African women and leadership

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UNITED NATIONS

ECONOMIC COMMI88ION

FOR AFRICA

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THIS PUBLICATION HAS BEEN PRODUCED BY THE AFRICAN CENTRE FOR WOMEN OF THE ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, NEW YORK, IN COMMEMORATION OF AFRICA'S WOMEN LEADERS AND THE FOURTH UNITED NATIONS WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN, BEIJING,

REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 4 - 15 SEPTEMBER 1995.

Foreword

The African Centre for Women , of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is pleased to present this publication in commemoration of Africa's participation in the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women , in Beij ing , China , 4-15 September 1995.

It is the first such attempt in Africa and the main objectives are to present the regional situation of African women in leadership positions in selected sectors and, against this background , to analyze the social and working environments they face and the pathways they followed to positions which Influence policy and decision-making in their respective fields of operation.

The idea for this study emerged in response to the African and Global Platforms of Action, both of which highlight the need to have more women in high· level and strategic decision-making where policies and plans are made and resources allocated. The publication is therefore intended to :

• Commemorate the Fourth Worl' d Conference on Women;

• Commend and motivate all African women leaders;

• Complement the Africa region's Leadership Panel in Beijing;

• Contribute to gender analysis and re - search agendas.

The sectors chosen were influenced first by the critical areas identified in the African Platform adopted in Dakar in 1994, and second , by the biodata on women in high-level decision making positions , that were available to the African Centre for Women through networking efforts at this time . The sectors that were selected are conflict - resolution and prevention,

e:1trepreneurship, grassroots mObilization, international development (UN) , politics and governance and science and technology.

Unlike the Roll Call of Africa ' s Distinguished Daughters which was prepared for the Fifth African Regional Conference in Dakar, and which merely identified role models and individual and institutional focal points in gender and development networking, this publication allows more analysis and sectoral focus.

Women leaders tend to play multiple roles and are active on many fronts and it is not easy to categorize them on a sectoral basis.

The attempt was made based upon most current areas of activity.

The case profiles presenting the pathways African women have taken to power should be seen as illustrative and not by any means as constituting a comprehensive, exhaustive directory.

There are hundreds of other women whose profiles would also have been appropriate for inclusion but this effort is meant to offer a starting point.

We plan that this should be the first in a series of publications Similar to this one, which will focus on other sectors , including women in agriculture, education , law , research, engineering, industry, sports, the media and so on.

The text has been laid out for readability as we wish to encourage a wide readership .

Finally, we gratefully . acknowledge the assistance of UNDP's Gender Development Program, which has fund ,ed1his publication and which greatly contributed to the refinement of the idea. We look forward to continued collaboration with UNDP in this

area. .

African Women and Leadership

Page

INTRODUCTION ... _ _ ... 1

I. LEADERSHIP FOR HUMAN DEVEWPMENT ... _ _ _ ... 3

II. GENDER AND LEADERSHIP IN AFRiCA ... _ 7 III. SECTORAL OVERVIEWS WITH ILLUSTRATIVE PROFILES ... _ ._ ... 18

A. Conllict-resolutipn and prevention ... 18

B. Entrepreneurship ... .. ... 22

C. Grassroots mobili7.ation ... 27

D. International development _ ... 33

E. Politics and governance ... .. ... 37

F. Science and technology ... 47 IV. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AFRICAN WOMEN LEADERS ... _ ... S2

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L Introduction ::

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The data and examples used throughout this publication are intended to stimulate thought and discussion of leadership, leadership agendas and the pathways to power open to African women leaders.

There is more to development than policies and programmes. the case profiles of women leaders focus attention on how some women have overcome systemic constrair.ts. The biodata used affirm the resourcefulness and creativ~y of individual agents of social change.

As the women leaders featured In Part III would agree, they have been able to reach their pos~ion partly because they have benefited from changing attitudes about women's capabilities and from new development policies and activities requiring or encouraging women participation. Some have maintained pos~ions for years in male-dominated environments. before current trends included more women colleagues. All are now in positions where they can promote affirmative action for women and girls and incorporation of the gender perspective into their various fields of specialization and influence.

It is not an easy task to categorize women leaders in Africa. This is because women are active on many fronts. The scientist may be a professor as well as an activist for advancement of women, who goes into

polijics and who in mid or later life may turn te.

commercial farming or a manufacturing or service enterprise. The case histories certainly present African women as active in many sectors.

Although women's social and economic participation are high in Africa, there are significant differences between men and women on most of the socio-economic and pomical indicators commonly· used to measure development. Indeed, by such indicators Africa as a ~ontinent ranks low and is poor and needy in terms of development. Against this background, African women who are in decision-making positions, or have the potential based on current level of participation, have a great and historical role to play. Their parents and grandparents often fought, resisted and endured oppression and discrimination in anti-Colonial, independence and liberation struggles. Today these women are in positions wliere they can close ranks and declare war on ill~eracy, poverty and discrimination on the basis of race or gender.

As is the point of this presentation, there are several activities in which African women leaders are becoming more visible. Some of these areas Include working with conflict-resolution and prevention, entrepreneurship, grassroots mobilization, international development through United Nations work, participating in politics and governance and working in fields of science and technology. However, despite significant gains made in each of these sectors, much more needs to be done until bofh men and

women have the same opportuntties to contribute regardless of their race or gender.

