Systemic Barriers Limits Women’s Political Leadership In Ethiopia: Analysis

A comprehensive gender analysis of Ethiopia’s sixth general elections has exposed a stark deficit in women’s political leadership, revealing that women lead only one of the nation’s 53 registered political parties.

This critical finding stands in direct contrast to the targets set forth in Ethiopia’s ten-year development plan, which aims to position the country as a “Centre of Africa’s Female Leaders” and increase the share of female decision-makers to 50 percent.

But while Ethiopia’s legal and policy framework guarantees women’s political rights and includes provisions to promote their inclusion, it falls short of ensuring equitable representation.

According to the document, the significant gap stems from the absence of mandatory gender quotas for candidates and political party leadership, leaving progress dependent on voluntary measures.

It added that the disconnect between legal promise and practical implementation, coupled with reported incidents of Violence Against Women in Elections (VAW-E), continues to hinder the realization of genuine gender equality in Ethiopia’s democratic landscape.

The analysis, commissioned by the Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations for Elections (CECOE), identifies a web of systemic barriers—including deep-seated cultural prejudices, financial constraints, and inadequate voter education—that collectively suppress women’s participation across the entire electoral process.

“The ruling party and few parties have adopted a voluntary quota system,” reads the analysis. “The problem of the voluntary quota system is that it heavily depends on one party and there is that obvious question relating to what happens if that party loses ground.”

Although the legal framework encourages women’s involvement as voters, candidates, party members, and election officials, the document underscores that these measures are insufficient. Its authors advocate for the incorporation of mandatory quota systems to substantively enhance women’s representation in legislative, executive, and electoral management bodies.

In a positive trend for voter participation, the report noted that 17 million women were registered to vote for the June 2021 polls, constituting 45 percent of all registered voters, according to the document.

This figure, it added, marked an improvement over previous elections.

However, the analysis recorded a significant decline in women’s political candidacy, dropping from 29 percent in the 2015 elections to 21 percent in 2021. This regression, the report reads, was further highlighted by the finding that only 13 of the registered political parties met the 20 percent threshold for women candidates required to qualify for additional state funding.

To bolster women’s participation in elections, the document noted that the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has focused on ensuring their involvement in regional and lower electoral management bodies. This commitment is evident in the recruitment and employment process, where gender is a specific consideration for appointing regional branch office heads.

The report concludes that despite progressive legal provisions, implementation challenges persist, limiting the framework’s effectiveness in promoting gender equity.

It also calls for enhanced accountability and transparency, including regular publication of gender-disaggregated data and independent audits to evaluate the implementation of gender-related electoral policies.