I was pretty excited to learn just a few days ago, that Brazil elected its first female president; Dilma Rousseff. It is especially refreshing to note that it will be a female Head of State to preside over the opening ceremony and festivities of the 2014 World Cup. With the addition of Brazil, there are now 18 countries around the world that have female Presidents or Prime Ministers. Of this number, 12 of these women were elected democratically, 5 were appointed and 1 (President Rosa Otunbayeva of Kyrgyzstan) came to power through a coup d’état. Out of these 18 countries, the entire continent of Africa is represented by Liberia; whose female President Sirleaf-Johnson still continues to lift high the banner of aspiring African women political leaders.
This new development brings me back again to the issues surrounding African women and political leadership; in particular, why do so many women shy away from political activism and running for public office?
Before I explore some of the reasons why women shy away from politics, let me first express why I think having women in politics is important in the first place. When women actively engage alongside men in politics, we all benefit from the varied opinions that both genders bring to the table. Whether male or female: our opinions differ because we have different perspectives, informed by different life experiences. And because we have different priorities, we often envision different solutions. The active participation of women in politics, therefore, represents the likelihood that our political systems will churn out better solutions to some of the world’s most pressing social issues because the perspectives of both genders are taken into consideration. Undoubtedly, if women are not “at the table” when decisions are being made, the concerns of women will not be heard, and their needs and opinions will have no chance of influencing what ultimately happens.
Of course, it is now politically correct to advocate for women to become politically active. However, regardless of the rhetoric, the percentage of women actually contesting and assuming political office in our region is still very low. There are still numerous barriers and I’ll now share what I think are the main issues preventing women from venturing into politics.
Firstly, many girls and young women are socialized to believe that politics (and indeed any other areas of leadership) is no place for a woman. Young women also often do not consider choosing politics as a career because there are very few visible examples of women in active politics, and often these women have less visibility compared to their male colleagues. I’ve noted with concern for example, two sector Ministries here in Ghana that are led by female Ministers of State. Yet, in both cases, it has been the male Deputies who have high media visibility. Because many girls and young women do not see many women succeed in the political landscape, it often subliminally reinforces the notion that politics it is not an arena they should consider venturing.
Women are also generally inclined to resolve differences through conciliation and cooperation whereas the mainstream politics seems to favor a more confrontational style of debate, with smear campaigns and criticisms seen as the order of the day. Because this style of is inconsistent with the way most women are wired, many potentially great female politicians opt out. Finally, the few women who do venture into competition for public office are often subjected to news coverage that focuses more attention on how they look than on how competent they are. This undermines their efforts to be taken seriously, and many women are unwilling to put up with such unfair scrutiny. Statistics also show that women running for public office typically have greater difficulty seeking money from donors to finance our election campaigns — mostly because their network of colleagues and friends is often less influential than the networks of the average male candidate.
In the face of the numerous challenges listed above, why would any woman ever aspire to public office? Indeed, encouraging women to consider political careers is always a hard sell. Truth is, there are and will always be tradeoffs that everyone, regardless of gender, will face when seeking to serve in the public eye. Yet, the more women emerge as visible leaders, the better for others. No matter how committed we are to encouraging women’s leadership development, the truth is that not every woman will become a visible leader in her community, or organization, or even as an entrepreneur – regardless of their origin or circumstance. Yet still, we must continue to encourage women to enter fields traditionally dominated by men. Without doubt, the more women leaders emerge in these areas, the more they can inspire other women and the more they can leverage their own success to improve circumstances for others.
As I add my voice to the countless millions around the world to congratulate Brazil’s President-elect Dilma Rousseff on becoming Brazil’s first female Head of State; it’s my simple prayer that after she is sworn into office in January 2011, she will continue to make womankind proud.
A Year In The Life 