At the Fifth African Regional Conference in Dakar in 1994, some 5000 women from all over Africa, came together to prepare for the Fourth Wortd Conference on Women in Beijing, China, in 1995. The participants heard the articulate voices of many African women leaders on all Issues of possible relevance in these times. The cmical areas identnied for leadership action and focus are the cornerstones of the Afrtcan Platform.

I n addition, the Conference heard many oral, presentations about the situation of women In various parts of Africa. The African Platform was adopted after active debate and consensus-seeking.

Women spokespersons in the Plenary sessions and in smaller forums, workshops and In press conferences stressed many points relevant to African women leaders:

African women seeking decision-making power come up against male-domlnated systems which are sometimes characterized

by

African women face double discrimination on the basis of race and skin colour as well as gender. Gender discrimination Is harder to face and to fight because the perpetrators include men who are loved ones and family members, of the same race and ethnicny, who resist the changes advocated by women and discredn their efforts.

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Jc) Phvslcal threats :

Women active in lhe public sphere run great risks of physical assault on their persons and on their supporters. They risk Imprisonment, even detention wtthout trial and fundamentalist religious execution and assassination. Sexual harassment, violence and rape, police brutality, divorce, rejection, loss of custody of chndren or of one's passport have to be endured in many cases;

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J (j) Educatloll

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Without education, improved health care and reduced daily work loads, African women cannot easily

2

enter Into community activities, careers, professions and businesses which can lead to high-level decision-making power. This education and training also needs to Include more science, mathematics and technology. The alarmingly high drop-out rates of girts from primary and secondary schools should be investigated and resolved in innovative ways, even ff this should require special financial subsidies and intensnied recruRment and counselling. Girts who become pregnant should be allowed to return and finish their education, something that is often not possible in many countries. Adult ineracy and skKls training is likewise important and requires much less Investment of time and resources since gelling an adutt Inerate and trained to be economically and politically active might take two to three years years, whereas this can take as many as 20 years for an infant.

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National systems that are set up for the

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advancement of women are a good start. However,

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these programmes often lack political commitment. In most cases, women are placed at relatively low levels of management, in "soli" ministries and offices that are understaffed, underequipped and given low priomy.

Innovative suggestions for mobilizing resources for women include debt-swaps and debt canceilations in favour of women programmes. This Is particularly unfortunate for human development when money and resources allocated are compared to what Is spent on weapons and on military and police operations and training. Innovative ways suggested for mobilizing resources for women Include debt-swaps and debt canceilations in favour of women's programmes;

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' (f) The African

girl-chlld

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The situation of the African girt child needs special focus, given the negative SOCialization she endures from birth to grave, including lower levels of education, nutrition and socio-economic opportunity, as weil as the range of harmful traditional practices, including genital mutilation, body scars, earty and arranged marriages and pregnancies and food taboos that affect health and nutrition;

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""(g) Need for positive role models}

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The need for women role models operating at high levels, with decision-making authority and visibility was repeatedly stressed as critical for uplifting the sen-image and inspiring the ambttlon of African women and girls;

A critical mass of women leaders are needeO in each country, pursuing coordinated policies and concerted action for meaningful and significant empowerment. Intra-African and global cooperation, collaboration and networking are a vital part of this process. Key to playing their roles as agents of change and development Is the need for determined managerial commitment and action althe highest level, a clear strategy, Including specific targets and time frames, emphasis on effective monitoring and accountability, appropriate training, measures to encourage the mobility of women staff and the creation of a supportive working environment conducive to equal participation of men and women in development management and activities.

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"Structure of the publication']:

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This publication Is organized into four main ,parts.

Part I, Leadership for Human Development, presenlS working definitions of leadership and of Ihe current people-centred concept of sustainable human development, In relation to a gender-based analysis of the socio-political and economic environments facing leaders in development sectors at various stages of development. Part 11, Gender and Leadership in Africa, presents the typical and traditional gender and leadership environment in Africa and presents data that allows interpretation in terms of human and gender development Indices. Part 111, Sectoral Overviews with Illustrative Case Profiles, presents six current sectoral overviews of the situation of women's participation and leadership modes, with illustrative case profiles of a few of the women active in these StlClors at strategic, influential and/or policy-making levels. Finally, Part ~ Recommendations for African Women Leaders, ' concludes with a summary of recommendations for the current group of African women leaders.

LEADERSIDP FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

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In the context of human development, leadership is the exercise of decision-making power by authorized

persons for use of human, technical and financial resources towards planned development target groups wtien guiding, directing or representing others.

An .Individual, a group or an institution can play this leadership role if there is acceptance of the responsibilities and duties to be discharged, within the framework of a stewardship over resources and power.

Leaders with a human development, people-centred approach need to have an ideal, image or vision of a better society with higher standards of living and being for the people. For this vision to become reality, transparent, accountable and responsive stewardship is particularly Important.

Sound management is the key to the group dynamics of organizing people for the accomplishment of tasks and mandates guided by a work plan and/or a time-frame for action and backed by the authority to enforce and follow-up decisions.

The concept of leading implies that one or more persons are following a leader, that Is looking to the leader for guidance and direction as expanded choices are being pursued by and/or on behalf of the beneficiaries of the activity. Leaders cannot function effectively with staff chosen only through friendship or other personal relationships, but choices have to be based on competence and ability, with loyahy forged over time through successfully working together and through mutual respect and tolerance.

Leaders use the power of decision-making through authorized empowerment established by the group involved, or by some external legitimizing source such as a government or NGO appointment. For their leadership to be sustainable, they have to be guided by 'level of resources to be controlled and managed.

