Beyond Women’s History Month: Breaking Systematic Barriers Towards Gender Equality for All
Author: Angela Efia Dzidzornu
Having drawn the curtains on Women’s History Month in March, it’s crucial to recognise that the global commitment to gender equality extends far beyond the confines of a calendar month. While it serves as a powerful reminder of the achievements and struggles of women worldwide, our efforts must persist year-round. In this blog, we take you on a journey into the landscape of women empowerment in recent times, exploring Pollicy’s important work in bridging the gender divide, addressing Online Gender Based Violence (OGBV), and propelling progress in our part of the world. Through a combination of research insights, we shed light on the ongoing work towards gender equality and the actionable steps needed to drive meaningful change.
The State of Gender Equality
The 69th annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, took place from the 10th to 21st March this year under the theme, “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”. Pollicy joined global voices in crucial conversations to advocate for a feminist future where no one is left behind. The event coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) providing a platform to review progress and renew commitments to women’s rights and empowerment. Despite significant strides in recent years, gender disparities persist across various sectors, from politics and economics to education and healthcare. Here’s what the data is telling us:
- According to UN Women, women globally earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, with the gender pay gap widening further for women of color.
- The first Women’s Political Participation (WPP) Africa Barometer 2021, indicates that women constitute only 24% of the 12,113 parliamentarians in Africa.
- The beginning of 2024, as reported by the UN Women on equal representation, saw a share of women leaders across sub-Saharan Africa at 27.3%, a 0.8-percentage-point increase relative to 12 months previously and the third highest among all regions in the world.
- Globally 10.3% of women live in extreme poverty today, and they are poorer than men. Progress towards ending poverty needs to be 26 times faster to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
More than ever, there is an urgent need for concerted efforts to dismantle all systemic barriers and foster inclusive environments where women can thrive. The meaningful political participation of women is crucial in the quest to consolidate a flourishing democracy in Africa. Women’s increasing role and influence in democratic electoral processes should no longer be confined to their participation as mere voters but as equally deserving candidates and duly elected public officials, distinct and competitive against men.
In a two steps forward, one step back state of affairs, Rwanda ranked highest in Africa, out of 185 countries analyzed in a report by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Center, leading the world ranking with the highest share of women in any parliament, at 61.3%. Nigeria ranked among the bottom five countries globally and lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa for women’s representation in parliament following their 2023 polls. The same report indicated that Nigeria elected the least gender-representative parliament in the region, with women making up only 2.8% of MPs in the upper chamber and 3.9% of MPs in the lower chamber.
As a landmark year for African politics, Ghana and Namibia in 2024 rewrote history by electing their first female leaders. Ghana’s Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang was elected Vice President alongside President-elect John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress, securing 56.55% of the vote on 7th December 2024. Just days earlier, Namibia elected Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its first female President, with 57% of the votes under the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO). These achievements place both countries alongside Tanzania, led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, as torchbearers for women’s leadership in Africa.
The road to an increased representation of women in local and national government has surely been a rollercoaster, when women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Nonetheless, with continuous awareness and empowerment, we can make great progress.
Our Contribution to Change
To mark this year’s International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we created space for women to share about their digital journeys, particularly their wins in harnessing technology and the lessons they have learned on the way. The responses we received were thoughtful, powerful, and deeply personal. Through video reflections, these women shared truly inspiring stories, showing how they’re using technology to create, challenge, connect and claim space. We remain committed to proactively championing the course for a feminist internet for women on the continent.
Through our VOTE: Women and Future of Work projects, Pollicy has actively contributed to the advancement of gender equality in Africa, by equipping women in media, politics and other spheres with digital skills, knowledge, and resources they need to participate fully in political, economic, and social life. Through research, advocacy, and training initiatives, we hope to drive meaningful change and inspire others to join the fight for gender justice.
Actionably, our recent report, Dada Disinfo: Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), in collaboration with Nendo uncovered the pervasive issue of TFGBV in Kenya’s vibrant but volatile social media ecosystem, shedding light on the manifestations, perpetrators, and impacts of TFGBV. Our extensive work on OVAW-P seen in our Amplified Abuse and Byte Bullies research during elections in Uganda and Kenya highlighted the imperative need for a multistakeholder approach in combating OGBV. Against this backdrop, one of our projects from last year, Afrofem Digital Leadership Voices in collaboration with NDI, harnessed existing movements to address and combat online violence against women leaders in politics. As we embarked on the project, we posed a crucial question: How could we center survivors to bring them justice?
Our collaboration during CSW68 last year with the World Wide Web Foundation through its initiative Women’s Rights Online further propelled our efforts as we joined forces with a global network of gender justice and digital rights organizations towards a roadmap on perpetrator research. Conjunctively, we also unveiled the Gendered Privacy Framework, providing tech platforms, startups, and civil society with a comprehensive tool to assess and address OGBV in digital environments.
Looking Ahead
While progress has been made, significant challenges remain on the path to gender equality. Issues such as gender-based violence, limited access to education and healthcare, inequalities rooted in patriarchal norms and discriminatory laws continue to undermine the rights and well-being of women in Africa as well as globally. As we look ahead, we urge governments to prioritize gender equality in policies and allocate resources to dismantle systemic barriers hindering women’s participation in various spheres. There’s also the need to integrate gender considerations into budgeting processes to allocate resources equitably and cater to the specific needs of women and girls. Our journey toward gender equality is not merely a quest for fairness; it’s an affirmation of our collective humanity. Let’s continue to break barriers, challenge norms, and champion equality for all.
