Chapter 8: Women Board Directors: Africa on the Rise

In this chapter, I explore the status of women board representation in Africa and how this compares globally. An overview of leadership and how this relates to women board directorship follows. Finally, the specific context of Africa is highlighted where I describe interventions that African governments have established to remove deterrents to women board representation. According to the African Development Bank (2015), “unlocking the potential of Africa’s successful transformation requires concurrently removing barriers to women’s leadership and participation” (p. 3). In Africa, while women contribute to 80% of the food produced (Lubbock, 2009), this important contribution is not reflected in executive leadership and board positions. Agriculture is a key sector in most African economies. The immense role women play in the food production sector needs to spill over to all aspects of development.