Women's Leadership
International IDEA organized in August 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, a roundtable with the Adeela Foundation to discuss and evaluate the role of Sudanese women in peace and ending war initiatives. The dialogue covered the war’s economic, social and political impacts on women’s groups. Also, it addressed the violations that Sudanese women are subjected to in a systematic and regular manner by all parties to the war without exception.
The participants discussed the role of Sudanese women in establishing women’s initiatives to stop the war and the role of Sudanese women in peace initiatives and ending the war led by regional and international institutions. Among the important topics discussed by the participants was the issue of the challenges and difficulties that hinder the participation of Sudanese women in building peace and restoring stability in Sudan. The participants agreed on practical, responsive and implementable recommendations. The dialogue results and the final recommendations were directed to local, regional and international policymaking institutions.
Click here to read the full report published by International IDEA on 20 December 2024.
New York, 19 December, 2024 – Women's representation in political leadership remained critically low in 2024. Only five women were elected as Heads of State out of 31 direct presidential elections held worldwide. These women leaders represent Iceland, Mexico, Namibia, North Macedonia, and the Republic of Moldova. For Mexico, Namibia, and North Macedonia, these elections were historic, as they marked the countries' first-ever women presidents. Additionally, Mexico and the United Kingdom achieved significant progress in gender equality by forming gender-equal cabinets following their respective elections, setting an important precedent for inclusive governance.
Women's representation in parliament remained stagnant at 27% in 2024. Among 39 countries with available data, 15 recorded increases in the number of women elected, while 24 experienced declines. Legislated quotas proved to be a driving force for progress; for instance, stricter enforcement in the Dominican Republic resulted in an eight-point rise in women's representation. Conversely, 12 out of 16 countries without quotas experienced declines, underscoring the pivotal role such measures play in advancing gender equality in political representation.
Read here the full article published by UN Women on 19 December 2024.
A new report has found that women in Congress are 70 times more likely to be targeted by deepfakes than men, often with sexually explicit images created by AI.
The American Sunlight Project (ASP) found that out of over 35,000 images of politicians, 26 different people have been exposed to non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII).
Out of these, 25 were women. Strikingly, one in six congress women have fallen victim to non-consensual imagery.
This is particularly concerning as Congress has previously introduced bills such as the Defiance Act, which criminalizes such activity. However, according to news outlet the 19th, due to the bureaucracy of the American political system, the House is still awaiting approval to finalize the legislation.
In a separate study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, an analysis of the comments on Instagram posts for women currently in power found that one in ten comments was highly likely to be toxic, with a staggering 93% of reports ignored by Instagram, as previously reported.
Read here the full article published by Cyber News on 16 December 2024.
Image by Cyber News
A new report published by the Open Nepal Initiative (ONI) sheds light on the increasing number of incidents of online violence targeting women politicians in Nepal.
The study says the pervasive issue undermines democratic participation and silences critical voices in public discourse. “The findings, based on monitoring the social media accounts of 12 prominent women politicians over three months (August–October 2024), expose alarming patterns and highlight the urgent need for action to create safer digital spaces,” a press release issued by the organisation on Sunday said.
The study finds that X, formerly Twitter, emerged as the primary platform for online abuse, accounting for most incidents during all three months. The anonymity and reach of social media have enabled perpetrators to launch coordinated attacks, spreading disinformation and gendered hate speech against female politicians, it said.
The study found that lawmakers Toshima Karki of Rastriya Swatantra Party, Sumana Shrestha of the same party and Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba of Nepali Congress are among the most targeted politicians.
Read here the full article published by The Kathmandu Post on 16 December 2024.
Image by The Kathmandu Post
The Coordinator, Afikpo North East Development Center, Comrade Ibe Immaculata Nnenna has urged women to encourage/support fellow women in office rather than castigate or seek their downfall.
The female politician spoke at a one-day high level multi-stakeholder’s roundtable on improving women’s political participation in Nigeria.
The event was organised by a Civil Society Organisation, Women Aid Collective, in partnership with UN Women, with support from the Government of Canada.
