-Women Fall Below 30% in Gov’t Total Workforce
By Jerromie S. Walters
Monrovia: A 2025 report on the government of Liberia’s workforce compiled by the Civil Service Agency has unveiled less than thirty percent of women’s representation as civil servants and less than 15 percent representation in appointed positions. This comes as women hold just 11% of seats in the 55th National Legislature of the Republic of Liberia.
Liberia is credited with being the first African nation to elect a female president (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2006) and recently had a female vice president (Jewel Taylor from 2018 to 2024). Despite these milestones, state institutions remain overwhelmingly male-dominated.
The CSA data details a national government workforce of 63,130 employees for 2025. Among 59,018 civil servants, men hold 45,277 positions (76.7%) compared to 13,741 held by women (23.2%). In the category of 4,112 appointed officials, men occupy 3,509 roles (85.3%) while women hold only 603 (14.6%).
This means women are under-represented in the National Legislature, in appointed positions as well as civil servants. Liberia’s House of Representatives contains just 8 women among its 73 members, while the Senate has only 3 women out of 30 senators. Liberia’s figures fall well below regional averages. Sub-Saharan Africa averages 27.2 percent female representation in parliaments, and West Africa averages 19.2 percent. Globally, Liberia ranks 161st out of 182 countries for women’s representation in national parliaments.
“Structurally unfair to women”
Bong County District #6 Representative and Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Gender, Hon. Moima Dabah Briggs-Mensah tells WomenVoices that the government’s workforce is structurally unfair to women. She argues that women are qualified and called on government entities to employ them in all new appointments.
Her words: “Don’t the heads of these government entities have mothers, sisters, and daughters? That is honestly the first question these numbers force us to ask. I’m pleading with all government entities to employ women going forward in all new appointments. Women are qualified too. Choose them!
The female lawmaker expressed disappointment about the report, noting that it portrays a clear lack of political will. “I am deeply disturbed and frankly outraged. by the report. The CSA report exposes a government workforce that is overwhelmingly male and structurally unfair to women. When women make up only 23% of civil servants and just 15% of appointed officials, this is not accidental it reflects a clear lack of political will,” she noted.
However, pundits say any form of appointment in government must not be done based on gender, religion, color, or race but on competence. “The government must not be compelled to appoint women just because they are women. Same with the men.”
With the CSA report, it means women’s representation stands below the long-advocated-for thirty percent women’s representation in the national government.
To address this exclusion, Madam Esther S.D. Yango, Executive Director – WONGOSOL rallies Government adopt and enforce mandatory gender quotas in appointments, strengthen accountability across ministries, agencies, and commissions, and intentionally invest in building and promoting women into leadership positions. She argues that Gender equality in governance is not a favor to women but a prerequisite for inclusive development, economic resilience, and good governance.
Mrs. Yango, “We therefore call on the President of Liberia and members of the Legislature to urgently appoint more women to key leadership positions and to ensure the meaningful inclusion of women and other marginalized groups in government employment and decision-making. For the ARREST Agenda to truly deliver inclusive development, the government must be held accountable for the commitments it has made to the women of Liberia.”
She believes that the findings contained in the recent Civil Service Agency (CSA) report point not to progress, but to worrying stagnation in gender inclusion within Liberia’s governance systems. “As the umbrella body for women’s organizations in Liberia, the Women NGOs Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) finds these results deeply unfortunate—especially in light of sustained efforts by women’s rights organizations, civil society partners, and international stakeholders to advance women’s meaningful participation across all levels of public life.”
Mrs. Yango stressed that the CSA data confirms that women continue to occupy a disproportionately low percentage of civil service positions and appointed roles, underscoring the systemic barriers that prevent qualified women from advancing within public institutions. “Despite persistent advocacy and programming to expand women’s representation in the civil service, appointed offices, and elective positions, women remain significantly under-represented, particularly in decision-making spaces,” she tells WomenVoices.
She’s of the opinion that these gaps are critical because women bear the primary responsibility for family care and household stability. Mrs. Yango emphasized, “When women are excluded from the workforce and leadership positions, it becomes increasingly difficult to address the economic hardships faced by families and communities across Liberia.”
In her belief, the CSA report, presented by the Director, “is deeply concerning but, unfortunately, not surprising. It confirms what women’s rights advocates have long emphasized: women continue to be systematically excluded from decision-making spaces. When women constitute only 23% of the civil service, 15% of appointed officials, and just 11% of legislative seats, this is not a reflection of limited capacity—it is evidence of structural and institutional exclusion.”
The women’s rights advocate emphasized that the trend clearly demonstrates that Liberia is “moving backward on its commitment to at least 30% gender representation. Policy commitments without enforcement mechanisms remain symbolic and fail to deliver real change. The lack of political will to translate these commitments into action continues to undermine inclusive governance.”
The Women NGOs Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) is a national umbrella organization coordinating and representing over 250 women-led civil society organizations across Liberia’s 15 counties. WONGOSOL works to advance women’s rights, gender equality, and inclusive governance through advocacy, capacity strengthening, coalition-building, and engagement with national, regional, and international partners.
Josiah F. Joekai, the Director General of the Civil Service Agency said the report gives the government a clue of the kind of interventions to undertake to bridge the gap between the males and females within its workforce. “It means there are serious gender implications. Meaning a lot has to be done. With this information, we know what kind of interventions to undertake to bridge the gap between the males and females within our workforce,” Joekai noted last week.
What went wrong?
Early reports in 2024 highlighted that six women held key positions out of nineteen, achieving 31.6% and surpassing Liberia’s 30% gender target. However, the 2025 Civil Service Agency report presents a different picture of women’s representation in President Joseph Boakai’s administration. Analysts say Cabinet appointments, suspensions, and dismissals throughout the year may have altered the figures.
Liberia does not have legislated gender quotas in place. The first attempt to establish a quota occurred in 2005, with election guidelines requiring political parties to ensure 30% of their candidates were women. The Liberian Constitution also supports the broad participation of all citizens in governance.
Various government policies have since aimed to improve women’s political representation. The National Gender Policy (2018-2022) committed to achieving gender parity by promoting affirmative action and legal reforms. Similarly, the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (2018-2023) set a target of 30% female political representation by 2023.
In a substantial step, the House of Representatives passed an amendment to the New Elections Law in February 2022. The change mandates that political parties must include no less than 30% of either gender on their candidate listings and in their leadership. Crucially, this amendment empowers the National Elections Commission to reject lists that fail to meet the quota. Historically, political parties have ignored the gender balance requirement because the rules lacked any penalty for non-compliance.
