Elections

In the landscape of American politics, the pursuit of gender equality has been an ongoing struggle. While progress has undeniably been made, there remains a palpable undercurrent of prejudice about women in leadership roles. 

Despite the growing trend of women achieving higher positions in leadership across the globe, the USA still lags behind its counterparts. According to a report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the US ranks 75th out of 189 elected governments worldwide in terms of female representation.

To comprehend the prejudice against women in US politics, one must explore its historical roots. The nation’s early years reflected patriarchal structures, following societal norms. Women were denied the right to vote until the early 20th century, highlighting the deeply ingrained gender biases. Even after suffrage, women faced barriers in entering political spheres, as traditional gender roles perpetuated the notion that leadership was a predominantly male domain.

Click here to read the full article published by the Pressenza in English on 2 February 2023.

Image source: Pressenza in English

The growth of internet users has brought about social and economic benefits on a global scale. However, significant harms such as online violence, disinformation, and hate speech have also proliferated in these online spaces. Discriminatory gendered practices happening offline, often shaped by social, economic, cultural, and political structures, are similarly reproduced online across digital platforms. Kenya is no exception, as online harassment targets both prominent women and everyday social media users.

Click here to read the full article published by Medium on 21 November 2023.

Fiji has concluded the 2023 elections and the results are in. Although the Melanesian country has achieved the change in power that many had hoped for, the picture is less rosy for women’s representation in parliament.  Could the offensive treatment women politicians received on social media be to blame?

The Fijian Elections Office approved 343 candidates from 9 registered political parties and 2 independent candidates for the 2022 General Elections. Of the total, 56 women ran for the elections, the same number as in the 2018 elections, although as percentage the rate has dropped to 16.3 per cent of the total number of candidates compared to 24.0 per cent in 2018 elections. This decline in the percentage was attributed to the fact that 55 seats were up for grabs compared to 51 seats in 2018. Since the number of seats increased, the number of candidates per party had increased to 55.

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In the 2014 and 2018 elections, the percentage of women contesting the elections were 17.7 per cent and 24.0 per cent respectively. Eight women were elected to the parliament after the election in 2014 and a record ten women were elected to parliament in the 2018 election. The 2022 elections, which were the third election under new electoral system, had the lowest percentage (16.3 per cent) of women contesting the election compared to 2014 and 2018. The result of the 2022 elections saw only six women elected to parliament which is the lowest number so far under the new electoral system. There has been extensive work done to advance women’s leadership skills for several years in a bid to improve women’s representation in parliament by various stakeholders such as civil society organizations, development partners and political parties in Fiji.

Click here to read the full article published by International IDEA on 3 March 2023.

On 18 July  the IPU Gender Partnership Group and the National Assembly of Nigeria held an online briefing on women’s political empowerment to promote women’s participation in parliament in view of the 2023 Nigerian elections. There were 20 participants, including men and women MPs from Nigeria, Benin, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, representatives from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), civil society, government, academia and the electoral commission.

The IPU has supported the Nigerian National Assembly in the area of gender equality and women’s political participation since 2020. After the 2019 legislative elections, the Nigerian Senate elected 8 women (7.34%) out of 109 members and the House of Representatives elected only 13 women (3.61%) out of 360 members. These figures fall well below the global average of 26.1% of women in parliament, and the objective of gender parity.

Click here to read the full article published by The Inter-Parliamentary Union on 2 August 2022.

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.

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.

Electoral management bodies (EMBs) are responsible for ensuring a level playing field for political representation and meaningful participation across the entire electoral cycle. Yet, International IDEA data shows that only 22% of EMBs themselves are chaired by women.

When disaggregated by regions (Figure 1.), data from 242 EMBs in 208 countries and territories shows that the percentages indicating the number of women chairing EMBs are below the global average on three continents, with Asia recording the lowest numbers (10%), followed by Oceania (11%) and Africa (19%).

Click here to read the full article published by International IDEA on 7 November 2021.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s inaction on former Chief Justice David Maraga’s September 2020 recommendation to dissolve Parliament for failure to enact gender parity laws is the latest bump in the long road to equality for Kenyan women in political leadership.

The Constitution requires Parliament to make laws to guarantee that no gender occupies more than two-thirds of elected and appointed positions.

