E-Discussion Forum on Financing Women in Politics

We are pleased to launch the third iKNOW Politics E-Discussion Forum on Financing Women in Politics to be held from October 22-29, 2008. This E-Discussion will focus on the impact of financing laws on women’s political participation, the role of political parties in removing financial barriers for women candidates, structural challenges facing women in obtaining financial independence in politics, and the fundraising strategies that women use in their political campaigns.

With the significant costs of electoral campaigns, mobilizing sufficient amounts of money to campaign during elections has become a central obstacle for women in politics. Scholars and practitioners point out that women are more disadvantaged than their male counterparts in galvanizing financial support because they have less access to moneyed networks and often have psychological and cultural barriers to ask for money from donors. Men, on contrary, are able to raise huge amounts of money, which they sometimes use to buy the votes of the electorate. According to the ACE Network, vote buying is considered both an illegal and unethical practice in all countries that includes providing financial or material incentives to voters for voting for a certain candidate, filling up their ballots in a certain way, and not voting at all.

Additionally, women candidates sometimes have to fight harder than men with their party machineries, if they are party members, to receive party funding for their campaigns. According to the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), women candidates in the Caribbean usually have to rely on their parties’ funds, while parties do not view women as necessary to win elections, and, thus, provide very small assistance to them. (2007. p. 9.) WEDO also reports that women relying on public funding do not usually have equal access to these funds. (2007. p. 8.)

Adoption of gender sensitive financing laws is one of the tools used to increase women’s political representation. Governments committed to promoting gender equality in their countries view women’s political participation as one of the indicators to measure achievement. This commitment may derive from the government’s social policies, adherence to the principles of international agreements, such as the Beijing Platform of Action, or pressure from women’s groups and civil society. Some financing laws provide financial incentives to political parties to include more women in their candidate lists, while others stipulate sanctions against parties that do not adhere to the gender equality requirements. For instance, a French regulation on public funding of political parties envisions reduction of public funding for parties that have more than 2 percent difference in sexes in their candidate lists. (Ballington, J. 2003. p.166.) In other cases, countries have imposed strict limits on spending during election campaigns, and on the amount and type of donation that candidates can receive, therefore making candidacy more accessible to those with less access to moneyed networks. Depending on the provisions of financing laws, election regulations, and electoral systems in every country, the impact of financing laws can vary.

Considering the importance of this issue for increasing the numbers of women in politics, iKNOW Politics is pleased to launch this E-Discussion Forum. The E-discussion aims to address the financing of women in politics on a global level, and to create a knowledge base for future recommendations and action plans. The E-Discussion will be structured around the following general questions, which can be further developed by the participants:

Previous iKNOW Politics E-Discussion Forums