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Elections

In the 2019 general election, Indonesians voted more women into the national parliament than ever before. After the first election of the post-authoritarian period in 1999, women’s representation was a paltry 8.8%, so the rise to 20.9% in 2019 seemed worth celebrating. Indeed, women activists had worked long and hard to reach this point. Disappointed with the results of the first two elections, they had successfully pushed for a candidate quota, requiring parties to nominate at least 30% women.

This will again be tested in next week’s election. But given the barriers women candidates in Indonesia face, is the quota enough to raise representation?

Click here to read the full article published by She The People on 09 February 2024.

Image source: She The People

In the 2019 general election, Indonesians voted more women into the national parliament than ever before. 

After the first election of the post-authoritarian period in 1999, women’s representation was a paltry 8.8%, so the rise to 20.9% in 2019 seemed worth celebrating. Indeed, women activists had worked long and hard to reach this point. 

Disappointed with the results of the first two elections, they had successfully pushed for a candidate quota, requiring parties to nominate at least 30% women. 

This will again be tested in next week’s election. But given the barriers women candidates in Indonesia face, is the quota enough to raise representation?

Click here to read the full article published by The Conversation on 8 February 2024.

Image source: The Conversation

In the bustling political landscape of Pakistan, a resounding call for gender equality echoes through the halls of power. Senior leaders from diverse political factions are emphasizing the indispensable role of women in politics and elections, recognizing it as a cornerstone of democracy.

A Clarion Call for Change

Nafisa Shah, a prominent figure from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), champions the cause with fervor. She underscores the significance of women's participation in the political process, asserting that it is vital for addressing their unique issues effectively.

Shandana Gulzar, an independent candidate, lauds the increasing engagement of women in elections. She views this active involvement as a stepping stone towards achieving gender equality and enhancing Pakistan's international image.

Rehana Imtiaz Dar, another political contender, expresses her commitment to national welfare. With confidence borne out of extensive social work, she voices her belief in her ability to win the elections.

Click here to read the full article published by BNN Breaking on 9 February 2024.

Image source: BNN Breaking

The Pakistan elections are only a day away, on February 8, and candidates of all genders, religions, and political parties are working hard to make their mark in the polls.

Among the thousands of candidates vying for a seat in this election, a few hundred stand out as women who have chosen to challenge traditional gender stereotypes. In fact, women's participation in the country is poor — data reveals that of the 17,000 candidates contesting the February 8 polls, only 839 are women, which is an abysmal 4.7 per cent.

We delve deeper into three women candidates and what they want from these polls.

Click here to read the full article published by Business Standard on 7 February 2024.

Image source: Business Standard

Over 150 women local councillors from across Georgia gathered for their annual conference to discuss the increasing role of women in politics and decision-making, especially in the lead-up to elections.

Supported by UNDP and Sweden in partnership with the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia, the Women Councillors’ Political Forum brought together representatives from the Government, Parliament, civil society organizations, diplomatic missions, and international agencies.

H.E. Anna Lyberg, Ambassador of Sweden to Georgia; H.E. Meline Arakelian, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Georgia; and Douglas Webb, UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in Georgia, addressed the participants with welcoming remarks.

Click here to read the full article published by UNDP on 9 February 2024.

Image source: UNDP

A Step Forward but Not Enough

In the 2019 general election, Indonesians elected more women into the national parliament than ever before, with women’s representation rising to 20.9%. This increase was attributed to the implementation of a 30% candidate quota for women, which compelled political parties to nominate more women candidates. However, this quota did not lead to equal representation, as more than 20% of electoral districts did not elect any women to parliament.

The Barriers Women Face

Women candidates in Indonesia face significant obstacles that hinder their successful entry into politics. These challenges include patriarchal attitudes, economic inequality, and the dominance of political dynasties. High campaign costs and the need for name recognition often mean that elite women and celebrities are more likely to be nominated. However, these women are not necessarily representative of the broader population of Indonesian women, and their candidacies can reinforce existing inequalities.

Click here to read the full article published by Medriva on 7 February 2024.

