AFRICA GENDER FUTURES: THEMATIC FUTURES

This report examines the state of women's political representation across Africa, highlighting significant gender gaps in parliament, local government, and executive roles, while noting relatively better progress in the judiciary. It identifies structural and cultural barriers to women's participation and argues that increased female leadership correlates with lower corruption, higher social spending, and more effective climate policies.

• Women are significantly underrepresented in African political leadership and decision-making. As of 2021, women make up 24% of parliamentarians, 21% of councillors in local governments, and only 7% of top executive positions.
• Regional disparities exist in parliamentary representation: the Horn of Africa (33%) and East Africa (32%) have the highest shares of women, while West Africa has the lowest at 16%. In North Africa, women are absent from top executive positions, political party leadership, and roles as mayors of capital cities or speakers of parliament.
• Rwanda leads Africa in female parliamentary representation at 53.6%. Other countries with high levels of representation include Namibia, South Africa, and Senegal. Ethiopia and Tanzania have appointed female presidents for the first time, and Liberia was the first African country to elect a female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, though the report notes that the influence of these roles varies, such as the largely ceremonial presidency in Ethiopia.
• Representation in the judiciary is more encouraging than in other government branches. According to the 2022 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (AIIG), Africa scored 68.5 out of 100 for appointments to the highest judiciary branch, with Southern Africa (77.5) and East Africa (73.2) scoring highest. Twenty-one African countries have reached the target of at least 33% women in the highest judiciary branch, though Guinea Bissau, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan have performed poorly.
• Women's political participation is hindered by structural and cultural barriers, including patriarchal norms, gender-based violence, and the high cost of politics. A joint UN Women and UNDP study indicates a rising trend of cyberbullying, shaming, and bullying directed at women contesting elections.

APA

Yeboua, K., & Cilliers, J. (2026). AFRICA GENDER FUTURES: THEMATIC FUTURES. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=06-political-representation

Chicago

Yeboua, Kouassi, and Jakkie Cilliers. AFRICA GENDER FUTURES: THEMATIC FUTURES. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=06-political-representation.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Yeboua |first1=Kouassi |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=AFRICA GENDER FUTURES: THEMATIC FUTURES |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=21 April 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=06-political-representation |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yeboua2026africa, author = {Yeboua, Kouassi and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{AFRICA GENDER FUTURES: THEMATIC FUTURES}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=16-gender&topic=06-political-representation}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }