Headshot of Abiba Yayah

Dr Abiba Yayah

Ph.D.
Pronouns: She/Her

Affiliations

Postdoctoral Associate

Faculty of Arts, Department of Political Science

Contact information

Email

abiba.yayah@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

LinkedIn

Background

Credentials

Certificate in University Teaching and Learning, Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary, 2024

Educational Background

PhD Political Science, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, 2020

MPhiL Agricultural Administration , University of Ghana, Legon, 2014

BSc Agricultural Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana, 2008

Biography

Abiba Yayah is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Calgary, Canada. Her research focuses on gender and politics in Africa, with a particular interest in women’s political representation in African legislatures. She has developed an original dataset on Ghanaian Members of Parliament (1993–2029), which forms the empirical basis for her ongoing research examining the intersection of gender, party dynamics, and institutional reforms. She has also contributed to a dataset on Members of Parliament in Rwanda and South Africa (two legislative sessions each), resulting in a publication examining gender and legislative committee assignments. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stellenbosch University, South Africa.

Research

Areas of Research

Comparative Politics; Political Representation of Women in African Legislatures

My research focuses on the political representation of women in African legislatures, examining the factors that shape women's access to formal political power across the continent. I analyse trends in gender representation, parliamentary committee assignments, the role of electoral systems, party politics, and legislative institutions, as well as the broader socio-cultural and historical contexts that influence women’s political participation. My work draws on feminist and institutionalist theories and is grounded in original empirical research. I have built an original dataset on Ghana’s parliament from 1992 to 2029 and contributed to another dataset on gender and legislative committee assignments (Rwanda and South Africa). These data-driven projects support a comparative approach to understanding how gender dynamics shape legislative behaviour, policy outcomes, and democratic governance in Africa.

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
POLI 502 Advanced Topics Seminar in Politics - Gender and Politics in Africa Spring 2024

Projects

Gendered Patterns of Access to the Parliament of Ghana

This project utilises an original dataset of Members of Parliament in Ghana from 1992 to 2024 in examining how political party ideology, ethnicity and geographical competitiveness along party lines intersect with gender in influencing the proportions of women legislators.

Preliminary Insights into the Impact of Ghana’s 2024 Affirmation Action (Gender Equality) Act on Women’s Parliamentary Representation

This project examines the early impact of Ghana’s Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act 2024 on women’s parliamentary representation using descriptive and comparative analysis of an original dataset of 2162 legislators from nine legislative terms (1993–2029). 

Publications