UNDERREPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITION: A STUDY OF ANIOMA, DELTA STATE

Résumé

Nigeria has been recording low participation of women in elective, leadership and appointive positions. This is a growing concern to many Nigerians. However, concerted efforts have been made by government and non-governmental organizations to increase the level of participation of women in politics and other levels of leaderships positions in line with the declaration made at the fourth World Conference on women in Beijing, which advocated 30% affirmative action for women leadership roles. In Nigeria, the extant National Gender Policy (NGP) recommended 35% affirmative action instead and sought for a more inclusive representation of women with at least 35% of elective political and appointive public service positions respectively. The under representation of women in political participation gained root due to the patriarchal practice inherent in our society, much of which were obvious from pre-colonial era till date. However, the re-introduction of democratic governance in Nigeria has witnessed once again an increase in women political participation both in elective and appointive offices. Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. Women participation in leadership roles in Anioma is the focal point of this study. The paper used feminism theory to explain the study deployed personal communication method to gather information from people. Data from INEC offices in Delta state were gathered. It was discovered that some of the factors that affect women underrepresentation in leadership roles include male domination, cultural influence, lack of money or fund, marriage, discrimination, lack of education and violence. Proper sensitization, education, empowerment and legal protective measures are recommended for the solution to the problem