Personal Strategies Adopted by Women Ward Councillors to Maximise their Contribution to Decision-Making in South Africa

Abstract

Democratic countries have promulgating prescripts to increase the number of women in politics which has affected how local government operates. However, politics is still regarded as male-dominated in most countries including South Africa. For women councillors to survive and equally participate in the decision-making processes at the municipal level, there must be something exceptional about them as their interests differ from their male counterparts. This paper aims to identify personal strategies or behaviour adopted by women ward councillors to maximise their contribution to decision-making processes in the municipal councils. A qualitative approach and exploratory research design were employed. The study is limited to the male and female ward and proportional representative councillors from six local municipalities of the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted using face-to-face and telephone techniques. The findings of the study were analysed using content analysis and themes were induced from interview data. The results of the study indicated that there were no strange behaviours as women were treated as equals in the municipal councils. However, the study findings revealed that for women councillors to maximise their contribution to decision-making processes, it depends on the social network that a woman belongs to; intimate relationships; aggressiveness and arrogance; self-confidence; education and the dress code.