Autocrats’ push for women in government: Window dressing, or real change?

It was late 2018, and in Ethiopia the government was throwing a rock through one glass ceiling after another.

First, in mid-October, the country’s new reformist prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, announced that his cabinet would be 50 percent women – including his ministers of defense, trade, and transport.

“Our women ministers will disprove the old adage that women can’t lead,” he told the country’s parliament at the time. “This is to show respect to the women for all the contribution they have made to the country.” 

A week later, that same, Mr. Abiy announced another woman, Meaza Ashenafi, as the first female president of the country’s Supreme Court.