When do quotas meet reality?

Across West Africa, women leaders and legislators are intensifying calls for ECOWAS to enforce laws mandating gender quotas in politics. The demand, freshly echoed at the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA) Forum held during the Parliament’s 25th anniversary Extraordinary Session in Abuja, rests on a compelling argument: women make up more than half of the population, yet occupy only a fraction of parliamentary and executive seats across the region.

From Senegal, where women occupy over 40 percent of parliamentary seats due largely to strong quota laws, to Nigeria, where women account for barely 6 percent of legislators, the disparity is both glaring and persistent. The appeal by ECOFEPA president, Veronica Sesay, for member states to legislate reserved seats and proportional representation has revived a long-standing debate on legal fixes for political inequality.

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But beneath this well-intentioned campaign lies a troubling and rarely discussed question: What happens in constituencies where no woman is willing to step forward, even when quotas exist? Can laws alone create representation where social, economic, and cultural realities have discouraged participation? This uncomfortable reality must now take centre stage.

Laws that mandate women’s representation are valuable, but they are not magic wands. When introduced without groundwork, quotas can quickly encounter resistance or collapse into tokenism.

In many constituencies, there are simply no female aspirants willing or ready to run for office. The reasons are not far-fetched; politics in parts of West Africa remains deeply hostile to women. It is expensive, often violent, and socially punishing. Electoral contests demand financial muscle, personal security, and political networks that women, particularly those outside elite circles, rarely possess.

Where quotas exist without preparation, political parties sometimes resort to ‘window-dressing’. That is presenting women as paper candidates, pressuring relatives into contesting, or using female names to meet legal requirements while actual power remains male-dominated. In some cases, women contest not with the intent to win, but merely to satisfy legal obligations. This distorts democracy rather than strengthens it.

“Therefore, we believe that the true vision for gender equity is not a parliament filled by reluctant placeholders, but one powered by confident, competitive women who choose to contest because the system welcomes them.”

More dangerously, quotas without buy-in may fuel resentment. Some male politicians and even voters view gender laws as unfair privileges rather than corrective justice. Without cultural reorientation, quotas may unintentionally deepen gender tensions, turning women in politics into symbols of imposition rather than transformation.

Meanwhile, the implications are obvious: democracy risks becoming hollow. When laws exist without participants, democracy becomes performative.

First, governance suffers. When qualified women are absent from political life, entire perspectives are excluded from policy-making. Education, healthcare, maternal welfare, food security, and child protection (areas where women’s leadership has shown impact) are often under-prioritised.

Second, political institutions lose legitimacy. When seats are reserved but unfilled, or filled by reluctant or unprepared candidates, the electorate grows cynical about inclusion policies. Quotas begin to look like box-ticking exercises rather than vehicles of empowerment.

Third, young women lose role models, as representation can be contagious. Seeing a woman in office encourages another to contest. But when quotas exist on paper only, symbolic representation fails to generate the ripple effect needed to change political culture.

Finally, there is a risk of gender reforms stalling altogether. Failure of one round of quotas may be cited as proof that women are not interested, when in fact the problem lies in societal conditions, not lack of ambition.

Therefore, we believe that the true vision for gender equity is not a parliament filled by reluctant placeholders, but one powered by confident, competitive women who choose to contest because the system welcomes them.

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Instead of depending on legislating quotas, an ideal scenario would include legal frameworks that mandate quotas and require parties to develop female political talent; political parties running mentorship and leadership programmes for women; electoral systems that are safe, transparent, and affordable for all candidates; and cultural environments where female ambition is celebrated, not punished.

In such a system, quotas become catalysts and not crutches. Laws simply open doors; women walk through them willingly, prepared, and supported.

Senegal’s case remains instructive, not just because of its quota law, but because political participation among women has also been normalised culturally. Women are not forced into politics there; they are expected to be.

If ECOWAS and its member states truly want women in governance, they must shift from preaching numbers to building capacity.

ECOWAS governments must fund women’s political development. Leadership training, campaign financing, voter education, and security guarantees are essential, as passion without protection is not empowerment.

Also, political parties must be compelled to nurture female leadership from the grassroots. No party should be allowed to outsource gender inclusion to legislation alone. Candidate development must become a statutory obligation.

Similarly, education systems must teach political confidence early. Girls should grow up seeing leadership as natural, not exceptional. Civic education, debate clubs, and leadership platforms must become mainstream in schools.

Likewise, traditional institutions must be engaged. Many women retreat from politics due to cultural and religious constraints. These institutions wield enormous influence and must be enlisted in redefining norms.

Lastly, safety must be guaranteed. No woman should fear violence for aspiring to office. Until politics becomes civil, women’s exit from it will continue.

Knowing that quotas do not create courage but culture does, we agree that ECOFEPA’s call is noble, timely, and necessary. But ECOWAS must confront a harder truth: laws cannot manufacture readiness where fear, poverty, and marginalisation persist.

Gender equality cannot be legislated into existence; it must be cultivated.

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If West Africa wants women in governance, it must create a political environment women are willing to enter. Quotas may open the gates, but only safety, dignity, and opportunity will keep them open. Representation is not about filling seats but about building confidence, and confidence cannot be commanded; it must be earned through reform.

Until then, gender laws may exist, but leadership will remain male, not by design but by default.

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