Abstract:
Ghana as a nation has made moves to make governance structures accessible to all
through decentralization. This is believed to speed development both at the national
and local level notably district. Mainly, decentralization aimed at having men and
women equally participate in the local governance structures and processes. But
gender representation has not seen the much sought equality of men and women in
these structures. Over the years, there has been a male dominance in terms of number.
This study sought to investigate about the representation of women in the local
governance structures in the Kwahu South District. To reach this objective, a case
study looked at issues on gender equality, traced out the trends on women’s
participation, challenges faced by women, looked at institutional and stakeholders’
support of women, and proposed some remedies to these hindrances.
The study revealed that though a quota system reserving 30 percent of the District
Assembly membership to women is in place, this has not secured the much sought
equal representation in the local governance structures. Since the creation of the
district in 1998, the percentage of women elected and appointed has not gone beyond
the quota mentioned above. Again, the trends of women represented though showing
an increase has not seen women’s presence crossing 10 percent in the assembly, its
subcommittees and unit committees.
Among other remedies, the study proposed an intensive education of women on
developmental issues and how crucial their role is. Also, policy makers are summoned
to integrate women’s concerns and gender parity in the developmental goals of the
district.
Description:
A Thesis in the Department of SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION Faculty of
SOCIAL SCIENCE EDUCATION submitted to the School of Graduate Studies,
University of Education Winneba in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the award of the MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN SOCIAL STUDIES
OCTOBER, 2016