Towards a more “equally equal” Liberia: The case for a mandatory gender quota
Source: Front Page Africa
Monrovia — The 54th Session of the National Legislature has an enormous opportunity to represent the interests of Liberian women and advance Liberia’s record of women’s leadership in Africa and globally through the passage of a mandatory gender quota in the New Elections Law that is currently on the agenda of the Senate.
Liberia already has the great distinction of being the first African nation to elect a female president, and currently has a female Vice President. However, state institutions remain largely male dominated and, globally, Liberia is ranked 156th of 162 countries on the Gender Inequality Index[1] and 163 out of 185 countries on the list of women in national parliaments.[2] Whereas the average percentage of women in national parliaments is 26% for sub-Saharan Africa and 17% in West Africa,[3] in Liberia women make up less than 11% of the 103 seats in the National Legislature. These statistics represent a crisis of under-representation given that women and girls comprise 50% of the population.
Without affirmative action and legislation to help address the exclusion of women from the national legislature, Liberia’s democratic and developmental goals will not be achieved.
Click here to read the full article published by Front Page Africa on 17 August 2022.
Monrovia — The 54th Session of the National Legislature has an enormous opportunity to represent the interests of Liberian women and advance Liberia’s record of women’s leadership in Africa and globally through the passage of a mandatory gender quota in the New Elections Law that is currently on the agenda of the Senate.
Liberia already has the great distinction of being the first African nation to elect a female president, and currently has a female Vice President. However, state institutions remain largely male dominated and, globally, Liberia is ranked 156th of 162 countries on the Gender Inequality Index[1] and 163 out of 185 countries on the list of women in national parliaments.[2] Whereas the average percentage of women in national parliaments is 26% for sub-Saharan Africa and 17% in West Africa,[3] in Liberia women make up less than 11% of the 103 seats in the National Legislature. These statistics represent a crisis of under-representation given that women and girls comprise 50% of the population.
Without affirmative action and legislation to help address the exclusion of women from the national legislature, Liberia’s democratic and developmental goals will not be achieved.
Click here to read the full article published by Front Page Africa on 17 August 2022.