Assessing the effectiveness of gender quotas in enhancing women's political leadership - A case study of Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa

Abstract

Statistics show that women consist of about 50 percent of the world’s population, however, their participation in political leadership remains low due to gender inequalities. Women’s political leadership is continually undermined by systemic patriarchal factors such as custom, culture, tradition, socialisation and gender stereotypes. Other major contributing factors to women’s low political leadership are political, structural, educational and economic which have all perpetuated men’s dominance while relegating women to the periphery. Calls for the adoption of affirmative action including quota systems which aim at ensuring that women constitute at least a “critical minority” of 30 or 40 percent in political leadership have been on the increase. To date more than two-thirds of African countries have adopted electoral gender quotas as affirmative action in enhancing women’s political leadership. While the adoption of gender quotas is celebrated, the literature reveals that implementing quotas remains a challenge in practice. Despite adoption of quotas, women’s marginalisation is still reinforced by the discriminatory attitudes that while men get into office on merit, women get in through institutionalised favours in the form of quotas. On this premise, the research investigated the effectiveness of electoral gender quotas as affirmative action in Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa. The research subsequently recommended other avenues to be explored in promoting women’s political leadership.