Parliaments & Representatives
According to Gulmira Ileuova, a sociologist and the head of the Strategy Centre for Social and Political Research, gender equality in Kazakhstan has severely deteriorated. In an interview with TCA, she explains how social regression and a depletion of human resources are making it difficult for women to participate in political parties, social movements, and public services.
TCA: Sources illustrate that after the 2023 parliamentary elections, the representation of women deputies in the Majilis fell from 27% to 18%. In addition, Kazakhstan’s performance in the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) has deteriorated. This year, the country fell from 62nd to 76th place. This index, which can be used to judge the economy’s stability and legal security, has a serious impact on investors. What, in your opinion, is the reason for this deterioration?
First of all, I would like to point out that until 2021, the Labor Code had restrictions on where women could work based on concerns about their health. Now that the restrictions have been lifted, progress is steadily being made in involving women in areas previously inaccessible to them. Some companies have already published data that women have begun operating heavy machinery, such as big trucks, which was not the case before.
As for politics and the civil service, it appears that under the spread of influence from the south, the country is reinstating traditional social relations. Independent Kazakhstan has entered a new period where traditional and non-traditional forms of Islam thrive, and hyper-masculine and patriarchal attitudes are on the rise. I emphasize the patriarchal division of life through reinforced gender roles because it is gaining strength and spreading across all regions of the country. Furthermore, this trend is moving into the sphere of politics and civil services.
Read here the full interview published by The Times of Central Asia on 16 September 2024.
Image credits: The Times of Central Asia
Online threats of death, rape, and physical violence against women in politics and public life have become alarmingly common, and the rise of artificial intelligence may further intensify the scale and reach of such online abuse, UN Women says in an explainer for the the International Day of Democracy on 15 September, and in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for the achievement of gender equality.
“Having more women in policymaking has shown to help advance legislation on crucial issues, such as health, education, childcare, infrastructure and ending violence against women and serve as an inspiration for girls to pursue higher education and career opportunities.”
“In 2024 that is one of the biggest electoral years in recent history, 107 countries have never had a woman Head of State. In 2024, women held only 27% of seats in national parliaments and 35.5 of seats in local governments.”
The countries going to elections include some of the highest and lowest in terms of women’s participation in the parliament: Mexico and Rwanda are the only two countries with 50/50 representation of women and men.
Read here the full article published by Moonshot on 12 September 2024.
Image by Moonshot
Women working in politics have spoken of the challenges of juggling work with their family life and caring duties.
Cumbria's constituencies are among the furthest away from London, adding to the demands on MPs who have caring responsibilities.
Julie Minns, MP for Carlisle and Lizzi Collinge, who represents Morecambe and Lunesdale, have spoken to BBC Radio Cumbria for a series looking at issues that affect women in politics.
They said balancing the demands of the job while caring for their families was challenging, but having diversity in politics was "fundamental".
Mrs Collinge's constituency straddles the border between Cumbria and Lancashire, where she lives with her husband and two children.
She said: "Travelling and being away from your family can be quite difficult for the kids and to be honest, I'm so busy in Westminster that it's easy to partition off, but you get the occasional pangs of missing your family."
'Diversity is fundamental'
Mrs Collinge said her casework often hits home, with recent examples including helping a homeless constituent and being involved with a debate around baby loss.
"This hits very close to me having lost a couple of pregnancies," she said.
However, she said diversity in Parliament was fundamental.
"I think if you only have one sort of person in Parliament then you don't get the action that's needed for everyone in the country," she said.
Ms Minns is an unpaid carer for her 90-year-old mother and her 99-year-old aunt and said she "hasn't caught her breath" since being elected in July.
Read here the full article published by the BBC on 7 September 2024.
Image credits: BBC
Abstract:
The media significantly influences the formation of public opinion as well as the development and maintenance of gendered stereotypes of men and women. Given this impact, understanding gender representation is crucial for evaluating news credibility and addressing gender stereotypes. In addition, media plays a key factor in the development of democratic societies. Apparently, women are underrepresented in the news, which suggests that although they make up about half of the world's population, they are not equally represented in the reality that the news generates. Thus, this study aims to investigate factors that might influence news reporting, especially about female politicians. Adopting a qualitative approach, 11 Malaysian journalists were interviewed on their journalism practices.
