Women Representation and Policy Outputs in Ghana And Liberia

Abstract

Women representation and gender equality have been in the front burner of global political discourse for some decades, with several scholars linking the level of women representation to women empowerment and attainment of national development. However, the level of women representation in Ghana and Liberia remains low. The study investigated the effect of women representation on social welfare and women empowerment in the two West African countries. Survey design was employed in the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in data analysis. The study found that women representation had a positive significant effect on policy outputs in social welfare and women empowerment in Ghana and Liberia, F(1, 677)=4.435, Adj. R²=.705, p<0.05. Women representatives in Ghana and Liberia facilitated policy outputs in social welfare and women empowerment sectors. There is need for adoption of quotas that would facilitate election of more female representatives into the National Legislatures of both countries.

Key words: Women representation, policy outputs, social welfare, women empowerment, affirmative action

DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/61-07

Publication date: February 29^th 2020