Women in African leadership: democracy and gender equality.

Odusanya, Temitope Omotola

Abstract

Democracy and gender inequalities are elusive and contested concepts as evidenced by the struggles of the suffragettes. This important recognition of women’s resistance towards the implementation of gender parity through various movements, and advocacy groups highlighted the gaps between ideological pronouncements and quotidian practices. This research examines the praxis of women's leadership, representation in power, political parties, discrimination against women, tokenism, and the implications for African democratic progress. How have the institutional processes encouraged or discouraged African women's leadership and its impact on democracy in Africa? This study reflected on the various historical developments of both political ideology and mobilization of countries such as Nigeria and Liberia, the findings reveal a democratic deficit and radical shift towards a stated commitment to gender-based equality. This is a qualitative study that employed democracy and gender equality theories combined with the aid of legal instruments such as CEDAW and the Banjul Charter, The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and The Maputo Protocol. The study also chronicles the challenges and prospects of democracy and the instrumentalism of democratic accountability, the rule of law, and other institutions in achieving political developments and stability in Africa. This further fuel the central thesis as well as contribute to a societal vision of contemporary African democracy, which can only be consolidated if there are more women leaders. Particularly, the COVID-19 pandemic has unearthed some of the global implications of gender disparities in the leadership context.

Citation

ODUSANYA, T.O. 2023. Women in African leadership: democracy and gender equality. Hosted on SSRN [online], article number 4582403. Available from: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4582403

• Working Paper Type: Working Paper
• Deposit Date: Oct 5, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 19, 2023
• Publisher: International Scholars Journals Publishing Corporation
• Keywords: African Leadership; Conflicts; COVID-19, Democracy; Gender Equality, Women and Politics
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2098623
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4582403