Gender Balance In Positions Of Power And Decision-Making In Government Institutions: An Assessment On The Implementation Of The National Gender Policy In Namibia

ABSTRACT

This study assesses the implementation of the National Gender Policy, with more emphasis on gender balance in position of power and decision-making. The topic, gender equality, was chosen on the understanding that equality and respect for Human Rights are major principles of democracy that the Namibian government has opted for. Namibia set herself a target of reaching 30% female representation in power and decision-making positions by 2005 in an effort to achieve an acceptable gender balance in national governance. Analysis of the available data reveals that the National Assembly has 29.2% female representation thereby putting Namibia in the top twenty of IPU countries with many women in parliament. In addition, the country’s National Council boasts of 26.9% female representation, an improvement from 7.7% representation in the previous Council. In Public Service, the female representation in the Management Cadre has also increased from 20.8% in 1999 to 29.2% in 2004. However, at regional government level women remain under-represented. Before the elections of November 2004, representation of women in Regional Councils was 7.9%. It has since increased to 13.1% but still falls short of the government’s 30% target. It is only at local authority councils' level where female representation accounts for 43.4%. The result can be attributed to the legislative quota that compels political parties to nominate a specific number of women to serve on the council.