…for Women inaugurated Data Hub for Women’s Leadership in Public Governance, the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Centre inaugurated Data Hub for Women

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

Liberian Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Photo Credit: TED

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS (NABN) Freetown, Sierra Leone – The center strives to capitalize in-country Civil Society Organizations with existing data to endorse for and improve gender equality and enable researchers and the media to monitor and analyze women’s participation and representation in public leadership.

“This launch notes the advent of the EJS Center Data Hub, which is working towards giving data
for the whole African Continent and aspires to be the exclusive destination for data on the current state of women’s leadership in Africa,” a release from the EJS center stated.

According to the statement, accessing detailed and credible data on women’s public leadership has been questioning. And this urged the establishment of the hub with a preliminary priority on the West African Countries Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Togo.

“The hub provides data on women’s representation in the legislative, executive and judicial branches of their respective countries. It collates data collected by teams of interregional researchers, which is not readily available on any other public databases. The Hub also features
detailed insights on the representation of women in cabinets, on high courts, gender quotas and
gender-sensitive legislation.”

The Center speculates that, in a bid to champion for considerable representation of women in decision-making bodies in public governance, the public and CSOs must adequately comprehend
the current statistics of women that are in leadership positions.

EJS Center’s Executive Director, Dr. Ophelia I. Weeks, said: “Only when we know where we stand can we chart a path forward. The EJS Center’s Data Hub is the first tool that focus specifically on the
Former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the founder of the EJS Center, added: “Data can be transformative. I sincerely hope the Center’s Data Hub will draw people’s awareness to the low representation of women leaders in public leadership and also empower both men and women globally to take action to ensure equal representation at all levels.” Erstwhile President of Liberia who doubles as the founder of EJS Center noted.