CHALLENGES AND COPING STRATEGIES OF WOMEN IN POLITICAL LEADERSHIP POSITIONS IN THE SUNYANI WEST DISTRICT

ABSTRACT This study focused on females in political leadership positions. The purpose was to examine the experiences of females in political leadership positions in the Sunyani West District. This study adopted qualitative approach. A total of 14 participants were selected using purposive sampling. The data were collected using interviews. Thematic analysis was used for the data analysis. The results showed that females in political leadership positions perceive leadership in three different ways as taskoriented, goal-oriented and people-oriented. Whatever way they perceived political leadership, they faced several challenges in their leadership roles. The challenges take various forms and come from various sources. There were challenges related to family and community. However, the main challenge facing females in political leadership positions is social misconceptions about female participation in political leadership positions. The effects of these challenges are emotional breakdown of the female in political leadership to the extent that some consider quitting. Family members and supporters of women in political leadership positions receive several emotional traumas. The study reveals that the main effect of the challenges faced by females in political leadership positions is retardation in community development. Despite their challenges, females in political leadership positions appear to encourage other females into political leadership. What they advised was that females seeking political leadership positions should not react negatively to the challenges they may face. They proposed that to be successful in political leadership positions, females need to focus on their output and achievements to show their capabilities in contributing meaningfully to society. In order to challenge social misconceptions, they suggested that females in political leadership positions should develop resilience towards stigmatization, insult and other related offences. The study recommends an urgent need to discourage the unfair, unjust and unequal treatment sometimes meted out to women when they aspire to occupy political leadership positions. Women leaders are encouraged to face squarely these realities to surmount these challenges in order to take their rightful place in political leadership arena.