Low Participation of Women in Parliamentary Representation in Developing Countries. The Case of Ghana.

Developing countries’ population is said to be the youngest and fastest population in the world. It is estimated that by 2050, the population of developing nations would be doubled. Furthermore, women make up the greater part of the population. Notwithstanding; they are not much involved in the decision-making processes in their countries. The case is worse-off in developing countries whose democracies are not yet consolidated. According to the 2010 population and housing census in Ghana, women formed a larger portion of the percentage thus representing 51 percent of the total population. However, women’s representation in various decision-making bodies like the legislative, executive, judicial and other formal decision-making bodies are insignificant. The study examines the various factors of low women participation in parliamentary representation in the Ghanaian political process. The study adduces a quantitative method focusing on the feminism theory. The study realized that, women in political positions influence policies and increase their social status as well. However, the factors that militate against women in parliamentary elections are poverty, low level of education, socio-cultural factors, among others. Based on the findings of the study, it recommends some strategies to increase the participation of women in parliamentary representation.