Advocacy & Lobbying

Women are more likely to be hesitant in expressing their opinions about politics online than men, a new survey by Statista Consumer Insights has found. This was the case in all of the 21 countries polled, with the gender gap narrowest in Finland at 3 percentage points (22 percent male, 19 percent female) and widest in Mexico at 10 percentage points (26 percent male, 15 percent female). This mirrors wider patterns of gender roles and equality in society, with Finland having scored in the top three places in this year’s Global Gender Gap Index by the World Economic Forum.

Even aside from gender, the degree to which people express their views on politics online varies greatly by country. For example, in China only 13 percent of respondents on average said they had expressed their opinion about politics online in the past month. This includes having commented on or even liked a post related to politics on social media. In Japan (not shown on this chart), the figure was even lower at just 5 percent (7 percent men, 3 percent women). At the other end of the spectrum comes South Africa, where 32 percent of respondents said they had expressed their political opinion in the past four weeks (37 percent men, 27 percent women).

Read here the full article published by Statista on 17 January 2025.

Image by Statista

Background

The access to water and sanitation is recognised as human right and the access to clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights.  The EESC with this own-initiative opinion is aiming to address the issue of water-related challenges for the most vulnerable population on the planet and to propose options for their empowerment.

Key points

In the opinion the EESC:

• stresses that young people, women, and indigenous and local communities (including migrants and people with disabilities) are the most vulnerable to water stress and have a large untapped potential for contributing to sustainable water management, for turning water into an instrument of peace and stability, and, thus, for contributing to blue diplomacy;

• calls on the EU to pay due attention to these groups in its external relations and international cooperation and suggests a lighthouse partnership programme related to water stress for addressing how to empower them in an integrated manner;

• notes that access to clean water, education, employment and participation in policymaking are key elements of empowerment. Better access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services is crucial, as it frees up time for education and vocational training and opens up more diverse options for employment and the ability to contribute to water management and policies;

• reaffirms that blue and digital technologies are instrumental for improving water management and access to clean water and sanitation;

• highlights that meaningful partnership and funding are critical in the development of infrastructure, education and general capacity building. Both EU funds and national donors’ programmes play a crucial role here and coordination is vital to create synergies and make the most of the allocated resources.

Read here the full article published by the European Economic and Social Committee on 4 December 2024.

Image by the European Economic and Social Committee

By the time the first verified reports about COVID-19 were published, misinformation about the virus was already being shared. Disinformation and ‘fake news’ soon followed. It didn’t take much time at all before distortions, lies and fictions were reaching more people, more quickly, than facts. 

None of this should surprise us, since we’ve known for some time that lies spread faster than truth. The real problem arises when lies are believed. And when does that happen? Research tells us that lies are more likely to be believed, and especially catch fire, when they reinforce our pre-existing beliefs. While some beliefs are harmless, others can be weaponized, with the help of disinformation, to achieve undemocratic ends. 

In the world of politics, this is already happening. Disinformation campaigns regularly rely on sexist beliefs about women, power and politics in attempts to delegitimize women who hold or seek office. Distinct from online abuse, trolling, revenge porn or even pornographic deepfakes, disinformation is a stealthier, more pernicious way to undermine women and dissuade them from entering politics. This emerging threat has devastating implications for women in public life and, by extension, democracies everywhere.

It’s crucial that we pay attention, and commit energy and resources to better understand this problem. What’s at stake is simply too important to ignore, especially now. Just when women are inching closer to a more equitable share of public power, trying to actualize democracy’s promise of government by the people, for the people—women being a key part of the people—gendered disinformation puts hard-fought gains at risk.

Read here the full overview published by Fundación Multitudes.

Multiple studies show that the use of social media has a negative impact on the political leadership of women and girls in Latin America. Social media is one of citizens' most used tools in the region to get information and communicate with others, with a high level of internet penetration, and raising a series of issues related to the low level of digital literacy in the countries. 

One of the biggest problems with the massive penetration of social media in Latin America is that users don’t have the knowledge nor the tools to know what is real and what is not. Identifying gender political violence online, including disinformation and fake news, is particularly difficult considering that lies spread faster than truth , making them more vulnerable to disinformation. 

In order to understand if the safeguards in place are efficient, it is essential to identify the state of implementation of the institutional incentives for women to participate in politics, in addition to looking at the existing safeguards and legislation to counter online gender-based violence and disinformation in Latin America. Specifically, we look at the current state of affairs in four countries of the region. Our research question is: What is the state of implementing the institutional incentives for women to participate in politics, the existing safeguards to counter gender-based violence online, and the existing legislation against disinformation in Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil?

Access here the full report published by Fundación Multitudes.

A research study by Voice of Women Radio has shown why women don’t vote for female political aspirants in Nigeria.

The reasons ranged from their ignorance of the existing female political aspirants to beliefs that existing female political aspirants are inexperienced. Similarly, many women in the grassroots believe that men are better leaders than women.

There is also the issue of culture, inaccessibility of campaign funding for women as their male counterparts, and family upbringing, which favour males taking up leadership roles. However, higher among the reasons is female electives’ inability to connect with or impact their female electorates once elected into office.

The report detailing the research carried out in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria reveals that only 31 percent of 83 percent of female voters (that is, 8 out of 10 women possessing permanent voters’ cards) voted for women at the last elections.

Read here the full article published by Leadership News Nigeria on 8 October 2024.

Image by Leadership News Nigeria