Historically, women have long faced gender inequality within the political sphere. Most societies around the world are dominated by men and have been throughout their past. Traditionally, women have had little involvement, participation and effect on politics because it has commonly been designated as a male task. Today in some countries, such as Great Britain and South Africa, the government is made up predominantly of men, due to the country's inability to abandon the tradition of patriarchy and male dominance. The limited acceptance of women in politics in both countries can be attributed to their unique history. In Britain, the tradition of male supremacy is still quite strong, with a limited number of female representatives in almost all areas of government, including the House of Lords, and has also been criticized for its apathy towards changing the role of women in politics (Annesley, Claire, Guadagni, 2012). Women are still working hard to increase their political participation by increasing the number of women in government sectors through legislative action that would oblige the government to meet a certain quota of women in each subcategory of government (Annesley, Claire, Gains, 2012) . In South Africa the lack of women in politics, as well as the lack of participation, can be linked to the social and gender norms enforced during colonial rule and apartheid. During British colonial rule of South Africa, men were given positions of power due to patriarchal Christian customs. This served to consolidate male dominance, which has made it difficult for women to engage politically in the country today (Longwe, 2000). The march towards gender equality in South Africa requires setting aside long-standing colonial rules through paper…inking British society to find ways to galvanize youth and open the minds of traditionalists who have allowed the existence of male-dominated gender roles. In South Africa, imbalanced gender norms and lack of women's participation in politics are still the result of the influence of British colonizers. Unfortunately, these gender norms that promote male dominance in society and the political spectrum, present during colonial rule, are deeply ingrained in the thinking of South African society. Women in South Africa continue to be marginalized and treated as subordinates in society and politics. As a result of this treatment, their willingness to participate was never actually encouraged. Efforts must be made to question and hold society and government accountable for attempting to maintain unequal gender norms and male-dominated policies.