Women representation in national elections in Ghana since independ-ence: An appraisal

Abstract

Even though women represent 50.7% of Ghana’s population, there are currently only 41 women in Ghana’s Parliament. Indeed, in Ghana’s 9th Parliament of the 4th Republic, the 41 women Members of Parliament (MPs) represent a paltry 14.9 percent of the 276 total Members, which is a far cry from the Beijing Platform for Action’s 30% threshold for women. This gross underrepresentation of women is despite various efforts to improve the representation of women. Using a descriptive analysis and employing data compiled from the Election Research Resource Centre-Ghana, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union among others, the authors critically appraise the issues surrounding women representation in national elections in the country, with a special focus on the trajectory of women’s representation in national elections since independence, the challenges faced by women in this regard, and the prospects for increased women’s representation. The paper argues that tackling the chronic underrepresentation of women in national elections in Ghana will require bold steps regarding affirmative action policies, gendered electoral financing, building inclusive political party structures, education and training, as well as the re-socialization of society. There is also the need for a review of the 1992 Constitution to better promote the representation of women more broadly in national leadership, in particular, national elections.