Promotion of human development requires that leaders ,be willing to move with a vanguard or alone if necessary and manage and effect change through directed rather than coincidental or ad hoc actions.

Leaders in the fields of education, health, infrastructure and human capacity building often function as trailblazers, sometimes establishing paths where none previously existed. They are often forced to take decisions without the benefit of many guiding precedents or lessons drawn from previous trials and errors in their own countries.

Although decision-making seems "natural" to strong, assertive and responsible people, effective leadership skills area part of management kno'IAedge and training. Management schools teach decision-making theories and models, often using actual case studies to force mature students to put themselves in the position of the one(s) who have to examine all factors, balance options and opportunity costs and take decisions which have far-reaching consequences and Implications.

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The multiplier effect of training leaders Is high, given that leaders, by virtue of position, t~le or community recognition, work with a significant number of people, whether In small exclusive groups or in a wider community endeavour.

Despite the different implications of "bottom up" and

"top down" leadership strategies, the sort of skills required by leaders remain similar. Leaders,

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wish to remain leaders in a democratic environment, have to be sensitive to the needs, resources and skills 01 the people being led, and have to be trusted and trustworthy representatives of the community or group, as well as skilful administrators and managers.

Ability to motivate and encourage beneficiaries to have high morale and performance is also key to successful leadership, especially when the leader needs to be able to convey genuine commitment and enthusiasm for the task in hand, to draw out other peoples ideas, skills and feedback. A highly qualified person academically may be well-qualified technically but may not necessarily be acceptable to the people he or she has to work with.

Basic leadership requirements therefore include local standing and acceptability, by whatever form of legitimacy Is prevailing, regardless of whether the leadership decision-making is task-directed or group-directed. Otherwise the decisions taken may not be accepted or will be accepted but not implemented by the actors involved.

To be in a leadership position means that one can, to a large extent, set one's own agenda, while participating in the mainstream agenda, and influence and participate in decision-making as a matter of course, thus shaping poliCies and programmes. The successful leader" therefore has to be able to form dynamic, flexible and powerful alliances to promote and protect interests. Given the lack of education and support services in developing countries, the commendable leader should also be a a teacher, with special competence to deal with development management of agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, government and the civil service as well as social services.

Leaders emerge at various levels of social organization:

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(a) The household or family;

(b) The community, including clan, the neighbourhood, work places, business enterprises, associations and political parties, etc.

(c) Local government;

(d) National government;

(e) International or global government.

Whatever the source, the leadership exercised and legitimized has to be based on ideas and values set by family, tribe or clan, religion, culture, community and the media, as well as by governmental and educational policies and institutions. Even very innovative leaders who are breaking new ground are constrained by the ability and pace of the community or group in absorbing the development activity and by the quality of the enabling political and economic environment.

Various types of elites control the internal struggle for power and control in a society. The social composition of traditional elites change over time, as power bases change or expand and as participatory democracy and the accompanying free-market economic theories extend social power to new interest groups. Gender bias is being broken down through education and through global exposure. The stories of the women featured in the publication are exciting because they are heiping to define the new opportunities and obligations. They evidence activism at its best and Identify directions for action, within the context of their lives.

Institutions such as the Forum of African Voluntary Development Associations, the Africa LeaderShip Forum and African centres of research on women are part of this change process.

However, in both developed and developing countries, the proportion of women active in the legislature and in political parties, trade unions and.

NGOs does not rellecttheir numbers in the electorate, in the population or in their socio-economic contribution. Women are only slightly visible, although this is increasing, in economic and political decision-making at the highest, strategic levels. Even when women and men have been accorded equal status before the law, limited access to education, training and employment with upward mobility and traditional cultural and environmental factors inhibit performance and promotion.

Culturally, 'especially in the least developed countries, women are socialized to look to men for decision-making authority in almost all spheres, sometimes even within the household where women have the most scope for exercising some degree of power. Yet, current trends point the way to a gradually rising percentage of women forming part of the social composition of the new and younger African elites taking over from the post-independence generation of leaders.

It is to be hoped that in the upcoming years the leadership issues will benefit from field research and

analysis on how the total amount of power In society is being redistributed and in what directions .. Certainly, qualified and committed women able to accept responsibility and account for it are part of the emerging new eI~es and are a part of.the process which is extending policy-making and decision-making powers to a broader base in the society.

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Sustainable Human Oevelpment

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Gender equity in all societies is one of the sustainable human development (SHD) goals of the

Un~ed Nations, which will be promoted at ,the Fourth World Conference on Women. All the major United Nations agencies In recent years, especially UNDP, UNICEF and UNEP, have come out in favour of people-centred paradigms as more humane and therefore more just and sustainable than the economic measures of cap~al income and its efficient use. By the early 1990s, such new approaches were perceived as needed

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High growth rates do not necessarily guarantee poverty alleviation, empl'oyment creation or equitable distribution of the gains of growth, whereas development means an improvement in the quality of life of the great majority of a population, not only the privileged strata.

The message now being stressed globally Is that development and development managers and leaders must put people first, with economic growth servicing human development and with human capacities furthering sustainable growth and participation according to people's needs, resources and' capacities.

Thus, the basic premise of human development is that ~ is a process which enlarges human choices, while ensuring equttable distribution of the benefits from growth, maximizing the linkages between various types of investment in human beings, calling for effective popular participation and permitting more efficient use of capital and other factors of production.

This ensures sustainability, especiaJly after partners providing assistance pull out or go home.

