Good practice

Lei da Igualdade de Género e do Empoderamento das Mulheres (GEWE) da Serra Leoa, 2022

Sierra Leone · Freetown · See the Sierra Leone profile

A Lei da Igualdade de Género de 2022 da Serra Leoa impõe uma quota de 30% para mulheres na política, na função pública e em empresas com 25+ funcionários. Após as eleições de 2023, a percentagem de mulheres eleitas subiu de 14,5% para 30,4%.

14.5 %

Mulheres no parlamento (eleitas diretamente) (2018)

30.4 %

Mulheres no parlamento (eleitas diretamente) (2023)

Details

Maturity: Scaling
Promoter: Ministry of Gender and Children's Affairs, Government of Sierra Leone
Period: 2022–present
Keywords: gender quotas, political representation, employment law, public policy

Context

O Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE) Act da Serra Leoa, aprovado por unanimidade em novembro de 2022 e promulgado em janeiro de 2023, torna obrigatória uma quota mínima de 30% para mulheres no parlamento, no governo, nos conselhos locais, na função pública e em empregadores privados com 25 ou mais trabalhadores, e alarga a licença de maternidade de 12 para 14 semanas.

Results

Na eleição geral de 24 de junho de 2023, as mulheres conquistaram 41 dos 135 lugares parlamentares diretamente eleitos (30.4%), face a 14.5% em 2018 -- um dos ganhos legislados mais rápidos na representação política registados em África; incluindo os lugares eleitos indiretamente, a representação global atingiu 28.2% do parlamento de 149 lugares, acima da média regional da África Ocidental de 18.4%.

Conclusions

Uma revisão do Parliament-Westminster Foundation for Democracy de fevereiro de 2025 concluiu que o cumprimento da quota de 30% pelo setor privado permanece por monitorizar, não existindo dados de auditoria publicados que confirmem a adesão dos empregadores.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-07-05
Ministry of Gender and Children's Affairs, Government of Sierra Leone — accessed 2026-07-05
IPU: Record number of women MPs elected in Sierra Leone — accessed 2026-07-05
Harvard Kennedy School: Advancing Gender Equality in Sierra Leone (case study) — accessed 2026-07-05
ABC News/AP: New law aims to increase women in positions of power in Sierra Leone — accessed 2026-07-05
FAO Faolex: Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Act legal record — accessed 2026-07-05

Quality score: 85/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 22% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability2/3

A binding cross-sector quota model billed as a regional first in Anglophone West Africa, but no independent evidence yet of another country replicating it.

Impact on gender equality1/1

IPU data show elected women's parliamentary seats rose from 14.5% (2018) to 30.4% (2023), a directly attributable and measured effect of the Act.

Effectiveness1/1

The political-representation quota clearly worked as intended, though private-sector compliance is unmonitored per Dubawa/WFD review, so effectiveness there is unproven.

Efficiency0/1

No cost, budget or cost-per-outcome data was found for implementing or enforcing the Act.

Evaluated outcomes1/1

IPU Parline published official, verifiable election-outcome data before and after the Act took effect.

Sustainability1/1

The quota is now statutory and applies to every future election cycle, though enforcement infrastructure for the private-sector provisions is still absent.

Achievement / evidence1/1

Confirmed via IPU official data, an AP wire report, an FAO Faolex legal record and a Harvard Kennedy School case study.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

The Act embeds gender quotas across politics, civil service, diplomacy and private employment simultaneously, not a single-sector fix.

Curator validation1/1

Verified against four independent sources across intergovernmental (IPU), academic (Harvard), wire-news (AP/ABC) and legal-database (FAO Faolex) domains.

Cite this

Evidoria. Lei da Igualdade de Género e do Empoderamento das Mulheres (GEWE) da Serra Leoa, 2022. Persistent ID: c56e6bb4-ba67-45e7-a016-31a43931992d.

Export as decision brief (PDF)

Similar practices you may find useful

★ 96

Local Government Act 2011 Gender Quota — Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius's 2011 Local Government Act required parties to field at least one-third candidates of each sex for municipal and village …

★ 96

Lei da Paridade — Cabo Verde's Gender Parity Law for Elected Office

Cabo Verde

Cabo Verde's 2019 Gender Parity Law set a 40% minimum quota for each sex on all candidate lists and ties …

★ 37

2018 Parity Law and Its Unmet 36% Quota — Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau's 2018 Parity Law mandates a 36% minimum for women on candidate lists and in appointed bodies, but the 2023 …

★ 37

Gender Parity Law and Its 'Escape Clause' — Panama's Electoral Code

Panama

Panama's Electoral Code requires 50% women on party candidate lists, but Article 373's 'escape clause' lets parties fill gaps with …