The Commonwealth is far from achieving gender equality when it comes to women in political decision-making roles. Although Commonwealth Africa has some of the best-performing countries in this context, on average women’s representation is still only 23.3 per cent.

Elections are a critical process through which political leadership can be accessed. However, for gender inclusiveness to become a reality, it is necessary to specifically address the hurdles to women’s participation in all three stages of the electoral cycle, the pre-electoral, electoral and the post-electoral periods.

A Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Elections in Commonwealth Africa: Achieving 50:50 by 2030 reviews the systems, legislation and best practice that will need to be implemented and effectively monitored to get more women into politics and help to realise Sustainable Development Goal 5 – achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.