Women in power

The case of Ghana

Our study took a close look at trends in Ghana. The country is a laggard in women’s legislative representation. But it has achieved relatively high levels of women’s cabinet representation. We believe that women’s gains in parliament have been limited by a number of factors. These include the incremental change from military rule to democracy as well as the legislative electoral system.

In spite of this, women have had a relatively strong presence in the Ghanaian cabinet. There are numerous reasons for this. Ghana’s constitution allows the president to put together cabinets from up to 49% of members who are not MPs. In addition, the country’s repeated international commitments to gender equality appear to have influenced the appointment of women cabinet ministers.

Ghana’s autonomous women’s movement has used these commitments to pressure presidents to include women on their executive teams.

Significant policy implications

Political scientists Amy Atchison and Ian Down have shown that women’s cabinet presence matters. The larger the share of ministerial seats that women control, the more likely a state is to promote policies that improve women’s lives. Atchison and Down found that this effect is stronger than the effect of women’s share of legislative seats.

We expect it to be stronger still in cases where executive actors dominate legislatures. In addition, the symbolic effect of observing a female defence minister directing a “sea of generals” can be transformative.

That’s why keeping keep a close eye on women’s inclusion in the executive branch is important.

Recent data from across the continent show an overall dip in women’s cabinet representation. This suggests that while cabinet seats have substantial political upside, they may also be more tenuous than legislative seats. Women’s legislative gains are often locked in via quotas, but women’s presence in cabinets is often tied to the party in power and the leader of the government.

Source: theconversation