Read here the full article published by the Taylor's University on 6 September 2024.
Image credits: Taylor's University
The representation of women in Ghana's Fourth Republic Parliament has remained notably low.
According to Table 1, the percentage of female parliamentarians elected in the 2020 election 40/275(14.55%) marked the highest figure since 1996.
Yet, it falls significantly below the global and sub-Saharan averages of 26.7 per cent and 27.1 per cent respectively. Without deliberate measures, this percentage is likely to decrease by the upcoming elections on December 7.
While both the NDC and the NPP have nominated 39 and 36 female parliamentary candidates (FPCs) respectively for the 2024 elections, indicating a higher number compared to the 2020 figures, the expected representation of female MPs following the upcoming elections is anticipated to decrease.
Female candidates
The question is: Why should this be the case? The increased number of FPCs suggests a likelihood of electing more female MPs. However, the dynamics are different this time. First, many incumbent FPCs lost their primaries in their party strongholds to male in-party contestants. Consequently, these seats are expected to be occupied by male in-party counterparts.
Second, a significant number of seats being contested by FPCs are not within their parties' traditional strongholds where victory would be more easily attainable. For instance, out of the 36 seats to be contested by NPP FPCs, only 13 (36.11%) are within their stronghold, while the corresponding figure for the NDC is 9 out of 39 (23%).
This suggests that many FPCs are contesting primarily to bolster the votes for their party's presidential candidates.
Read here the full article published by Graphic Online on 6 September 2024.
Image credits: Graphic Online
Once celebrated for its progressive strides towards gender equality in politics, Nepal is now witnessing a troubling regression. Despite constitutional guarantees, the representation of women in key political positions is declining, exposing the persistent grip of patriarchal norms and the superficial commitment of political parties to genuine gender inclusivity.
Nepal now needs to ensure that it sustains earlier gains. The percentage of women in its parliament remains above the global average of 25%, and over the past decade, women have held the positions of president, chief justice and speaker of the House of Representatives.
Compared with its South Asian counterparts, Nepal has progressive constitutional provisions for promoting gender equality. The Constitution of Nepal guarantees 33% participation of women at every level, and the local level election act mandates a minimum of 36.71% female participation.
The World Bank Women, Business and Law Index 2024 gives Nepal the highest score in the region for closing the gender gap. More broadly in the South Asia region, the picture is grim. Pakistan has reserved only 17% of its parliamentary seats for women; in Sri Lanka the figure is just 5.33%.
Across the globe, only 13% of countries apply effective gender quotas, according to the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report 2024. The study states that if the current trend continues, it will take 134 years to achieve full gender parity.
Read here the full article published by Nikkei Asia on 4 September 2024.
Image credits: Nikkei Asia
Extensive research shows that when women run for office, they perform just as well as men. Yet women remain severely under-represented in our political institutions. In this report, we argue that the fundamental reason for women’s under-representation is that they do not run for office. There is a substantial gender gap in political ambition; men tend to have it, and women don’t.
The results put forward in this report are based on the Citizen Political Ambition Panel Study, a research project the authors Richard L. Fox and Jennifer L. Lawless have been conducting over the course of the last seven years. In 2001, they surveyed more than 3,700 lawyers, business leaders and executives, educators, and political activists about whether they ever considered running for office. They re-surveyed more than 2,000 of these individuals in 2008. Because they surveyed well-matched pools of men and women who work in professions that most typically precede a political candidacy, they could provide the first comprehensive investigation of the process by which women and men decide to enter the electoral arena. They could also determine the extent to which political ambition has changed over time.
The authors offer clear and compelling evidence that women, even in the highest tiers of professional accomplishment, are substantially less likely than men to demonstrate ambition to seek elected office. These results hold regardless of age, partisan affiliation, income and profession.
