matrilineal tribes do so via women. We conduct survey and behavioral experiments with representative samples of both communities, alongside extensive qualitative research, and find that the gender gap reverses across patrilineal and matrilineal groups. Our results indicate that lineage norms—which determine who gets to make decisions about wealth and how—are key determinants of the political economy gender gap.
Click here to read the paper.
Abstract
Does the representation of women in cabinet and party leadership positions affect whether governments are more or less likely to fulfill the policy promises they make during election campaigns? This research note studies the effects of women's descriptive representation in cabinet and party leadership on policymaking by analyzing the pledge fulfillment of parties in 10 European countries, the United States, and Canada. The empirical analysis suggests that governing parties are more likely to fulfill their election promises when levels of women's representation are higher. The results have implications for our understanding of the descriptive and substantive representation of women, as well as for party competition and policymaking more broadly.
Click here to read the full article published by the Wiley Online Library on 18 February 2021.
This report contains an examination of global trends, persistent barriers and opportunities with regard to women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Progress made in women’s representation at different levels, mainly through legislated gender quotas, and the impact of women’s participation in decision-making and civil society, are acknowledged in the report.
Systemic challenges, especially the increasing levels of violence perpetrated against women in public life and certain enduring harmful norms, require urgent attention, as do specific challenges encountered by marginalized women who face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. States can facilitate a more inclusive and enabling environment in which all women could participate in public life through more ambitious targets, increased political will, sustainable financing and gender-responsive institutional arrangements.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has compounded challenges to decision-making, and, while women have rarely been included in decision-making on COVID-19 response efforts in equal numbers to men, in several countries where they have been in leadership positions, the response to the pandemic has been particularly effective. The report concludes with recommendations for consideration by the Commission on the Status of Women.
Click here to access the report.
Women’s full and equal participation in all decision-making processes is necessary to achieve gender equality and drive progress towards sustainable development. In 2017, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the International Gender Champions–Geneva published Shaping the international agenda: Raising women’s voices in intergovernmental forums to empower a wide range of gender champions and stakeholders in advancing gender equality and parity in intergovernmental processes.
This second edition updates the findings and recommendations based on survey responses received from members of the United Nations Governing Bodies Secretariat (UNGBS) in 2020. Il also concludes with recommendations to further enhance gender parity goals directed at three important groups of actors: the UNGBS; Member States of the United Nations; and ministers, ambassadors, heads of organizations and other senior officials. A knowledge product and an advocacy tool, this report is intended to raise awareness, share lessons and inspire others to commit to action that improves and strengthens women’s participation, which is critical to shaping an inclusive international agenda.
Click here to access the report.
Politics & Gender is an agenda-setting journal that publishes quality scholarship on gender and politics and on women and politics. It aims to represent the full range of questions, issues, and approaches on gender and women across the major subfields of political science, including comparative politics, international relations, political theory, and U.S. politics.
Politics & Gender short paper series on Gender, Politics, and the Global Pandemic
The Gender, Politics, and the Global Pandemic series features 24 articles. The topics fall into three broad categories: Gender, leadership, and policymaking on Covid-19; gender, health, and public opinion during the Covid-19 pandemic; and Covid-19, caring, and inequality. The papers address such questions as: Were women leaders more successful in managing Covid-19 response? Why are men less likely to report wearing face coverings? How did the pandemic impact elections?
Click here to learn more and access the articles.
Summary: There has been a lot said about how women have done a better job leading during the Covid-19 crisis than men. According to an analysis of 360-degree assessments conducted between March and June of this year, women were rated by those who work with them as more effective. The gap between men and women in the pandemic is even larger than previously measured, possibly indicating that women tend to perform better in a crisis. In fact, women were rated more positively on 13 of the 19 competencies that comprise overall leadership effectiveness in the authors’ assessment.
When discussing the careers of women leaders, there’s a phenomenon referred to as the “glass cliff.” It’s an obvious relative to the term glass ceiling, which describes the invisible barrier to advancement that women often face when they are up for promotion to the highest levels of an organization. The “glass cliff” describes the idea that when a company is in trouble, a female leader is put in charge to save it. When women are finally given a chance to prove themselves in a senior position, they are handed something that is already broken and where the chances of failure are high.
We see this happen frequently enough that it made us wonder, are women in fact more qualified to lead during a crisis? Could that be why they are handed the reins when times are tough?
Click here to read the full article published by the Harvard Business Review on 30 December 2020.