19.2% of elected councillors in 2015 are women

The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE), has issued a statement pointing out that out of 224 elected councillors in the 2015 local council elections, 43 were women - constituting 19.2% of elected candidates.

The figure represents a 1.22% increase over the 2012 local council elections, when the figure stood at 17.98%. According to the NCPE, research suggests that the chances of women being elected is proportional to the percentage of women contesting.

“In fact, the percentage of women contestants stood at 20.37 while that of women elected stood at 19.2, which compares well with men’s chances for election, where the percentage of men contestants and men elected was 79.63 and 80.8 respectively,” the statement reads.

The NCPE has welcomed the increase in the number of women elected on April 11th and it said that although this was a positive development towards further achieving gender-balance in decision-making positions, there was the need within political parties to integrate more women in all the structures and at all levels as well as to encourage more women to run for elections.

“It is important to strengthen the support structures, such as childcare and similar services, to address the specific needs of contesting individuals and elected officials. Greater commitment is required by all stakeholders to increase the number of contesting and elected women.”

NCPE explained that it is currently carrying out various initiatives that promote gender-balanced representation especially at decision-making levels. It said that the ‘Directory of Professional Women’ was in its final stages of development and that it would soon be officially launched.

“This Directory aims at giving visibility to professional women and their competences in the various sectors, enhancing their opportunities to be considered for boards, committees and other top posts,” it added.

It also pointed out that a mentoring programme where professionals supported and empowered women aspiring to hold decision-making positions was currently underway and that research studies were being conducted on gender-balanced representation in boardrooms and in the political sphere. The studies also explore gender quotas and other measures that may enhance such gender-balance.

“Gender-balanced political participation is vital for the good governance of the country,” NCPE said, adding that it looks forward to further inroads by women in political participation as well as in decision-making positions in general.