Citizens of a lesser gender: women participation in leadership positions in Tanzania

Abstract

Women participation in leadership positions is generally low in Africa and Tanzania. This low participation is as old as politics. It is contributed by the way states and communities look upon citizenship roles of women in the society. The role relegated to the family as child bearers. In ancient democratic Greece, women could not participate in decision making/leadership roles because they were, as slaves, considered lesser citizens. Women participation in politics started after 1900s in the USA and unfurled all over the globe. Tanzania took measures to empower women since 1990s. Yet, before 2015, there has never been a woman elected in the top three positions in the government. And, it is about 26.2% women featured in ministerial positions between 2005 and 2016. By using post-structural feminism and interviews with six ministries; this paper concludes that societal attitude and practices contribute to women's continual inactive participation in leadership roles in Tanzania.