BP147: Gender equality and the participation of women in public office in Swaziland

Despite major efforts over the past two decades to create equal opportunities for women to participate in politics and to increase female representation in government leadership in sub-Saharan Africa, women’s inclusion continues to be a major challenge.According to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Report 2013,the proportion of seats held by women in single or lower houses of national parliaments in sub-Saharan Africa increased by just 8 percentage points between 2000 and 2013, from 13% to 21%.