Beyond numbers Narrating the Impact of Women’s Leadership in Eastern Africa

Abstract

Beyond Numbers
From a global perspective, the push in the 1990s for women’s involvement in national
political decision making processes was about numbers. In Eastern Africa two countries
namely; Rwanda and Uganda became the case studies as the numbers of women
representation in governance positions begun to shoot upwards. However, while their
neighbours were progressing in this way, Kenya seems to have lagged behind.
The” Beyond Number study”- whose findings are now presented in this publication, was
motivated by the need to reveal the impact of the women’s movement for participation
and representation in political decision making in Eastern Africa. It considers the impact
of a critical mass of women on such areas as institutional reform culture, service delivery,
ability to challenge the status quo, change laws and policies that affect women at various
levels of society. In addition to demonstrating the successes, this study considered specific
questions relating to the various factors that have constrained or facilitated women’s
participation in national governance processes across the four countries: Uganda, Kenya,
Rwanda and Tanzania.
Beyond Numbers therefore reveals how the women’s movement has spearheaded the
participation of women’s representation in political decision-making in Eastern Africa and
it measures the impact of a critical mass of women on such areas in terms of institutional
culture, gender and service delivery.

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