By Gbodiyan Oluwakemi Karen, Abuja
Gender advocate and Executive Director of the Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI), Adaora Onyechere Sydney-Jack, has called for a shift from symbolic inclusion of women in politics to meaningful participation in decision-making, arguing that genuine democratic progress depends not merely on representation but on women’s ability to influence public policy, allocate resources, and shape national priorities.
Speaking in her keynote address during the LeapAfrica Dissemination Webinar Series on the theme, “Rethinking Leadership: Gender, Power, and Political Decision-Making in Africa,” Sydney-Jack said conversations about women’s political participation must move beyond counting the number of women in elective and appointive offices to addressing the deeper issue of power and influence.
According to her, the critical questions are no longer simply about who occupies leadership positions, but who holds power, influences decisions, sets national priorities, and determines how resources are allocated.
“Leadership is not merely about individuals. Leadership is about institutions, access, influence, and whose voices matter when critical decisions are made,” she said.
Sydney-Jack noted that Africa stands at a pivotal moment in its history, with projections indicating that by 2050, one in every four people in the world will be African.
Despite the continent’s growing demographic significance, she observed that many African political institutions remain insufficiently representative of the societies they govern.
She argued that Africa cannot achieve inclusive development while excluding half of its population from meaningful participation in political power and decision-making.
Drawing from global trends, Sydney-Jack said women currently occupy about 27 per cent of parliamentary seats worldwide, a significant improvement from three decades ago but still far from gender parity.
She noted that political empowerment remains the largest gender gap globally and among the slowest to close.
“Political inclusion is not the natural outcome of development or modernisation. It is the product of deliberate institutional choices,” she stated.
The gender advocate highlighted countries such as Rwanda, South Africa, Namibia, Senegal and Tanzania as examples of nations that have made significant strides in women’s political representation through intentional reforms, constitutional provisions and quota systems.
According to her, these countries demonstrated that political inclusion is not determined by economic strength or geography but by institutional design and political will.
Turning to Nigeria, Sydney-Jack described the country’s record on women’s political representation as a “democratic paradox.” Despite being Africa’s largest democracy, its most populous nation, and its largest economy, she said women remain significantly underrepresented in governance.
She noted that women occupy less than five per cent of seats in the National Assembly, a figure she described as alarming when compared to countries such as Rwanda, where women account for more than 60 per cent of parliamentarians, and South Africa and Namibia, where representation exceeds 40 per cent.
“The challenge is not a lack of capacity or qualified women. The challenge is structural, institutional and political,” she said.
Sydney-Jack further argued that representation alone does not automatically translate into power, stressing that women may hold political offices yet remain excluded from influential committees, decision-making networks and access to political financing.
“The goal must be to move from representation to influence, from participation to authority, from access to agenda-setting, and from symbolic inclusion to substantive power,” she said.
She cited findings from international development institutions showing that greater gender inclusion in leadership is often associated with stronger investments in healthcare and education, improved social protection systems, more inclusive budgeting processes, higher levels of institutional trust and stronger peacebuilding outcomes.
According to her, excluding women from political and economic participation imposes high costs on national development and undermines the effectiveness of governance.
To address the challenge, Sydney-Jack called for comprehensive reforms, including making political parties more democratic and inclusive, redesigning campaign financing systems, tackling political violence against women, and implementing constitutional and legislative measures to expand women’s participation.
She also emphasised the need to build leadership pipelines for women through schools, universities, local governments, professional associations and civil society organisations.
“Leadership does not begin at the ballot box. Leadership begins long before elections,” she said. She maintained that the future of Africa would not be determined solely by who occupies political office, but by whether institutions are willing to distribute power more broadly and create opportunities for all citizens to participate meaningfully in governance.
Sydney-Jack noted that sustainable development, democratic legitimacy and transformational leadership cannot be achieved while women remain at the margins of power.
“When women are included in leadership, societies become stronger. When women participate in decision-making, democracies become deeper. And when power is shared, nations become more prosperous, more resilient and more just,” she said.
