Building Botswana’s Future Women Leaders: Creating a New Pipeline for Political Change

Despite Botswana’s democratic reputation, women remain significantly underrepresented in political leadership. Women make up less than 10% of the country’s current parliament, leaving too few visible pathways for young women aspiring to lead. Patriarchal norms, limited mentorship opportunities, weak political support systems, and deeply rooted perceptions about leadership continue to shape who feels able and welcome to enter politics.  

For Amanda Chembezi and the team at Girls for Girls Botswana Trust (G4G Botswana), this represented more than a representation gap. It revealed a broken leadership pipeline. 

That vision became the Women in Politics (WIP) project, a mentorship and leadership initiative designed to equip young women with the confidence, networks, skills, and strategic support needed to move from political ambition to political action.

From Learning to Leadership: The Role of WYDE

The project took shape through support from the WYDE Accountability Hubs programme. Amanda found the coaching support extremely valuable. Through conversations with her mentor, she decided to leverage the global Girls for Girls network, which paired each graduate with long-term leadership coaches from across Botswana, the United States of America, and Europe.

Article.