Sharing her experience as a young woman politician in Ebonyi State, Ibe, said the major hindrance she encountered in her political career were imposed by her fellow women.
She noted that as a young woman in politics, only few elderly ones showed willingness to extend mentorship to her while others were always bent on frustrating her efforts using diverse strategies.
Read here the full article published by 247ureports on 27 November 2024.
Image by 247ureport
The politician spoke at a one-day high level multi-stakeholder’s roundtable on enhancing women’s political participation in Nigeria.
The event was organised by a Civil Society Organisation, Women Aid Collective, in partnership with UN Women, with support from the Government of Canada.
Sharing her experience as a young woman politician in Ebonyi State, Ibe, the Development Centre Coordinator of Afikpo Northeast in Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, said the major roadblocks she encountered in her political career were imposed by her fellow women.
Others, she said, were always bent on frustrating her efforts using diverse strategies.
She stressed that men are not the major problem of women in making their marks in Nigerian politics, maintaining that women out of mutual jealousy scandalise their fellow women, fabricating all kinds of lies to discredit their fellow women excelling in politics or seeking political positions.
Ibe narrated: “Before I became an office holder, I was thinking that men are our problem.
“At every occasion I would always be saying that the men should be told to give us a chance; tell the men to give us 35 percent affirmative action.
“But now I have discovered that the problem is not totally from men.
Read here the full article published by The Eagle Online on 22 November 2024.
Image by The Eagle Online
International IDEA organized in August 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, a roundtable with the Adeela Foundation to discuss and evaluate the role of Sudanese women in peace and ending war initiatives. The dialogue covered the war’s economic, social and political impacts on women’s groups. Also, it addressed the violations that Sudanese women are subjected to in a systematic and regular manner by all parties to the war without exception.
The participants discussed the role of Sudanese women in establishing women’s initiatives to stop the war and the role of Sudanese women in peace initiatives and ending the war led by regional and international institutions. Among the important topics discussed by the participants was the issue of the challenges and difficulties that hinder the participation of Sudanese women in building peace and restoring stability in Sudan. The participants agreed on practical, responsive and implementable recommendations. The dialogue results and the final recommendations were directed to local, regional and international policymaking institutions.
Click here to read the full report published by International IDEA on 20 December 2024.
Despite some progress over the past decade, women's representation in political leadership remains limited globally. As of 1 January 2024, only 27 out of 159 countries are led by women – a modest increase from just 18 countries a decade ago (United Nations Women Headquarters Office 2024). Women represent 23% of cabinet members heading ministries worldwide in 2024; in Europe and Northern America, this share is 33%.
On the one hand, these numbers hint at the long road ahead to reach the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of gender equality (SDG 5), which aims to ensure equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life (United Nations 2015). On the other hand, they underscore the need to understand to what extent the underrepresentation of women politicians matters for policy choices, especially in times of crises.
Read here the full article published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research on 12 November 2024.
Image by Centre for Economic Policy Research
Gender quotas have become an important mechanism for promoting gender equality in political representation. This blog post explores their impact on women’s political empowerment, particularly in Malta, by discussing the historical context, current situation, and future prospects for gender equality in Maltese politics.
Understanding Gender Quotas
Gender quotas are affirmative measures designed to increase women’s participation in politics by reserving a certain proportion of seats for them. According to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), the goal is to provide a clearer pathway for women to enter political leadership, as they have historically been underrepresented. This is particularly relevant in Malta, where, despite advancements in other areas of gender equality, political representation remains unequal.
A Historical Overview of Women’s Political Participation in Malta
Women’s political participation in Malta has a long history, tied to the broader socio-political developments of the nation. Women were first granted the right to vote and run for office in 1947, preceding Maltese men who received this right three years later. However, significant measures aimed at improving female political representation only came in the 21st century. The Gender Corrective Mechanism, introduced in 2021, was a landmark policy. It mandates an increase in parliamentary seats if female representation falls below 40%, ensuring that women have a stronger foothold in Maltese politics.
