Women's Leadership

The gender disparity in politics is indicative of the of need to promote education amongst women, thus, enabling greater political participation.

While numerous political advancements have occurred throughout the world in recent decades, the most important influence has to be on women’s involvement and representation in political roles. Women make up about half of our population, but they are underrepresented in our political system in proportion to their numbers. At every level, from the home to the highest levels of government, women are excluded from decision-making. Women’s decision-making engagement in politics may have a substantial impact on women’s empowerment, which is why India is battling with the issue of gender disparity. Despite the Indian Constitution’s provision of equal opportunity, women have a small presence in legislative bodies and political participation at all levels. Accessing the possible reasons, we see that, interestingly, education plays a part in politics; however, only for women because the literacy rate of female politicians is higher than the male politicians, implying that only women need political education.

Click here to read the full article published by Observer Research Foundation.

By Tapan Kumar Sahu, Kusum Yadav

The paper empirically examined the relationship between education level and political participation of women. The indices of political participation include the following: membership of political party, voting in elections, occupation of political post, means of occupation of political post and level of occupation of political post. The results revealed that women of the South West region of Cameroon are fairly well exposed to formal education as only 4.1% of the sampled population had no formal education. The study revealed that the higher the level of women's formal education, the more their tendency to participate in politics in areas of voting in elections and occupation of political post either through elections or appointments at all levels of government. The study was guided by the  following objectives; the first  was to  assess  women’s  political participation and  decision  making. Secondly, what the opportunities of women political participation the third objectives was to determine the level of opportunities women’s political participation and decision making. The researcher recommends that the government, civil society and women activists need to work towards sensitization and awareness creation among the community to realize the need of the Women to participate in politics and governance. The men need to realize the women’s need  for political power  and  change the  way  they look  at  the women and the government should embark on activities which support women’s political x Initiatives. The researcher recommends these areas to be further studied including: a study that could analyzes the contribution of civil society organizations in promotion of  women  political  participation  and  human  rights,  a  study  that  could  assess the  policy  gaps  concerning  gender  equity  in governance and  politics for women empowerment  and other study could  be conducted in  the field concerning implication of culture on women’s political participation and decision making.

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One political hopeful in Antigua and Barbuda is commending the recently-elected Barbados government for its progress with the inclusion of women in politics, while urging the same for the twin island nation.

Following the Mia Mottley-led Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) victory in the country’s recent general election, the incoming session of Parliament will see women making up a quarter of its composition, a move that has been applauded by Chaneil Imhoff, Communications Officer with the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) and the party’s Team Leader for St Peter.

Click here to read the full article published by Antigua Observer on 26 January 2022.

The second season of the reality TV show, Ms President, was launched yesterday. The show seeks to portray to a national audience the capacity and ability of women to lead effectively.

The series showcases intelligent and articulate women who are “presidential” with the aim of increasing the chances of women in Kenya taking up leadership positions.

Click here to read the full article published by The Standard on 26 January 2022.

By Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

While rebuilding a country previously engulfed in civil war for over 14 years, my administration oversaw, then, one of the deadliest health crises of the 21st century. I, Africa’s first democratically elected woman president and Liberia’s first elected president of the post-conflict period, had to pivot quickly in both attitude and action, as a means of responding to the Ebola outbreak of 2014. The outbreak posed a devastating threat to Liberia’s people and to the gains we had made in recovery and development. Rather than falter, we leaned into the complex challenges the outbreak posed, crafting and embarking upon an approach that embraced the strategies called for by community health workers and ordinary people fighting to save their loved ones. During this period, we lost many lives but averted a national crisis and found an inclusive and sustainable path of hope. In most African countries, strengthening the national health structure requires investing in and prioritizing community health workers and systems. Local community health workers are crucial in times of crisis because of their proximity to those most impacted. Utilizing community leadership ensures communities feel empowered and share in the responsibility, creating genuinely inclusive and responsive approaches. Liberia’s early success in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic relied on the same community health workers and leaders from the Ebola crisis. They were central in the dissemination of reliable information, coordination efforts across the country, building partnerships both internally and internationally, and leading their communities.

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On July 31, 2021, the Moroccan Parliament adopted a reform that did not receive much attention but did represent a big step forward in helping close the country's gender gap. It involved a new amended law on public limited companies to promote balanced representation of women and men in corporate governance bodies (law 19.20 modifying and completing law 17-95 related to public limited companies). It set mandatory quotas for women on the boards of publicly traded companies, with a target of (at least) 30% female representation by 2024, and 40% by 2027.

This law is the result of exemplary cooperation between the government, the parliament, and civil society, supported by the creation of a task force by UN Women, including women personally involved in gender advocacy, and several representatives of the 'Club des Femmes Administrateurs' in Morocco.

Click here to read the full article published by Market Screener on 19 January 2022.