Click here to read the full article published by Nation Africa on 7 January 2022.

As the 2022 midterm election season gets underway, speculation is already mounting that it’s going to be another banner year for female candidates. Early reports suggest that Black women and Republican women are especially poised to make historic gains.

But make no mistake, even if 2022 is another so-called “Year of the Woman,” politics is still a man’s game.

Click here to read the full article published by Brookings on 8 February 2022.

By Roudabeh Kishi

Attacks on women in politics are on the rise around the world. New data and research from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) reveal how physical violence targeting women in politics is creating dangerous – and at times lethal – obstacles to women’s participation in political processes. Even as women are engaging in elections in record numbers around the world – both by seeking office and by voting – they are being met with an increasingly violent backlash.

Over the course of 2020 and 2021, Mexico, Colombia, China, India, Brazil, Burundi, Myanmar, Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Cuba top the list of the most violent countries in the world for women in politics. With rapidly evolving political situations as well as upcoming elections in many of these countries, the threat of violence targeting women in politics may only grow in the new year. Examining key trends from the latest political violence data for these countries will provide a glimpse of what to watch for in 2022 when it comes to the risks facing women in politics.

Click here to read the full article published by GIWPS on 28 January 2022.

This year marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote. But the United States was hardly the first country to codify women’s suffrage, and barriers to vote persisted for some groups of U.S. women for decades. At least 20 nations preceded the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center analysis of women’s enfranchisement measures in 198 countries and self-administering territories. Today, none of these 198 countries and territories bar women from voting because of their sex; some countries do not hold national elections.

Here is a closer look at the history of women’s suffrage around the world. This analysis focuses on when women in each country won the right to vote in national elections, not regional or local elections.

Click here to read the full article published by the Pew Research Center on 5 October 2020.

Violence against women in politics is a substantial threat to the integrity of the electoral process, affecting women’s participation as voters, candidates, election officials, activists and political party leaders and undermining free, fair and inclusive democratic processes.

While women in Bougainville, an autonomous region within Papua New Guinea (PNG), have greater access to politics and decision-making than their counterparts in other parts of PNG, they still face significant challenges as they seek to participate in the electoral process. A new report from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) assesses violence against women in elections (VAWE) in Bougainville following the 2015 Autonomous Bougainville Government elections and 2017 PNG national elections, drawing on fieldwork, research and IFES’ experiences operating in Bougainville. The analysis is organized into three key factors that influence the incidence and impact of VAWE:

• Status of Bougainvillean women;
• Their access to election processes; and
• Incidents of, trends and triggers for VAWE.

Click here to see the report.

Violence against women in politics is a substantial threat to the integrity of the electoral process, affecting women’s participation as voters, candidates, election officials, activists and political party leaders and undermining free, fair and inclusive democratic processes.

Elections in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are characterized by violence and tribal politics that contribute to a high prevalence of violence against women in elections (VAWE). A new report from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) assesses VAWE in PNG following the 2017 national elections, drawing on fieldwork, research and IFES’ experiences operating in PNG. The analysis is organized into three key factors that influence the incidence and impact of VAWE:

• Status of Papua New Guinean women;
• Their access to election processes; and
• Incidents of, trends and triggers for VAWE.

Click here to see the report.

On October 20, 2018, Afghanistan held its long-delayed national parliamentary (Wolesi Jirga) elections. Overall, the election demonstrated how combined factors of insecurity and political instability, widespread impunity for and high rates of violence against women, and negative perceptions about women’s rights have gender-specific effects on Afghan women’s full and equal electoral participation.

As Afghanistan prepares for a presidential election in September 2019, strategic efforts are urgently needed to better ensure that women’s rights to participate as electoral and political decision-makers are safeguarded and bolstered. Recognizing this need, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) worked with the Afghan Women’s Network to conduct a field-based violence against women in elections (VAWE) assessment that uncovers the specific ways that Afghan women experienced violence throughout the 2018 parliamentary elections, as well as mitigation strategies needed to reduce and prevent electoral violence against women.

Carried out with support from Global Affairs Canada, the assessment includes data from in-person focus groups, individual interviews and informational surveys that, taken together, reached electoral stakeholders across all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.

Click here to see the assessmemt.

