Ethiopia Says Africa Cannot Realize Its Full Potential While Marginalizing Women

Addis Ababa, November 5, 2026 (FMC) – Africa cannot realize its full potential while women remain marginalized and excluded from leadership and decision-making, Ethiopia’s Minister of Women and Social Affairs, Shewit Shanka, has stated.

Addressing the African Women in Political Leadership Summit, held alongside the Second African Political Parties Summit in Addis Ababa, Shewit said the profound changes reshaping the world demand visionary leadership, resilient institutions and collective action to advance Africa’s development.

She identified geopolitical shifts, technological transformation, demographic changes, climate challenges and evolving economic relations as developments presenting both opportunities and challenges for the continent.

Against this backdrop, she emphasized that women must be recognized not merely as beneficiaries of development initiatives but as producers, innovators, leaders and active agents of peace and progress.

“Investing in women is economic transformation, democratic governance, social cohesion and sustainable development,” she said, underscoring the importance of women’s full participation in shaping Africa’s political and economic future.

Shewit cited Ethiopia’s experience since 2018 as an example of progress in women’s political participation, noting that women now hold 20 percent of cabinet positions and account for more than 40 percent of the House of Peoples’ Representatives.

She attributed the progress to political commitment, inclusive development and institutional action, stressing that women must be treated as equal stakeholders and co-architects of national transformation.

The minister also underscored the need to strengthen women’s leadership within political parties themselves. She said their participation must extend beyond formal representation to include meaningful roles in party structures, leadership positions, candidate selection and policy formulation.

Political parties, she stressed, have a responsibility to establish institutional conditions that enable women to influence decisions, shape policies and lead political and social transformation.

Shewit called for an Africa in which women enjoy equal representation in political leadership, economic empowerment and institutional protection, while every girl can aspire to become a leader, entrepreneur, scientist or policymaker without gender-based barriers.

Her remarks came as African political leaders and representatives gathered in Addis Ababa for the three-day Second African Political Parties Summit, which is being held under the theme “Governing for Growth: Political Parties as Architects of Africa’s Economic Future.”