Local Government

Five women have successfully gone through vetting to contest positions in the Jirapa constituency election of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Upper West Region.

Mr Richard Kuunaah, Executive Director of GHANACare, a non-governmental organization, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Sunyani on Thursday that women participation in politics in the Jirapa Distict had increased significantly.

There may have been storms on election day, but for Delegate Donna Christensen the sun was shining.  She and her running mate, Basil Ottley, beat out a crowded six candidate field to win the Democratic primary for Governor of the Virgin Islands.

Del. Christensen’s primary win and all but certain victory in the general election means she will be the first Black female Governor of the U.S. and its territories.

The Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), on Thursday urged more women to contest the forthcoming district assemblies’ elections to enable them to participate actively in policy formulation and decision-making processes.

Mrs Theodora Williams Anti, FOSDA Programme Officer said the participation of more women in politics and the decision-making process with their male counter parts would provide a balance that more accurately reflects the composition of society and is needed in order to strengthen democracy and promote its proper functioning.

Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

A national meeting of Labor women has been told the government is making gender equality a tougher battle in Australia.

Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek told the convention on Saturday that a range of budget measures announced in May will work against women and used as an example the story of a single mum living in her Sydney electorate.

Opinion by Breda O'Brien

Ireland is among the 10 lowest-ranked EU countries when it comes to political and economic representation of women.

In January, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, we ranked joint 60th in the world when it comes to women in ministerial positions, along with Kyrgyzstan, Malta, Ukraine and Uruguay. I doubt the new ministerial appointments have nudged us far up the list.

The top candidates for Toronto’s mayoral race and where they stand on key issues are well known, but the odds are that few people know who is running for city council in their ward.

A non-partisan group of approximately 15 youth is looking to change this lack of knowledge among Toronto voters. Most of them are under 35 years old and call themselves Women in Toronto Politics or WiTOpoli for short.

Why are so many more men involved in politics than women?

The one-year Head Start for Young Women Program, now wrapping up, aimed to tackle that issue by jumpstarting the conversation with local high school and post-secondary students.

About 15 participants here in Ottawa developed workshops aimed at identifying why females say they don't get involved and come up with ways to overcome those reasons.

Women make up just one third of members of State boards and have been "consistently under-represented in economic portfolios," according to a report submitted to Cabinet on gender equality in decision-making roles.

It says that the figures have remained “fairly static” for some time, despite a 40% target set by consecutive administrations.