2. Theorising African Women’s Leadership: An Overview

Numerous books, journal articles, chapters in books, policy briefs and diverse other forms of literature have been produced on leadership. Leadership has emerged as a distinctive area of study in its own right, attracting the interest of academics and activists of various persuasions. This chapter focuses on African women’s leadership in the context of global studies on leadership. It draws attention to the key issues in the study of African women’s leadership, highlighting the impediments to African women’s leadership and the main theories in African women’s leadership. In particular, the chapter summarises the reflections on Ubuntu and African women’s leadership. It also describes some of the key areas where African women have exercised leadership, illustrating some of the emerging areas. Overall, the chapter summarises the major themes in African women’s leadership, thereby culling the context within which the current volume is located.