I! Is increasingly felt that women have a very strong stake In people-centred development. Women leaders should find this SHD approach a conducive framework for their ideas and inttiatives, for promoting collective and individual rights and Interests as well as survival of their families and communttles.

The launching of UNDP's first Human Development Report in 1990 gave the ideal of human development an institutional .base, and the moral support and authority of the Untted Nations System. It created a momentum for public debate and focused public

opinion on human beings as the centre of development. Even before this however, the t988 Khartoum Dedaration had stressed that the human condttion was the only final measure of development.

Africa's men and women were the main factors in the process and the ends for whom and by whom any development programme had to be justHied.

The t990 ECA African Charter for Popular Participation in Development and Transformation stated the rational propos~lon that development had to be engineered and sustained by the people themselves through full and active participation.

Development should not be undertaken on behalf of the people, but should be the organic outcome of a society's value system, ~s perceptions, concerns and endeavours. African countries were urged to take note that their greatest resource Is the people.

The 1994 African Common Posttion on Human and Social Development in Africa again re~erated the need for Africa to put the well-being of people at the centre of all development inttiatives, policies and programmes and the need to develop all human resources.

Investment in human resource development especially in such areas as education, health, housing and social services, food security and self-sufficiency will enhance productive employment and income and the productive utilization of developed human capactties for self-reliance.

At its June t994 meeting, the UNDP Executive Board endorsed the concept of sustainable human development (SHD). SHD recognizes environmentally sustainable economic growth as a means of improving the well-being of human beings and not as an end In itself. SHD focuses on creating an enabling environment for poverty reduction and alleviation, environmental regeneration, productive employment and sustainable livelihoods, social integration and empowerment of women. The empowerment of women is one of the major cross-cutting themes relevant at all' global conferences.

Such a stress on human development raises issues of social welfare, especially for the most vulnerable groups in society, Including women. The extent and the effectiveness of any human development l:UIll social welfare system is directly linked to the capacities and policies of the pol~ical and economic systems In place.

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W~hin population segments of a nation and among nations, there are stages of development, whether judged by economic or human development factors. Strategic interventions vary remedies according to where the target group falls on the development continuum. For example, women in an

5

overcrowded refugee camp, or hiding in the bush from both government and rebel forces will find it hard to sustain interest in talk of human rights, gender equity or self-help theories applicable at some time in the future_ The remedies called for in such a situation are emergency supplies of food, clothing and shelter, protection from abuse and slaughter and welfare assistance for basic survival. I n situations of war, peace-making and reconciliation would need to come h"lore rehabilitation and new development.

The concept of varying action and remedies according to the location of the target along a development continuum is well-known in economics and political science, especially among those thinkers and actors who view development as expansion of choice for the individual and for the group_ The diagram below attempts to show how development environments can vary in their effect on the leader's choice of policy and modes of implementation-

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leadership Environments on ^Q Development Continuum

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Marginal

• Low level of gender equity

• Low human development index

• Subsistence eeonomy

• Simple production

• Low literacy .. Lack 'Of interest

and enthusiasm; apathy .. Pride in mbe above nationality

• Low level of entrepreneurship

• Need for community

• Little infrastructure

Adjo.

• I:-Ielpi.~ d,c"\ to stand on their own legs

• Identify local resources &. s.kills

• Use of community development promoters to rai$e interest and identify research needs and preferences

• F onn women ^t s groups for improved health and nutrition

• Imtiate development projects

• Build a primary school or eommunity centre

Pro grossi"o

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Leaders for social action and change

• Government

• Private Sedor

• NGOs

• Hising human development index

• Surplus eeonomy

• Diversified productiQtl .. Moderate literacy

.. Alert to s.elf-help opportunities .. Pride in nationality above uibc .. Significant level of entrepreneurship

• Support to establish community development projects

.. Some infrastracture established

• Religious institutions

• Madia

Adio.

.. More immcdiHtc HCCCSS to ..:xternRl HssislHIlCC c.'(. credit improved technology

'" Expand dev. & usc of established local resources and skills '" Use of technical extcn~;on workers

to raise productivity rul(1 introduce new melhods

• Ponn womcn's ,l!roups for income- generation

• COllMlI!dl1te und rcpiicllte on-,l!oing projects

• Huik! Illl ~ric\lltural college, or

:1 small·business compJex

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(Source, Africoo Centre for WofOOl), ECA, 1995)

GENDER AND LEADERSHIP IN AFRICA

African women leaders such as the distinguished daughters of Africa commended in these pages have made significant gains since the Third World Conference on Women which took place successfully In NairObi, Kenya In July, t 985. The African venue and the geographic association of the Forward-lOOking Strategies w~h Nairobi was a great boost to the Alrlcan women's movement, towards greater and higher-level social and economic participation.

In addhion, since many Alrican women were able to anend the Conference and the NGO Forum and many also partiCipated at high level, the multiplier effect of their participation when they returned to their homes was immeasurable. The Nairobi Conference Which was held at the Kenyana International Conference Centre and at the Univers~y of Nairobi greatly uplifted the African women's sense of being part of a strong global force pressing for social equ~y in human development and taking stances on development issues affecting women in relation to peaceful and constructive social, polhical and economic change.

Since then also, African leaders and govemments have become more senshized to gender roles and women's participation for maximized use of the full potential of all the human resources of their countries, more than haH of which are women. In most African countries, more women have been politically empowered at cabinet, parliamentary, local and district levels and in the civil service and social services administration.

