SADC legislatures models in gender equity

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) gender unit has said that the proportion of women in parliament in the region is higher than the global average by 4.5 percent. Presenting a paper during a democracy conference in Gaborone, Colleen Morna-Lowe of the SADC gender unit said that southern Africa’s proportional women representation was also considerably higher than the averages for the rest of Africa, the Americas and Europe. The proportion of women in SADC parliaments is 17.9 percent while the global average in 13.4 percent, she said. While the African average is 11 percent (the sub-Saharan region is 9 percent), the Americas and Europe have 15 percent a piece. Three of the top 10 countries in the world with regard to women representation in parliament are from the southern African region namely, South Africa, Mozambique and the Seychelles.