Sister Aid Liberia (SALI) with support from UN Women and Irish Aid, has concluded a transformative leadership, public speaking, and organizational management training for newly appointed women leaders and other emerging women leaders of Liberia.
By Francis G. Boayue
The Acting Executive Director of SALI Amelia Siafa, giving the background of the activity, said the initiative conducted by Sister Aid Liberia is part of an effort towards reducing gender disparities in political representation of females in Liberia.
She said: “the transformative leadership training for 63 appointed women leaders, providing them with essential skills and a mindset to effectively navigate challenges and inspire change within Liberia’s evolving political landscape. In the second phase of the project, an additional 65 appointed women leaders have been trained across three counties: 25 in Bassa, 20 in Grand Gedeh, and 20 in Lofa.”
She further said that the 2023 Liberia General Elections, highlighted significant gender disparities in political representation.
According to her, out of twenty presidential candidates, only two were women, who received a mere 0.33% and 0.20% of the votes, respectively.
“In the legislative body, the representation of women remains low, with only one out of fifteen newly elected Senators and eight out of seventy-three elected House Representatives being female. Consequently, the overall representation of women in the legislature has stagnated at 10.7% across both houses.
“Despite these challenges, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has shown a commitment to enhancing women’s representation through various appointments. This presents an opportunity for advocacy aimed at strengthening this commitment.
“Sister Aid Liberia has been actively engaging with the executive branch to promote increased representation of women in appointed positions at both national and local levels. Their advocacy efforts include targeted one-on-one meetings, the dissemination of policy papers, and organized advocacy meetings.
“As a result of these initiatives, approximately 195 women (19.32%) have been appointed to governmental positions at local and national levels.
“However, it is noteworthy that many of these appointed women are new to public service and may lack recent experience in governmental roles.
“Given the heightened scrutiny faced by women in leadership positions, it is crucial to prioritize capacity-building training and ongoing mentorship for these individuals. This need aligns with the key priorities identified by the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection and the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” Sister Aid Liberia’s acting Executive Director added
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