Some have gained audible voices through NGOs and women associations and cooperatives, trade and farmers' unions, women's movements around specKic social issues and involving non-violent civil disobedience, and th.rough associations of professional women. In add~ion, both government and NGO programmes have impacted to some extent on mobilization of grassroots women.

It would be more reassuring and acceptable to African men and leaders if distrust between the sexes can be minimized and if the message of gender'sensitization campaigns is that involving women does not mean excluding men. This is of great importance in Africa where sex roles are stili distinct and enshrined in tribal, religious and poiitical structures. The practice of both maie and female circumcision among many African peoples illustrates

how deeply entrenched are the perceptions of manhood and womanhood in minds, hearts and lifestyies.

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Leadership as a concept Is gender-neutral, but in practise, governance in all spheres, especially of the State, was the man's role in the vast majority of human societies, since the days when men were the hunters and the warriors. Women's relationship whh power, except in cases where women ruled as queens or empresses, has usually been indirect and mediated by men. Few African women proportionally are to be found in public- or private-sector decision-making positions, yet women constitute at least half of a given population and their visibiiity and power in a communhy should reflect their numbers.

Onl,y In a few developed countries can ~ be said that women's influence on policy is comparable to that of men, and even then, not in all areas, despite the fact that most countries have signed and/or ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and accepted also the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women.

From the gender perspective, there is interest not only in the proportion of women and men in publ~

office, but also in senior management positions affecting groups of people involved in production or distribution, etc. The new stress on gender as a major factor in development represents a shift or growth from the narrow focus on women, to the much broader and integrated perspective that incorporates both women and men in management of society and sening of s'andards.

However, it is increasingly felt globally that women's issues ara important from the developmental and human-resource management points of view and not just from the social-equity perspective. Historically, women have played a significant role in helping men to build power bases, but the current trend is to empower women on their own behalf. Indeed, such empowerment is taking place among grassroots and other low-income groups and not only through professional groups, NGOs or parliamentary bodies.

Despite the new opportunities opening up for women, most are not prepared to seize them. Women who get a chance to pursue education are oiten guided to non-strategic areas in terms of decision-making, where they cluster in the lower ranks, glad just to have paid employment, and confronted wtth subtle, diffused and non-transparent structural and behavioral barriers.

In many cases, restrictive practices and sexual

7

harassment have limited female leadership in the organizations and professions relating to civil society and administration of services.

Women leaders sensitized to the importance of women's agendas are part of the process of transforming social, economic and political structures into ones .more responsive to the satisfaction of women's needs and concerns, and those of their families and communities. However, the gender perspective takes into consideration the needs satisfaction of all human components of a society, men, women and children. Innovations and attitudes which change Iffe positively and favourably for women also upgrade living conditions for men and children.

Even though women have the vote now, they tend not to be elected or appointed to decision-making posnions. Women's polttical participation impact on how public resources are spent, and thus, their participation is critical If social and economic support structures are to be created, legal discrimination eliminated and negative stereotypes banished from education and the media. Africa sees few women stand and seek elecHon or begin careers leading to senior management positions in public or private capacities. Even then, for women to rise to positions of leadership, they need to upgrade their academic qualifications and their personal and organizational management skills to enhance their overall participation and performance. They also need development management skills and top~evel policy makers In both the public and private sectors need to be gender-sensitized.

Thus, promotion of the gender approach addresses the fact that the needs and concerns of women, though a half of the world's population, are not integrated enough in development policy and programming, ,to provide the same opportunities to both men and women and to maximize efficient use of all human resources in the war against poverty and illiteracy.

For gender policy and analysis to be effective, gender-disaggregated data have to be available.

African women leaders especially will need to examine the new methodologies for the generation and use of gender-specific data and statistics, especially in national income accounting and in sectoral and national development plans. National and international statistical bureaus and statistical publications will SOon seem outdated if statisticians are not trained and directed to gather, compile, analyze and present reliable gender-dlsaggregated data to guide the most effective use of gender roles in a given communny.

This discussion of gender and leadership has raised many issues and ideas relevant and applicable to the situation affecting the levels of participation open to

8

African women leaders. What is needed at this point is a clear linkage between their trad~ional participation and the new opportunities that are inevitably arising.

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Typical lradillonalleadership .,

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LeaderShip in the gender perspective on the African continent offers certain characteristics, both in terms of the leaders available and the realities of the environment. Given the level of male dominance in Africa and the low levels of education and exposure that most continental African women currenlly have, it is especially vital that women's Issues be viewed as societal issues and not be seen only as women's affairs, to be handled by women alone.

There are over 370 million women in Africa, approximately 51 per cent of the total continental population distributed over 53 countries. Over 80 per cent of them live and work in rural areas. So women leaders rising up in Africa often have close ties and deep roots w~h family and relatives still living in rural areas. Whether these leaders are rural- or urban-based, involvement with women's advancement within the priornies of the country and of the region must pay heed to rural women, their needs and their potential. African women wishing to work and seek leadership roles In women's affairs must seek firm bases of loyalty and trust among rural women and be able to identify wnh them.

Traditionally, African women are supposed to take care of cooking, cleaning the house and the yard space, bearing and raising children, induding chief responsibility for finding food for them, as well as assisting with ploughing and hoeing, planting, weeding, fertilizing, harvesting, transporting and marketing produce. They spend hours per day In fetching water and firewood and still manage to produce some 80 per cent of the food In Africa and supplement or entirely provide family income by working in the informal sector as traders and producers.

