On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, the Women Legislative Caucus (WLC) of the 55th Legislature proudly launched and presented its five-year strategic plan. The event was attended by the President, the First Lady, the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Ministry of Gender, as well as local and international partners.
The Women Legislative Caucus’ strategic plan is organized into several sections, including an introduction, background of the WLC, guiding principles, and four main pillars of the plan: three strategic and one operational objective. It also outlines the monitoring and evaluation framework and the pathway to change.
The Women Legislative Caucus seeks partnerships and support, both in cash and kind, to accomplish these ambitious yet critically important objectives. With your support, we aim to strengthen members’ legislative, oversight, and representational functions, promote women’s participation in politics, public leadership, and elections, institutionalize the Women Legislative Caucus, and enhance the operations and sustainability of the WLC Secretariat.
“We are immensely grateful to UN Women, UNDP, the European Union, and the Governments of Sweden and Ireland for their support in achieving this objective. To all our partners who have supported us in the past and continue to support us, we extend our heartfelt thanks. We look forward to ensuring that women, who have consistently proven to be exemplary leaders, achieve a 50/50 participation record in Liberia, walking side by side with men,” the group noted.
The Women Legislative Caucus was formed in 2006 by women legislators of the 52nd Legislature to define and promote a common agenda for gender equality, irrespective of political affiliation, religion, ethnic background, or other persuasions. Thanks to the visionary leadership of the WLC and the support of our many local and international partners, women continue to be elected to key positions in government.
In addition to electing the first female President of Liberia and Africa, we have seen the election of the first female Vice President, the first female President Pro Tempore, and women heading various county legislative caucuses and important committees in the legislature.
In 2023, the WLC had a strategic plan to ensure the re-election of all women legislators. While a few were defeated, we maintained the same number of members, 11. Notable election achievements include adding one woman to the Senate and electing three women in Grand Cape Mount County and one in Grand Gedeh for the first time.
They concluded that, “due to our continuous advocacy for increased women participation, we worked with the WLC and UN Women after the presidential election to ensure that women were vetted and recommended for government employment. Today, we are proud that President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has set a record for elevating and including the most women in government. According to recent analysis, 62 (24%) of key positions have been filled by women, while men occupy 201 (76%) of the 263 nominations made by the Boakai-Koung administration.”
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