Addressing Women’s Underrepresentation in Governance: Strategies for Legislative Consideration

Abstract

Although there are noticeable efforts to addressing the existing gender gap by the government. Firstly, the government is a signatory to most of the international conventions on gender equality. Secondly, there is evidence of vibrant institutional structures put in place by successive governments for the development and implementation of gender policies under the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. The Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and development partners have also shown commitment to the course through advocacy campaigns, capacity-building workshops, sensitization and research. However, the gender gap remains as women keep encountering systemic barriers in political participation. This brief calls for a systemic intervention through the adoption of a legally backed gender quota system in Nigeria in order to address the persistent gender imparity in the governance and decision-making processes. The brief concludes with the following recommendations: i. The National Assembly, leveraging the ongoing constitutional review process, may wish to incorporate a provision stating that “no gender, in both elective and appointive positions in any government establishment, should be more than 65%, and no gender should be less than 30% which is similar to the Kenyan model”; ii. The constitution may also be amended to provide for reserved seats for women in the parliament based on the strength of each party.