Desp~e the strong work ethic of African women, however, in most societies they were not supposed to own land, control money, hold public office, or disobey or divorce their husbands, at the risk of physical chastisement, social ostracism and even community sanctions including casting of the non-conformist woman out of the commun~y.

A point to be stressed to show how much courage it takes for a woman to break away from tradttional gender roles and behaviour Is that in many African societies, women are largely socialized to be quiet in the presence of men and to feel that

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with a male leader in public may cause serious damage to the male's ego and can eam his enmity and that of his family and supporters forever.

Worse, 10 show real anger in public and at meetings, about her position and that of other women can be seen as traitorous to the tribe or clan, and lacking in control of her emotions. Expression of anger and protest may take far more courage, determination and stamina for African women than for women in some parts of the world where women's independenl behaviour Is more accepted and not seen as abnormal or troublemaking.

Traditional, relatively authoritarian systems were usually centraliZed around a single ruler, chief or king, chosen by heredity or by merit, assisted by a small group of elders. Factions existed but but there was limned intervention at the village or dlstriCllevel, limtted pluralism and little effort to control social and economic organiZations.

It could be said that most African men are still as much in the grip of tradttion as are most women. They held polhical power and were responsible for resolution of conflicts and controversial issues, mediation in marital or property-rights conflicts and apprehension and punishment of criminal offenders.

Women leaders emerged indirectly due to circumstances of birth Into a .chlef's or other political family wtth high levels of standing and authority.

Others have emerged through excelling at survival and at performance of their major domestic responsibilities. Still· others, especially In. war-torn areas or in areas where men's jobs or studies take them far away, even abroad for years, take up emergency leadership functions, as substitutes until the men return.

Usually, however, such leadership roles are expected to be confined to women's concerns and problems in the local communities to do with women's communal agricultural work or women's interrelationships as co-wives, economic rivals, neighbours, age mates, etc.

Such local leadership tradnionally devolved by age grades and has been voluntary and not counted as official governance, even in matrilineal societies.

Certainly, as a maner of course, women elders also have to be consulted on various maners to do with women and children, marriage negotiations, healing and tribal lore and practices. For example, women leaders traditionally became inVolved wtth shaping and moulding the beliefs and lives of young gins during circumcision ceremonies and other rnes of puberty for girls. Thus, tradition has determined the areas in which African women have been able to gain experience as leaders.

Historically however, especially in pre-colonial times, many African women leaders have emerged as leaders of both men and, women in the society, in terms of social, economic, political and ideological processes. Women have exercised real power in Government throughout the histories of most African countries. Two great Ethiopian queens are mentioned In biblical history, the Queen 01 Sheba as Queen "olthe South", and Queen Candace. In ancient Egyptian history, not only were there many notable wives of pharaohs, but at least four women reined not as queens but as "pharaohs". The most famous was Hatshepsut of the eighteenth dynasty.

In Nigeria there was the legendary Queen Amina of Zazzau and in Siena leone, the paramount Chief Mama Yoko of the Kpa Mende tribe. About two centuries ago, a woman also sat on the throne of the Awujale of Ijebu Kingdom. The Queen Mothers of Ghana have been very effective women leaders wtthout directly holding power and especially when there was weak male leadership. Ashanti Queen Mothers did not derive their power only from other women but from the whole society.

. Queen Ranavalona 111 of Madagascar in the nineteenth century had to contend with foreign threats as well as domestic tensions in her island State.

In more recent times, Chieftess Mwaml Ntale Tereza from Kigoma in Tanzania exercised power over her ethnic growth and served as a member of the legislative Council during British rule. In Egypt, collective political action led by Hoda Sharawi led to the establishment of the Feminist Union In 1922 with a view to improving the status of women, raiSing their intellectual standards and promoting social and political equality. The Union was able to exercise forceful legal action in 1924 during the drafting and promulgation of a new constitution lor Egypt.

Throughout the colonial period, women struggled openly but coll'ectively against exploitation. In Kenya, Wanjlro led the movement for the release of Harry Thuku, a pioneer of the nationalist struggle. She was later captured and killed. Fierce struggles against colonial rule by women for example, in Angola, Algeria, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe also deserve mention. By the end of the Zimbabwean war, women constituted twenty-rIVe of the cadres olthe Zimbabwean African National Union Uberation Army and one out of fifteen commanders were women. The heroic deeds of Mbuya Niyanda of Zimbabwe and Mama Chikamoneka of Zambia can also not be forgonen..

However, not since the heady and Change-filled days of independence struggles has there been such social and economic striving for development and modernization and such consensus about the need for

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rad ical and effective restructuring of political and economic stnuctures as they affect both men and women today. After centuries of colonialism and decades of one-party States and military rule, democracy and the rights of human beings have become current and are impacting on attitudes, behaviour and Inst~utional structures.

Tribal governments were largely the norm when the Europeans came to Africa,. despite several great empires that had emerged, for example In West Africa.

The nation States In Africa today, with the exception of Ethiopia, were largely creations of the European colonizers seeking consolidated areas of influence and control.

