Don’t forget to send the lift back down

Women's representation in parliament dropped from 44 percent in the 2009 elections to 40 percent in the 7 May 2014 polls, while that of women in provincial legislatures dropped from 41 to 37 percent. The proportion of women premiers dropped from 55 percent in 2009 to 22 percent in 2014. In the 2011 local elections, women's representation dropped from 40 percent to 38 percent.  

One female premier is not enough and it is an insult to women’s leadership abilities. But again how will we expect others to trust in our leadership abilities if we don’t have faith in ourselves, women are always accused of having the PHD (pull her down syndrome).  There’s a book by Eric Miyeni, “The only Black at a Dinner Party”, a lot of women suffer from this, we’ve seen it in Margaret Thatcher we have also witnessed it in the Western Cape under Helen Zille’s leadership, when women get positions they don’t have confidence and trust in other women to come to the party.

With the local elections coming up next year it would be lovely to see COPE women stand together to challenge the norm.

“When you reach the top, don’t forget to send the lift back down.”

Freedom, Equality and Solidarity  

#MatjhabengWakeUp