Towards Electing Women into National Executive Offices: Challenges of Women’s Political Participation within Political Parties in Ghana’ s Fourth Republic.

Abstract

Since the commencement of the fourth republic on 7th January 1993, the NDC and NPP have dominated the space of governance. As such, these parties have become major vehicles that drive citizens’ participation in politics. Political participation, therefore becomes complete when all members of the party including women are able to participate at the peak of the party as occupants of the high national executive offices. The thesis seeks to explain why no woman has been able to occupy the high executive offices of these parties at the national level. The high executive offices the study considers include: national chairperson, General Secretary and National Organizer. The research findings were obtained purely through the qualitative research design and review of literature significant to the study. The qualitative method was used because it allows for depth of information more than what the quantitative design offers. One on one interviews were conducted with a total of fifteen people which included eight women and seven men who are currently serving, or have served, or have aspired to be national executives of the two major parties. The participants shared their rich political experiences and challenges with the researcher. The key to understanding why women have been absent at the national executive offices rest on a number of factors that include; their physiological make up which usually makes them object of insults and mockery when they contest, party processes that puts men at an advantage over women and the party ideology that largely influences women’s access to these offices.