One out of Sixty-four: The Paucity of Women’s Representation in Local Government Politics in Ghana: The Case of Tamale Metropolitan Assembly

Despite global concerns about the need to involve women in decision-making processes at all levels, women‟s representation in local politics has remained very low in Ghana. It is interesting that since Ghana embarked on an uninterrupted decentralisation through the District Assembly system of local government in 1988, the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly hardly gets two elected women representation. This study is an attempt to highlight the challenges women experience in their bid to access representation in local government and the coping strategies they adopt. Various concepts were employed for understanding of the situation. Four propositions were made, some of which were confirmed and others rejected. Analysis of variables such culture, education, decentralisation and socio-economic status helped to bring out their causal effects on women‟s representation in local government. The research findings point to cultural beliefs and practices as the main limiting factor; and which also plays influencing role on the other variables, which together limits women‟s representation in the Tamale Metropolitan Area. Women‟s community involvement and personal individual interaction with electorates are the main strategies that positively influenced their election and appointment to the Assembly.