Assessment of Factors Affecting Women's Participation in Leadership Positions of Oromia National Regional Government, Ethiopia

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing factors hampering women's participation in leadership positions in Oromia Regional Government public institutions. In so doing, primary and secondary data were obtained though questionnaires, focus group discussion and reviewing of print documents from various sources. Multi stage sampling techniques were also employed to select respondents from the study population. The findings of the study depict that political factors are the strongest barriers followed by government policies and organizational barriers contributing for under representation of women in leadership positions in the referent region of the study, whereas women's individual/ personal barriers were the least contributing factors followed by socio cultural barriers. Grounding the findings, the following recommendations have been forwarded:  that the government to consider academic merits on top of political commitment in assigning both women and men to assume leadership positions; give due concern to ways of enhancing women's participation in leadership positions through its laws, policies and regulations-enforcement; have a wide range of programs aimed at reducing the challenges of balancing work load and family responsibilities (balancing work & family). The study has also hinted at the need to make women leader friendly having meetings finished on time and within working hours. Furthermore, the government also should employ affirmative action such as quotas, establishing incremental time-bound to improve the representation of women in leadership positions and monitor its implementation to achieve gender parity in all decision-making bodies.