By Ruth Igielnik and Kim Parker,

As moms across the United States celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, five of the six women vying for the Democratic residential nomination are themselves mothers.

These women, all seeking the same high political office, became mothers at different points in their careers – some while they were starting out in politics and others long before that.

Roughly half of Americans (51%) say it’s better for a woman who wants to reach high political office to have children before entering politics, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey on gender and leadership. About a quarter (26%) say it would be better to wait until she is well-established in her political career, while 19% say it would be better for a woman not to have children at all if she plans to seek higher office.

Click here to read the full article published by the PEW Research Center on 9 May 2019.

In July 30, Zimbabwean citizens head to the polls for general elections. Candidates are competing for the presidency and seats in the National Assembly, Senate, Provincial Councils, and urban and rural authorities.

Former President Robert Mugabe resigned in November 2017 after 37 years in office, and former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa subsequently became president. This major political transition raises the stakes for the upcoming elections and has created an opportunity for increased competitiveness in elections.

Click here to see the report.

Women comprise almost 53 percent of the population in Haiti. Yet, this numeric majority does not translate into effective political representation. Only three seats out of the 119 in the Chamber of Deputies are currently occupied by women. In the Senate, there is only one woman among the 30 senators. These figures place Haiti in the uncomfortable 185th position in the Inter-Parliamentary Union's ranking by women's representation in parliament.

The reasons for women's weak representation in Haitian politics are deeply rooted in social norms and the widespread incidence of violence against women in elections (VAWE), which the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) defines as "any harm or threat of harm committed against women with the intent and/or impact of interfering with their free and equal participation in the electoral process during the electoral period."

Click here to see the report.

Gender inequality in the political process remains an important problem in all countries.

Women often have less access than men to the resources needed to successfully seek a party nomination or stand in an election, and political parties tend to nominate men to winnable positions.

This report focuses on the particular political party regulations where the provision of public funding (state assistance) to political parties is linked to gender-related activities by those parties. Such provisions exist today in around 30 countries worldwide and it is a form of regulation that has become increasingly common in the past two decades.

The report explores the concept of gender-targeted funding and its different modalities. Detailed case studies from Albania, Croatia, France, Haiti and Portugal illustrate experiences from different countries and the concluding chapter presents recommendations for countries considering using these methods to increase women’s political representation.

Click here to read the report.

Polls show that Georgians would like to see more women in their parliament. Currently, women make up 12 percent of the Georgian legislature, behind the average of 25.8 percent for European countries and placing Georgia at 147 of 194 countries worldwide in women’s political representation. The infographic analysis reveals current numbers on women's participation as candidates in Georgia's October 8 parliamentary elections in Georgia.

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Source: NDI

This Workshop Report was originally published by International IDEA here on January 11, 2016.

Women continue to be underrepresented in Bhutan politics and following the general elections in 2013 the number of women parliamentarians sank from 14 per cent to 8 per cent. No women were elected for a second term. Women continue to face a multitude of obstacles in Bhutan politics including a lack of gender sensitive laws and practices, prevailing gender norms and stereotypes combined with low levels of education disproportionately affect women. Women are even more disenfranchised in local politics than on national level.

In this context the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) with support from International IDEA organized the country’s first Electoral Forum on Women in Politics in December last year. The forum also followed up on a research project titled Study of the Determinants of Voter’s Choice and Women’s Participation in Elective Offices in the Kingdom of Bhutan, which was initiated by the ECB in 2014.

The study found that education and experience play a key factor in increasing the number of women in politics and proposes measures to improve the current situation. The measures include concerted education and voter education efforts to challenge gender stereotypes and to inform people of the importance of including women in political decision-making. The study also suggests looking over election campaign on a continuous basis and putting in place gender equality measures throughout the electoral process.

In his key note address, the Chief Election Commissioner Chogyal Dago Rigdzin, called it a paradox that despite women making up 51 per cent of the electorate, women politicians face more obstacles than their male colleagues. “Encouraging, educating and instilling confidence in women to run for office is key for Bhutan’s democratic process and progress,” he said.