Thus, many countries with ethnic tensions suffer from never having had a common social order or political community. Constitutions are still being developed, refined and amended In many countries, sometimes without much demand. from uninformed citizens used to benevolent dictatorships and hierarchical patterns of authority and behaviour. Even when governments Introduce more democratic nules, and responsible pluralism, pattems of management in other areas

African traditional lifestyles favour strict gender-based division of labour and favour social separation of the sexes, a kind of gender apartheid for separate activities and reduced social contact, especially in public. The relationships were based not so much on "equality" as on "complementarity". ,In terms of gender-based activity, women often work, rest and eat together, perform women's dances and rituals together, as do the men in their respective social, spheres. In other words, gender roles has everything to do with one's psycho-social self perceptions and.

sense of belonging, so key to mental health.

In terms of levels and sources of leadership, African women are known to excel at the level of household management, which in many cases also involves farming andlare trading activities. Although they are largely absent from strategic levels of decision-making and management in these sectors. they are nonetheless visible in economic participation whether formally or informally, marginally or at SUbsistence level.

Social and demographic environment of African

women leaders

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Between 1965 and 1990, according to the World's Women:Trends and Statistics, the number of women declined in ali regions except Africa, where the rate of . growth rose from 2.7 to 3 per cent. About 12.4 per cent .

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of the world's women live In Africa -9.7 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa and 2.7 In North Africa.

The percentage may seem small, given the vast size of the continent and the low population density in most countries, but It translates at over 370 million women, 51 per cent of the total African population, distributed over 53 countries, and mostly living and working in rural and informal sectors. However, in most African countries, less than 10 per cent these women make it into decision-making positions which influence development policy and planning.

Even then, when '1irst-generation" gender-sensitive malnstreamlng of women's participation begins to take place, the positions initially offered to women often have very limited pOlNers, in '1emale" ministries or agencies such as health, education, youth, sports, and social services dealing with "soft" issues. Men dominate the powerful ministries dealing with planning, finance, trade, Industry, agriculture, commerce, defence, etc.

By 1995, in Africa, the only country which has raised a woman to a position beyond ministerial levels is Uganda which last year appointed a woman Vice-President. Even in the social services areas in Africa, women make up less than 1 0 per cent of ministry and agency heads.

Recruitment of well-known women into political parties, NGO and cooperative income-generation activities and development of such social services as supplies of water for drinking and for irrigation, firewood, electricity, improved stoves and toilets, have achieved pUot-project type success in many African communities.

Rural and illiterate women are also playing' leadership roles at the community level, particularly in terms of problem definition, needs assessment and communications networking with other women and with local authorities. However. few reach high strategic levels capable of inftuencing or formulating sector- or nation-wide policies as individuals.

In addition, representation in different levels of decision-making structures have to be considered.

including involvement at ministerial, regional and local government institutions, and in high-level, positions in the civil service. Similar situations are found at these ministerial, regional and local structures. According to a review of 51 African countries in 1987, presented in the United Nations Study, Women in Politics and Decision-making, there were no women ministers in 60.8 per cent of the countries and no senior level officials in 41.2 per cent of the countries revieWed.

The same report states that such senior-level women constituted 5.1 per cent at vice-ministerial level, 4.7 per cent at the level of director of department,

4.9 per cent at deputy-director level and at the ministerial level, 5. t per cent. At the sub-regional level this translated as North Africa 1.1 per cent, West Africa 5.4, East Africa 3.2, Central Afrlca 3.3, and Southern Africa 1.9 per cent.

In 1994, the percentage of female administrators and managers 1980-1989 was 13 per cent for sub-Saharan Africa. Senegal topped the list wkh 44 per cent female administrators, Botswana, 36 per cent , South Africa 17 per cent, Gambia and Zimbabwe 15 per cent each, Egypt 14 per cent, Seychelles 12 per cent, Zambia 11 per cent; Sao Tome and Principe 9 per cent; Ghana 9 per cent; Togo 8 per cent and Cameroon 6 per cent. Where data Is available, tt appears that representation on local and regional councils Is similar, though slightly higher than representation at national level.

More women are being elected councl11ors. African women are also greatly underrepresented In professional positions, policy-making management and in research and extension work.

Given the evidence explored In the biographlc data and case profiles used in this publication, African women leaders need a strong organization or network behind them and around them to have the necessary leverage and voice. Operating in and on behalf of groups is not only safer and more efficient for obtaining and channelling resources, but fit Into tlhe tradttional communal patterns of organizing women, whether to ululate and dance for victorious warriors or to hoe a large field to the tune of communal chants and work songs.

In addition, women's groups widen more quickly the pool from which a critical mass of women leaders can emerge to challenge the prevailing gender idealogy about socio-economic roles. A group can have the audibility and visibility that the indMduallacks, or have the potential.

Efforts to institutionalize the increased participation of women at all levels have resulted in various women-headed ministries, councils and commissions, IGOs and NGOs and women's groups, as well as membership and increased participation of women in general In such organizations. Entrepreneurship training and credit schemes, agricultural and other technical extension services, primary, maternal and child health and information and communications have Impacted on some population segments which were ready to absorb such activities.

Stili, as the publication the World'. Women summarizes, the soclo-economlc sttuation of African women and African peoples remains critical. Rapid population growth, high rural-urban migration, high inflation, cutbacks and retrenchments under structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) have combined with

serious economic decline, reduced terms of trade, low productivity in agriculture, industry and services and declining school enrolment rates in most countries.

In terms of women's gender roles, women, as in most development regions, are poorly represented in the ranks of power, policy and' decision-making, even at middle levels. Only small percentages or the occasional token representation Is to be found in governance of the State, major corporations and enterprises, banks and financial houses, media houses, political parties, trade unions and so forth.