Read here the full article published by Gender On The Ballot on 11 November 2024.
Image by Gender On The Ballot
Women currently serve as the head of government in just 13 of the 193 member states of the United Nations. This includes Mexico, where President Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in as the country’s first female executive this week.
Mexico is one of nine countries where the current woman head of government is the country’s first, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.
Overall, 60 UN member states (31%) have ever had a woman serve as head of government. The first was Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, where Sirimavo Bandaranaike began her first term as prime minister in 1960. Two other countries – India in 1966 and Israel in 1969 – saw their first women leaders during that decade.
Worldwide, the number of countries that have had women leaders has risen steadily since 1990. The biggest single-year increase occurred in 2010, when five countries – Australia, Costa Rica, Kyrgyzstan, Slovakia, and Trinidad and Tobago – were led by a woman for the first time.
60 countries have ever had a woman leader
Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, is the longest serving woman currently in office. Mottley has been in power for more than six years.
The title of longest-serving woman head of government in modern history is held by former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina spent more than 20 total years in power but resigned and fled Bangladesh earlier this year, when mass protests against a quota system for government jobs turned into a more violent movement against her government. (She was also the oldest woman leader, according to a separate Pew Research Center analysis.)
Read here the full article published by the Pew Research Center on 3 October 2024.
Image credits: Pew Research Center
What you need to know:
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Women politicians face steep costs, both financial and personal, as they navigate a landscape fraught with cultural barriers, discrimination, and systemic challenges.
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Despite progress made since the 2010 Constitution, women's representation in Kenyan politics remains low.
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Resilient leaders like Eddah Njeri, Naisula Lesuuda, and Myllene Bosibori encountered multifaceted obstacles, from exorbitant campaign expenses to sexual harassment and societal prejudices.
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While initiatives to support them show promise, the road to equal representation remains long, calling for comprehensive reforms and a shift in cultural attitudes.
The sun had barely risen over Embu town when Eddah Njeri unlocked the door to one of her M-Pesa shops. As she arranged the day's float, her mind wasn't on mobile money transactions. Instead, it raced with campaign strategies, voter outreach plans, and the daunting financial hurdles that lay ahead. The successful businesswoman, had recently made the bold decision to run for the Kirimiri Ward seat in Manyatta Constituency.
Being a greenhorn in politics, she says, nothing had prepared her for the challenges to expect on the campaign trail and how she would overcome them.
As she embarked on her campaign journey, she would soon face a gauntlet of challenges that would test her resolve, drain her resources, and force her to confront deeply entrenched societal biases.
Read here the full article published by The Nation Africa on 20 September 2024.
Image credits: The Nation Africa
The struggle for gender parity in politics is far from over, but this week I felt a surge of hope for the future. This optimism stems not only from the increasing prominence of women in political leadership, exemplified by the potential for a woman to win the 2024 presidential election but also from a powerful gathering I attended on Tuesday.
Organized by RepresentWomen and Vote Run Lead, the luncheon was held as an ancillary event to the Democratic National Convention. "Women are the Winning Strategy: Solutions from the States" featured influential speakers such as Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and policy advocate Maya Harris, along with women leaders from across the country.
The gathering not only highlighted the critical role of women in shaping the political landscape but also provided a fertile ground for fostering female leadership and activism.
A shared mission
RepresentWomen and Vote Run Lead are united in their commitment to dismantling the barriers that have historically hindered women's participation in politics.
RepresentWomen focuses on structural reforms, including ranked-choice voting and gender quotas, aiming to create a political environment where women can thrive. Vote Run Lead complements this mission by offering training and resources to women aspiring to run for office, equipping them with the skills needed to navigate and succeed in political campaigns.
The synergy between these two organizations is a powerful force in the movement for gender parity. RepresentWomen tackles the systemic issues that keep women out of politics, while Vote Run Lead empowers individual women to step into the political arena with confidence and competence. Together, they are not just advocating for change — they are actively creating it.
Read here the full article published by The Fulcrum on 23 August 2024.
Image by The Fulcrum