But according to Rigdzin, the CEC was also optimistic about the future aspects and acknowledged several key players who have been working towards advancing equality such as Bhutan Network for Empowering Women BENEW and Non-Formal Education (NFE) centres. These centres were initiated by the government to provide education to those who did not have opportunity to attend schools or who did not complete school. “A small change in the political parties’ polices and structure would really increase the number of women in politics,” Rigdzin said.

The first step would be to create a more enabling environment for women to participate in politics citing an example of the Functional Literacy Test which can be held at village and gewog level. Gewok level is specific to Bhutan and is the administrative level after district level.

The 18 December forum was attended by representatives from Bhutan’s main political parties — the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), the opposition Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT), the Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa and Druk Chirwang Tshogpa as well as representatives from smaller parties. Also present were Executive Director of Bhutan’s National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC), Kunzang Lhamu, and Head of Bhutan Network for Empowering Women (BNEW) Phuntshok Chhoden Tshering. A group of representatives from the print and broadcast media also participated actively in the discussions and deliberations. The total number of participants was 33, 22 women and 14 were men. Representing International IDEA at the forum Rumbidzai Kandawasvika Nhundu, Senior Programme Manager, said that politics in Bhutan is in a formative stage and has the opportunity to be shaped into an exemplary mechanism of consensus building, and collective and inclusive decision making.

“It is one thing to participate and one thing to have a voice,” she said, stressing the need for meaningful participation and further reinforced that men in general and male politicians in particular need to be included in the process. This would mean going “beyond the numbers”, giving women real political power. While political parties are struggling with broader structural and ideological challenges there is also a need for them to institutionalize gender equality measures internally early on to ensure women’s representation. Lhamu shared the draft National Plan of Action for Promotion of Gender Equality in Elected Offices, a positive new development in the debate of women in politics which has been put to the cabinet for approval.

The proposal ensures that nomination of “of at least 33 per cent female candidates by each political party for both primary and general elections”, and stipulates a mechanism to be instituted to fulfil the 33 per cent criteria. She also recommended that the electoral system and processes to be reviewed in order to enhance women’s participation, at the same time to meet the supply side, several support mechanisms including mentoring, grooming, improving female education and graduation rates, promoting a gender sensitive and supportive media in portraying female leaders positively and adopting appropriate affirmative action to enhance women’s participation in politics were cited as some of the measures.

Lucky Sherpa, former MP from Nepal and one of the presenters at the forum shared experiences from Nepal’s own challenges form women’s participation including poor literacy, combined with poverty, gender and caste discrimination, political conflict and religious fundamentalism. In Nepal violence against women as well as the perception that women are weak and a suspicion of women who chose to work outside the home propose massive challenges for women’s participation in politics.

During the forum three key interventions were identified as a way forward and were assigned to responsible agencies:

1. Keep the gender equality dialogue at the top of the agenda by ECB, NCWC, MPs, BNEW and media.
2. 50 per cent representation (quota and reserved seats) by political parties, ECB, NCWC.
3. Political parties should be required by law to recruit women candidates by ECB and political parties.

Calls for the integrity of elections urge governments and international actors to attach importance to the professionalism of electoral management bodies, the regulation of political finance and the promotion of equal participation and representation of women and marginalized groups. Measures aimed at necessary reforms most often entail not just carefully planned policy initiatives but also the political will to implement these changes. This publication looks closely at initiatives by eight countries to realize these measures. Through the lens of the unique experiences of each country, lessons learned and practical approaches are highlighted as a reference for policymakers, particularly for those coming from countries in democratic transition.

Democracy requires the equal access and full participation of both women and men, on the basis of equality, in all areas
and at all levels of public life, especially in decision-making positions. Both the Beijing Platform for Action (PFA) and
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) recommend that
governments adopt quotas as temporary special measures to increase the number of women in both appointive and
elective positions in local and national levels of government. A review of countries that have a critical mass (30 percent)
of women in their parliaments, local legislative councils and bureaucracies, reveals that quotas, either by voluntary action
of political parties or mandates of law, are used.
Pakistan provides an interesting example of the use of quotas at the local level. This case study will investigate the
kind of quotas in use in Pakistan, and provide some examples of the difficulties and challenges confronting their
implementation. The use of quotas at the local level provides interesting insights into their proposed implementation at
the provincial and national levels. Finally, some strategic methods for ensuring the full citizenship of women will be
explored.