Sierra Leone Increases Quota of Women in Leadership Roles
Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio talks to China’s President Xi Jinping during their meeting, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018.
InternationalIndiaAfricaMuhammad OsmanAs of now, women in Sierra Leone make up 12% of the country’s Parliament, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which tracks representation in national parliaments across the world. At the same time, women hold four offices in the 28-member cabinet of President Julius Maada Bio, who came to power in 2018.On Thursday, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio signed into law a new bill entitled the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act designed to raise the number of women in the country’s top jobs – including parliamentary seats and cabinet posts – to 30 percent.“We, men, have yet to see or acknowledge women’s rightful position fully, and this law will give us tools to correct that,” the president said in a Thursday address.Speaking of women’s participation in politics and running for elections, Bio stressed that his government will do its utmost to “end the impunity or violence against women” in elections and public life and hold accountable “all persons and entities found guilty of such violence.”“Women who wish to serve in public office and their supporters must not be undermined, belittled, intimated or humiliated,” the president said. “It’s not going to be easy because that space has been occupied by men for a very long time, we must monitor electoral processes to ensure election fairness and transparency.”The president, who is seeking reelection the country’s June 2023 presidential vote, said that he expects the bill to “revolutionize” Sierra Leone government’s engagement with women through “making them equal partners in our task to build a strong and vibrant country.”Besides the public sector, the new law would also force companies in the private sector to employ females in 30 percent of senior jobs. Failure to comply and refusing to grant women equal pay and at least 14 weeks’ maternity leave could result in a fine of 50,000 new leones ($2,580), and a jail sentence of at least three years.According to the United Nations’ 2020 Gender Development Index (GDI), Sierra Leone ranks 182nd out of 189 countries in the world in terms of levels of gender equality in the country.