The authors link the persistent gender gap in political ambition to several factors. Women are less likely than men to be willing to endure the rigors of a political campaign. They are less likely than men to be recruited to run for office. They are less likely than men to have the freedom to reconcile work and family obligations with a political career. They are less likely than men to think they are “qualified” to run for office. And they are less likely than men to perceive a fair political environment.
In the end, this report documents how far from gender parity we remain, as well as the barriers and obstacles we must still overcome in order to achieve it. But the results also offer guidance to organizations and individuals seeking to increase the number of women in elected positions. Recruiting women candidates, disseminating information about the electoral environment and working with women to quell their anxiety about campaigning can help narrow the gender gap in political ambition and increase women’s numeric representation.
Access the report here.
Gender mainstreaming has been embraced internationally as a strategy towards realizing gender equality. Gender mainstreaming has a double dimension: it requires both integrating a gender perspective to the content of the different policies, and addressing the issue of representation of women and men in the given policy area. Both dimensions – gender representation and gender responsive content - need to be taken into consideration in all phases of the policymaking process.
Equality between women and men is recognized by the EU as a fundamental right, a common value of the EU, and a necessary condition for the achievement of the EU objectives of growth, employment and social cohesion. Since 1996, the Commission committed itself to a “dual approach‟ towards realizing gender equality. This approach involves mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies, while also implementing specific measures to eliminate, prevent or remedy gender inequalities. Both approaches go hand in hand, and one cannot replace the other. Within the European Parliament, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM Committee) is the main body in charge of promoting gender equality and gender mainstreaming in all the EP‟s policy and legislative processes. Click here to access the report of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality on gender mainstreaming in the work of the European Parliament for 2015.
The UCLG Standing Committee on Gender Equality monitors and promotes the participation of women at local level across the world. The Committee firmly believes that the participation of women in local decision-making is the foundation of global development. The Standing Committee works with local elected women and grassroots organizations to build their capacities and increase women’s representation.
Local and regional governments have a long track record of working internationally for gender equality, with a particular focus on increasing the representation of local elected women and the promoting the participation of all women in local decision-making:
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Click here to read the UCLG Standing Committee on Gender Equality's report on the role of local governments in advancing and promoting gender equality for sustainability.
The aim of the project was to examine the advisability of creating a new mechanism to address laws that discriminate against women. The terms of reference specified two key objectives. The first was to overview existing UN mechanisms to ascertain the extent to which they addressed the issue of discriminatory laws. This involved interviewing UN human rights and agency officials working in both Geneva and New York1 and also reviewing the reports and jurisprudence of human rights committees and special procedure mechanisms. The second was to try to get national data on laws that discriminate against women. This was to be done by means of a questionnaire. On the basis of the data gathered, the consultant was required to advise on whether a special mechanism addressing discriminatory laws was needed (...)
Co-organized by the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) and the National Assembly of Zambia, and building on the theme “Agenda 2030: Youth leading the way, leaving no one behind”, the third edition of the IPU’s Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians was held on 16 and 17 March 2016 in Lusaka, Zambia, with the attendance of 130 young men and women parliamentarians from 50 countries. Click here to access the outcome document of the conference.
The Inter-parliamentary Union has recently published a report reviewing the developments made in women's participation in parliaments in the last 20 years, globally, regionally and at the country level. The report shows that the past 20 years have witnessed an impressive rise in the share of women in national parliaments around the world, with the global average nearly doubling during that time – and all regions making substantial progress towards the goal of 30 per cent women in decision-making. The global average of women in national parliaments has increased from 11.3 per cent in 1995 to 22.1 per cent in 2015 (+10.8 points). All regions registered some increase in their share of women in parliament, the greatest strides being made in the Americas. The countries that achieved the greatest progress between 1995 and 2015 in their single or lower houses are Rwanda (+59.5 points, achieving 63.8% by 2015), Andorra (+46.4 points with 50% in 2015), and Bolivia (+42.3 points with 53.1% in 2015).
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