Why don’t we have the choice of a woman for president?

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) finally wrapped up the candidate submission process for the May elections on March 8, the same date as International Women’s Day (IWD). The global commemorative day celebrating the achievements of women and advocating gender equality was born out of women’s labour and socialist movements in Europe and North America in the early 20th century.

The intersection of IWD with the party list submission deadline makes this week an opportune moment to reflect on South Africa’s progress — or not — towards achieving gender equality in political leadership at the national level, since it is from the ranks of those nominated for election to the National Assembly that our government leadership will ultimately be drawn.

There are 380 political parties registered with the IEC at the national level. For the first time independent candidates will appear on the national ballot. At a time when our country sorely needs an injection of fresh leadership, it might be tempting to conclude that the plethora of political options will be a boon for political plurality and choice. But what is the reality?

Of the 48 political parties that contested our last national elections in 2019, only three were led by women: GOOD, by its founder and tourism minister Patricia de Lille; the Minority Front, led by

Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi, who assumed the leadership after the death of her husband, party founder Amichand Rajbansi in 2011; and Women Forward, led by party founder Nana Ngobese. Of the 14 that managed to secure at least one seat in parliament, De Lille’s GOOD was the only party led by a woman.

Think about how damning this statistic is. In a country where, according to the 2022 national census, women make up the majority of the population at 51.5%, and are the heads of 50% of the country’s households, only three women lead political parties that contested the last national election. All three women are the heads of parties which they either had founded or had a hand in founding, in the case of Thakur-Rajbansi. This means that in 2019 no political party had a woman leader who had progressed through the ranks of an established political entity. Those were all headed by men, whether they were founders or not.

Does this mean that starting an organisation from scratch is the only viable pathway to political leadership for South African women?

From what we have observed in the news media during the election campaign season, it doesn’t seem that much — if anything — has changed in 2024. Of the prominent new political parties signalling their intention to contest this year’s elections, all are led by men. And while we won’t know the exact details until the IEC publishes the candidate lists of those who will appear on the ballot, it is probably safe to conclude that all except one — GOOD — will have a man at the top of the candidate list.

The 19th-century US attorney, writer and orator Robert Green Ingersoll once said of his country’s late president, Abraham Lincoln: “If you want to find out what a man is to the bottom, give him power. Any man can stand adversity — only a great man can stand prosperity.”

This axiom about political leadership is also true of political organisations: proximity and access to power reveal their true character and identity. More appositely, it reveals whom they believe is (and is not) entitled to wield that power. While politicians may be quick to tout the virtues of women’s leadership and the importance of gender equality when Women’s Day rolls around every year, almost all stop short of having women occupy legitimate positions of power in their organisations.

The discourse on women’s political representation has a tendency to focus on the proportion of women represented in parliaments, cabinets and governments around the world. At present, women occupy 26.4% of parliamentary and congressional seats globally — with the figure slightly higher in Africa at 26.9%. While this measure is significant for showing that we have a long way to go to achieve equal representation, it masks a far more damning statistic: the dearth of women leading national governments.

In January 2023, according to UN Women and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the number was 19 out of 193, or 9.8%. This is where the glaring absence of women at the top of party leadership lists and structures is laid bare.

If you plan to make your electoral choices this year based on parties’ commitment to gender equality, it is worth scrutinising party lists when they are published by the IEC and making this judgment by observing who occupies positions of real power and influence — not just prominence — in the political parties on the ballot.