In sub-Saharan Africa, there was some improvement In health and education as indicators of level of social services for human development, but the figures remain beFow the minimally acceptable standards of the international community.

I n North Africa, women also made gains in health and education. Fertility declined slightly to 5.5 births per woman, lower than the average fertility rate In sub-Saharan Africa, but women in the subregion continue to lag far behind' men In economic and political partiCipation and decision-making.

Whereas most developed regions have reduced maternal mortality (MMR) rates to close to zero, African MMR rates are as much as 80 to 600 times higher, the highest in the world. Algeria In North Africa has an MMR of 140 per 100,000 births, Kenya 170

+ ,

Infant mortality and under-5 death rates are similarly astonishingly high, In fact tragic, in these latter years of the twentieth century when most of these deaths are preventable in developed environments offering improved medical care and sanitation.

PrOVision of safe drinking water and of covered latrines would greatly reduce mortality and morbidity from endemic diseases and parasites.

Lne expectancy rates at birth in 1992, according to the ECA's Human Development in Africa, 1995 Report, are some of the lowest in the world for both men and women. They range from a high of 71 years in Seychelles, a medium range of 58.6 years in Kenya and a low of 42.4 years in Sierra Leone. The average

I~e expectancy for the continent asa whole is 53.0 per cent.

Fertility rates declined sign~icantly in every region except SUb-Saharan Africa where the average fertility rate In 1993 was 6.2 births per woman, compared to 3.21 in Asia and 3.05 In Latin America and the Caribbean. Contraceptive prevalence rates are some of the lowest in the world, from 9 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa to 36 per cent in North Africa.

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The urbanization rate of 35 per cent means that by the first decade of the twentieth-first century half the population of Africa could be living In urban areas. The economic growth rates and growth In social services and job-creation have not been able to support the growing numbers of children despite low life expectancy rates, and urban services have nOl been able to keep up with the high rate of rural-urban migration.

At the current population growth rate of 3 per cent per annum, the African population, estimated at 744 million in 1995, is expected to double in the next two decades. This rapid population growth exerts unsustainable pressures resulting in environmental degradation and desertification which In tum increases poverty (Report on the Economic and Social Situation in Africa 1995, ECA). This also means that Africa's populations are very young, with consequences for the number of dependents per household.

Some 45 per cent 01 African women are under 15.

Early marriages for giris are qune common. Almost 50 per cent of African women are married by age 18, some by the age of puberty, If parents or guardians are anxious to collect dowry or bride price or

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seems too freedom-loving or rebellious and is seen as needing to "have her wings clipped" from eariy.

Thus, African women bear the responsibility of managing house and children at a very early age, and a majortty of women, especially from low or irregular Income groups, do not finish secondary school, or even primary school or vocational training. Twenty per cent of househojds are women-headed and half of this number comprises widows, some stili of child-bearing' age.

A large percentage never have access to education as Ineracy rates show allover Africa. Some countries report as many as 80 per cent of women illiterate, usually much higher than for men citizens. As much as 70 per cent 01 women over age 25 are Illiterate on average, compared to 40 per cent in Eastern and South-east em Asia and 20 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean. In some parts of rural Africa, even 15 to 24 year old women are 75 per cent illiterate.

In terms of advanced training In law and business, two areas which have produced men leaders In Africa, only about 26 per cent enrolment is noted, compared to almost full parity in latin America and the Caribbean and 38 per cent in Asia and the Pacific.

In business and general management, attitudinal discrimination is part of a corporate culture that is still very biased against women even in developed countries, where women managers also cluster at junior and mid-level ranks and few manage to get ClPpolnted higher.

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Male spouses and relatives are oIlen described as not willing to give the emotional support that professional women need. It Is also oIlen said that both men and women tend to prefer not to work for women bosses, for various reasons. One reason often heard Is the presupposition that women will not have enough power and knowledge to be effective or will be too whimsical and capricious. Other reasons sometimes heard range from malicious references to lack of experience or qualifications and to judgements such as "she only got the job because she is a women", or

"because she is having an affair with so and so".

Definitely, one of the requirements needed by emerging women leaders Is a very '1hick skin".

Some cruel biases against additional opportunities for women take the short-sighted view that their newness to posttions of power Imply insecure and unstable use of the powers accompanying the positions. Criticisms range from the views about women's emotional make-up and menstrual cycles to their capacity to get pregnant and expect paid matemity leave, to doubts about stamina for sustained responsibility. Women leaders on their part, even those with thick skins and driving ambitions, will often suffer from unfounded doubts and malicious rumours.

In reality, women acting as trailblazers in occupying positions or entering hallowed portals previously barred to women, find that in such situations they have to work twice as hard and be twice as qualified as most men to be able to rise above such negative environments and the sometimes spiteful and deliberate lack of support services.

Unequal sharing with husbands and other male family members of household responsibilities leave women and girls little time and leisure to study or to pursue political and other community roles. Limited and distant social services reduce disposable time even further for both political, cultural and education and training activities. Studies have shown that women and girls spend several valuable hours per day fetching water and firewood for their households, largely because these jobs are viewed as women's work, even when men and boys may be avaHabie. If the "superwomen" householders of Africa could find the training, the means and the opportunities to rise to technically and professionally skilled leadership positions, they would undoubtedly excel.

Past generations have seen restricted entry quotas for women into ihe legal and other professions. Thus, few women couid be promoted to judgeships and high career posts. In addition, women are sometimes offered public posts such as appointments as magistrates which are unpaid jobs, while paid magistrates tend to be men.