Female Policymakers and Women’s Well-Being in Africa

Abstract

Over the last decade, many African countries have encouraged policies that increase the number of women policymakers at all levels. Little is known about the economic and social gains of such policies, and how they shape the provision of gender-sensitive goods and services at the local level. This chapter assesses the effects of women holding more seats in the national assembly on the improvement in women-friendly development indicators, measured at the local level across 50 African countries. The findings show a beneficial effect of having more women in parliament on all 11 indicators of women’s well-being, including girls’ education, fertility, child and infant mortality, and early marriage. This suggests that promoting women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership in national assemblies will positively contribute to the Sustainable Development Goal targets 1.B (on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies), 3.2 (on infant and child mortality) and 4.5 (on girls’ school enrolment), among others.