Women's Representation in African Politics

“The book offers a comprehensive understanding of how quotas aid women’s representation in African politics. The analysis on women parliamentarians is very detailed and it helps us to understand the perception of women parliamentarians and how they perform their duties in a system that fundamentally excludes them. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in quotas, women’s representation in African politics and why the participation of women in politics is important for protecting women.”

— Yanga Malotana , Commissioner, Commission for Gender Equality, South Africa

Does the election of more and more women into political offices mean that women’s interests will be better protected? This question forms the background upon which this book is written as it forms a timely intervention concerning the clamour for increased women’s representation in African politics. The book examines the relationship between gender quotas and gender-focused legislative/policy outcomes in the national Parliaments of South Africa and Botswana. By investigating the utility of gender quotas to ensure the substantive representation of women in African politics, the book engages the assumption that increased women’s political participation will automatically improve the qualitative well-being of African women. The book is intended for both academic and non-academic audiences with differing purposes. It contributes to scholarly debates on the transcending relevance of quotas beyond numbers. For non-academics, it provides opportunities to engage gender quotas as a policy tool to ensure the qualitative well-being of African women.

Zainab Monisola Olaitan  is a Political Scientist working at the intersection of political philosophy, feminist thought and African politics with a focus on women’s qualitative representation. She is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Pretoria.