Gender in the 2011 South African Local Government Elections

The 2011 local government elections that witnessed a decline in women’s representation at the very moment that South Africa should be redoubling its efforts to achieve gender parity underscores the need for a legislated quota for women in national and local elections. This is the conclusion reached by Gender Links (GL), the Johannesburg-based research and advocacy organisation following a gender analysis of the 18 May 2011 local government election results.

The analysis shows that women now constitute 38% of councillors following the 18 May polls, down from 40% in 2006. GL predicted this outcome to the exact percentage point, based on an analysis of the likely decline in support for the African National Congress (ANC), the only party that endeavoured (but even then did not quite succeed) in fielding equal numbers of women and men candidates in both ward and PR seats.

Read the report below.

Download : Gender in the 2011 South African local government elections