Gender, Power and Institutional Change – The Role of Formal and Informal Institutions in Promoting Women’s Political Representation in Ghana

The article explores the role of formal and informal institutions in influencing the representation of women in the two major political parties in Ghana – NDC (National Democratic Congress) and NPP (New Patriotic Party) – as well as the small party CPP (Convention People’s Party). Paradoxically, with its first president, Kwame Nkrumah (CPP), Ghana was one of the first countries in Africa to introduce a quota in 1959, reserving ten seats for women in Parliament. With a representation of 11% women after the election in 2012 and 13% after the election in 2016, however, Ghana has not been part of the positive development on the continent. Drawing on the body of literature on feminist institutionalism, the article explores the dynamics of power and change relating to the low representation of women in politics in Ghana. It further investigates responses to initiatives to promote more female candidates in Parliament – the reduction of filing fees and the introduction of women’s seats. The article argues that the formal institutions in the form of party structures work both as an obstacle and an opportunity to promote more women in politics, and that the informal structures in the form of the gender culture in Parliament and verbal abuse work against more women in politics