Influence of Gender on Women's Participation in Political Leadership in Chama Cha Mapinduzi in Manyoni District

The increase of womens participation in political leadership in different part of the world as a result of efforts made to empower women in different sectors politics included has also raised the political participation of women in Tanzania to the level that is recognizable. The use of different forms of quota has contributed a lot to the increase in womens political leadership participation. However the drastic increase in political participation of women has been witnessed to occur in one side of the country (urban areas) and women still face difficulties in their participation. This study assessed influence of gender on womens participation in political leadership in Chama cha Mapinduzi in Manyoni district. In order to achieve the objective of this study the researcher used case study design with a sample of 186 people selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected using interview, focus group discussion and questionnaire. Qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis while quantitative data were analyzed using statistical package for social studies (SPSS) software version 16.0 and presented using figures, frequencies and percentages. The study found that gender has great influence on womens participation in political leadership. The study recommends that gender equity should be considered very much within the political parties. Civic education should be enhanced by both the government and other stakeholders so as to continue enlightening the society on the inclusive politics.