Gender Inequality in Political Representation: A Case Study of Women in Ghana's Parliament

The study explores the continuous gender inequality in the political dispensation, focusing on women representation in Ghana’s parliament. Despite Government’s commitment to achieve gender equality and efforts in strengthening democracy globally, there are still systemic barriers that hinder equal representation of women in legislative decisions. Male-dominance in Ghana’s parliament prompts research into the barriers that women in politics encounter. The study explores the effectiveness of long existing government- backed policies and gender quota laws aimed at promoting women’s right in political participation. The study again, explores widow “inheritance” of parliamentary seats, a phenomenon that crept into Ghanaian politics between 2017 and 2021. Finally, the study captures the political activities of daughters of politicians who have ventured into politics especially in the fourth republic. By employing qualitative and quantitative methodology, the paper draws insights from the critical mass theory and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). The study reveals obstacles such as lack of access to resources to finance political campaigns, lower literacy rates among women, societal intimidation and unwillingness by political parties to support females and entrenched cultural norms as well as the delay in passing into law the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Bill which sought to increase active women participation in public and private life to 30 percent by 2026 and 50 percent by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is worth exploring. By eliminating these challenges, Ghana can make headway towards gender parity in political representation and enhancing socio-cultural and economic affairs.