Socialisation and women's participation in governance: exploring important themes from Ghana
by Janet Serwah Boateng; Vicki Banham; Isaac Kosi; Desmond Tutu Ayentimi
International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies (IJGSDS), Vol. 4, No. 1, 2021

Abstract: This paper draws from feminist literature to explore how socialisation and socio-cultural orientation in Ghana potentially influence women's participation in governance. The paper aims to broaden the gender literature by exploring vital underlying themes within the socialisation processes and how they constrain women's participation in governance. Besides, the paper discusses the influence of gender mainstreaming on women's participation in governance. The following themes: 1) cultural orientation; 2) patriarchal system; 3) family system structured on women as dependents; 4) religious belief systems; 5) class system; 6) customary regulatory systems, are highlighted to be nurturing socialisation processes of women and influencing their low representation in governance in Ghana. This paper argues that gender mainstreaming addresses the socialisation processes, and promotes women's participation in governance. It suggests that the implications for women's empowerment are through affirmative action, which facilitate the deconstruction of gender relations to enable more women to participate in governance in the Ghanaian society.

Online publication date: Mon, 04-Jan-2021

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies (IJGSDS):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com