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The crucial role of women’s participation and leadership by 2030
By Raine St.Claire
South Africa has made significant progress in female representation in parliament. In 2022, nearly 47% of the national Parliamentary seats in South Africa were occupied by women. Since the latest general elections in May 2019, the representation of women in seats has seen a significant increase. This positive trend began in 2000, with women’s representation starting at nearly 30% and consistently rising in each subsequent election.
However, the 2024 Africa Women’s Political Participation (WPP) Barometer suggests that African countries are unlikely to achieve the 50% target set in Sustainable Development Goal Five (SDG 5.5) on WPP by 2030.
Women’s representation in African parliaments increased only by one percentage point, from 25% in 2021 to 26% in 2024, despite elections in 36 African countries since 2021. It revealed that women constitute 25% of the 13 057 parliamentarians in Africa, with 26% in lower houses and 21% in upper houses.
Despite this importance, data indicates that women are significantly underrepresented at all levels of decision-making globally. Achieving gender parity in political life remains a distant goal, highlighting the need for concerted efforts to address this imbalance.
Representation in government
Significant progress has been made in political representation, with 46% of seats in Parliament now held by women. 14 Ministers are women and 16 women are Deputy Ministers.
Data show that women are underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide and that achieving gender parity in political life is far off.
Women serve as Heads of State and/or Government in only 31 countries. Women make up 26.5% of Members of Parliament. Globally, less than one in four Cabinet Ministers is a woman (22.8%). New data show that women lead important human rights, gender equality, and social protection policy portfolios, while men dominate policy areas like defence and economy.
Africa
Monthly ranking of women in national parliamentsRanking as of 1st January 2024:
| Rank | Country | Lower or single House | Upper chamber | ||||
| Seats* | Women | % W | Seats* | Women | % W | ||
| 1 | Rwanda | 80 | 49 | 61,3 | 26 | 9 | 34,6 |
| 11 | Senegal | 165 | 76 | 46,1 | – | – | – |
| 13 | South Africa | 398 | 183 | 46 | 54 | 24 | 44,4 |
| 19 | Namibia | 104 | 46 | 44,2 | 42 | 6 | 14,3 |
| 20 | Mozambique | 250 | 108 | 43,2 | – | – | – |
| 32 | Angola | 220 | 85 | 38,6 | – | – | – |
| 51 | Uganda | 557 | 189 | 33,9 | – | – | – |
| 74 | Zimbabwe | 260 | 75 | 28,9 | 66 | 33 | 50 |
| 75 | Mali | 147 | 42 | 28,6 | – | – | – |
| 80 | Egypt | 592 | 164 | 27,7 | 299 | 41 | 13,7 |
| 101 | Kenya | 348 | 81 | 23,3 | 67 | 21 | 31,3 |
| 110 | Eswatini | 74 | 16 | 21.6 | 30 | 14 | 46.7 |
| 114 | Malawi | 193 | 40 | 20,7 | – | – | – |
| 121 | Somalia | 275 | 54 | 19,6 | 54 | 14 | 25,9 |
| 144 | Zambia | 167 | 25 | 15 | – | – | – |
| 160 | Botswana | 63 | 7 | 11,1 | – | – | – |
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Gender equality in local government
In 2021, South Africa’s municipal workforce included 282 286 individuals, with 39% of senior-level positions held by women. Despite the Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill’s 50% target, only 25 of 257 municipalities achieved or surpassed it. Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State led with 95% of senior-level posts held by women, while seven municipalities, mainly in the Northern Cape, had no women in such positions due to their smaller management teams.
Lowest representation across municipalities:
- Western Cape (30%)
- Limpopo (31%)
- Mpumalanga (32%)
Province with highest gender representation in 2021:
- Free State (57%), mainly due to Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality
- Gauteng: Second highest representation (42%)
- Eastern Cape: Third highest representation (40%)
Local government management representation:
- Not yet at 50/50 target
- Better than general labour force
- Women occupied 32% of managerial posts across South African labour force in 2021
- Local government’s representation: 39%
Change over the years
The current municipal structure, consisting of 257 municipalities, was established during the 2016 local government elections and first reported in the 2017 Non-financial census of municipalities. This allows for meaningful comparisons between 2017 and 2021. In 2017, women held 36% of senior-level positions in local government, and this increased to 39% in 2021.
A global snapshot of women in leadership:
- Across 193 UN Member States, women hold 21% of Prime Minister positions, 26% of Parliamentarian roles, and 34% of local government positions.
- Countries like Bangladesh, Iceland, Italy, Aruba, Uganda, and Samoa have female Prime Ministers.
- Iceland’s Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, chairs the UN Council of Women World Leaders, addressing global issues.
- Saara Kuugongelwa, Namibia’s Prime Minister, overcame exile and earned a doctorate, achieving the country’s first budget surplus by combating corruption.
- Nepal’s President, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, advocates for gender equality, particularly after the 2015 earthquake’s impact on vulnerable women.
- Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, welcomed Rohingya refugees, displaying compassion and leadership.
- In the United States, a quarter of Congress members are women in 2022, and Kamala Harris serves as the first female, African-American, and Asian-American Vice President in U.S. history.
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READ MORE ABOUT INSPIRING WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
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