Image source: Medriva

A nascent body of literature has highlighter the violence (broadly defined) that women sometimes face as they enter politics. Some interpretations depict this violence as primarily gender motivated: women politicians are targeted because they are women. Another interpretation is that violence in some contexts is an everyday political practice targeting men and women alike. However, because we lack large-scale, systematic comparisons of men’s and women’s exposure to election violence, we know little about the extent to which – and how – candidate sex shape this form of violence- We address candidates in the 2018 Sri Lanka local elections. Sri Lanka is a suitable case for analysis because it is a postconflict country in which political violence has been endemic and the number of women candidates has increased rapidly due to gender quota adoption. Overall, we find large similarities in men’s and women’s exposure to violence, suggesting that violence sometimes is part of a larger political practice. However, we find that women are exposed to forms of intimidation of sexual nature more often than men. This finding demonstrated the need for gender-sensitive analyses of election violence.

Click here to access the article.

In in the context of promoting democracy, equality and equal opportunities, UNDP partnered with the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) to develop a report on observing parliamentary elections from a gender perspective in order to promote women’s rights and political participation.

The report highlights the obstacles and gaps women face and provides details the social, cultural, political and economic obstacles and challenges that restrict their access to Parliament. The report assesses the participation of female voters, women candidates and political parties in the electoral process.

This activity is funded by the European Union, United States Agency for International Development, and German Cooperation.

Source: UNDP

The 2022 midterms have led to some new records for women candidates for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and governor in various race and ethnicity groups, according to an analysis of candidate filings from CAWP. Asian American/Pacific Islander, Black, Latina/Hispanic, and white women have all set new candidacy records this year, though not at all levels of office.

CAWP began collecting data on candidate race in 2004 using a system of self-identification for candidate race and ethnicity determination. Because this data relies primarily on candidate response to CAWP’s self-ID query and our queries occasionally go unanswered, there remain a small number of candidates for whom we were unable to determine racial identification. This is alluded to when we say “at least” preceding a reported figure below. Additionally, because candidates may, for various reasons, exit political races and no longer appear on ballots, these numbers can change slightly moving forward. 

Beginning this year, CAWP no longer reports an aggregate number of “women of color” in our data collections on candidates and officeholders and instead provides disaggregated data for all women by race and ethnicity. This change was guided by our desire to move away from treatment of women as monolithic and challenge the centering of whiteness as a default racial/ethnic category. Of particular note here, because multiracial women are included in counts for each group with which they identify, adding the numbers below will not yield the total number of women of color running for various offices in this year’s midterms.

Click here to access the data.

On 26 September 2021, Germans elected the 20th Bundestag. This election was special in many ways. The article analyses the electoral campaign, voting behaviour, turnout, and the formation of a new coalition government by using a gender and intersectional lens. Against the conceptual background of descriptive, substantive, and symbolic representation, we outline the implications of the election for gender and intersectional politics in the new German Bundestag and the government. In descriptive and symbolic terms, we find higher numbers of women (and of minorities) in the Bundestag and its leadership as well as in government; in substantive terms, we observe the presence of ‘critical actors’ and the commitment to progressive politics in the new ‘Ampel’ coalition. Hence, we see at least a chance for change in several key policy areas and social progress in the next 4 years.

Click here to read the full article published by Sage Journals on 7 July 2022.

With more and more women running for office, races between women candidates will become the norm — not a novelty. Shared Hurdles reveals how candidates’ race, political party, and gender interact to influence voter opinion when more than one woman is on the ballot.

Research on gender dynamics in politics has seldom studied races between two women candidates. This research helps to fill that gap — and give women the tools they need to resonate with voters in races against other women. Shared Hurdles shows that in an election between two women candidates, gender biases are still prevalent, and voters hold both women to a higher standard than they hold male candidates. Shared Hurdles is a timely update on how gender shapes politics, and it provides a framework for women candidates who are campaigning against other women.

Click here to access the report.

Despite repeated warnings, Australia’s two major political parties continue to make one big mistake – and one MP has issued a scathing rebuke.

The women chosen by Australia’s two major political parties to run in the upcoming federal election are predominantly chosen for seats they are unlikely to win.

Shocking statistics gathered by news.com.au reveal a huge disparity in the chances of women entering parliament compared to their male counterparts, with men more likely to be chosen to run for a seat already held by their party.

Click here to read the full article published by News.com.au on 23 March 2022.