In the twenty-first century, gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) has emerged as a development tool that explores if and how gender equality goals and targets are being effectively supported through government funding. Gender-Responsive Budgeting in Practice: Lessons from Nigeria and Selected Developing Countries argues that, although justified by the high costs of gender inequality to economic growth and development, the use of GRB as a tool to achieve global and regional gender equality goals has seen little progress in the twenty-first century, especially in developing countries. Through analyses of government budgets and the budgeting process, and gender equality outcomes in Nigeria and the selected countries from 2000 to 2020, the contributors show that GRB has failed to gain traction or thrive in developing countries. Using these analyses, the contributors identify critical success factors that are missing in policy-making and planning in the developing world and must be integrated in order to further facilitate inclusive growth and sustainable development.

The book analyses patterns of women’s political participation and evaluates disparity between levels of women’s participation in politics and representation in governance in Nigeria. It also examines the causes of women’s underrepresentation in governance and decision-making as well as their implications for the country’s socioeconomic development and describes strategies for increased women’s representation in governance and decision-making in Nigeria. This study relies on political-culture and liberal-feminist theory and adopts a mixed-method research design involving quantitative and qualitative methods. It uses multistage sampling in selecting Nigeria’s South-East, North-West and South-West geopolitical-zones and 1206 women of electoral age for the study survey conducted using structured questionnaire and in-depth interview.

Globally, women are oppressed and this book introduces the perspective of African women and especially that of Nigerian women. This book looks at the major themes that drive the women's empowerment programs in Nigeria. Feminists in Nigeria are shaped by the institutions, values, ideologies, and since the 1970s, the UN and its agencies have added an international dimension. The chapters, while taking us through a theoretical overview of Nigerian women's empowerment, also shows how institutions, values, religion, and culture can challenge feminist political philosophy— a philosophy that tends to universalize women’s problems and their solutions.

Good governance is an index of human development. What constitutes good governance is holistic and gender issues are key components in the formation and practice of governance. In pre-colonial Africa, governance is inclusive of men and women. In the pre-colonial era, it could be argued that women had spheres of power and powerlessness. In most post-colonial societies of Africa, it is a rarity to accord women positions in government. Yet, the United Nations Conferences held in Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985), Beijing (1995) and New York (2000), all had drafts and resolutions to change inequalities and vulnerabilities women encounter in public and private spaces. What are the issues to understand in the inclusion or exclusion of women in governance of African states and societies? This book explicates the experiential issues in gender, politics and governance. The 'known' are the stereotypes accorded to women as weak and unfit to take strategic roles in public life. Scholars across disciplines have debunked this perception. The known constantly linger in perpetuity because the development plans of African states fail to understand what it takes to have women empowered in all ramifications.

Kristin A. Goss examines how women’s civic place has changed over the span of more than 120 years, how public policy has driven these changes, and why these changes matter for women and American democracy. As measured by women’s groups’ appearances before the U.S. Congress, women’s collective political engagement continued to grow between 1920 and 1960—when many conventional accounts claim it declined—and declined after 1980, when it might have been expected to grow. Goss asks what women have gained, and perhaps lost, through expanded incorporation, as well as whether single-sex organizations continue to matter in 21st-century America.

This piece, which is a collection of papers presented at the 2018 International Conference of the Association of or the Promotion of African Studies, focuses on two major faces of violence in Africareligiopolitical violence and violence against women. It also studied the developments in literature in the face of changes taking place in Africa. The present work is one of the greatest developments in scholarship in African studies.