Women's Leadership
It is worth repeating that women constitute half of society. Any decision-making without the equal participation of women is truncated and illegitimate from a democratic point of view. In addition to the principle of equality, the inclusion of women brings unique perspectives and experiences that improve the quality of decisions. At the local level, where policies directly affect the daily lives of citizens, women's participation is essential to address the real needs of the population.
Thanks to legal quotas and numerous efforts, the representation of women in Kosovo's municipal assemblies has increased over the years, but still remains below the target level. Meanwhile, in local leadership positions, such as mayors, women are almost absent. This is not only an injustice, but also a loss for society: ignoring half of the population in decision-making means leaving aside half of the social potential - of talent, ideas and possible solutions.
Personal observation from the field has shown me that when women actively participate in politics, the decision-making agenda is enriched with new ideas. I noticed a significant phenomenon while monitoring municipal budget hearings: in cases where only men were present, the demands made revolved mainly around asphalt and sports halls - as if these were the only solutions to society's problems. In general, in these cases, it seems that the vision of development begins and ends with concrete and sports. However, when women were also present, the panorama changed significantly. Their demands went beyond that, towards the most fundamental issues for the quality of life: opening daycare centers for children, installing solar panels in schools, or financing training programs for parents of children with autism. Ideas that had a great multiplier effect and improved life both now and in the distant future.
The Minister of Solidarity, Social Inclusion and Family, Naïma Ben Yahia, announced on Monday in Rabat the upcoming launch of a nationwide awareness campaign promoting women’s political participation and tackling discrimination and stereotypes in politics.
Answering oral questions in the House of Representatives, Ben Yahia said the initiative is part of the «Moucharaka» programme, which aims to strengthen women’s participation in the political process ahead of the 2026 and 2027 electoral deadlines.
The programme will include training sessions for women members of political parties, in coordination with the leaders of women’s party structures, as well as research projects carried out with universities to identify ways to improve women’s political representation. These studies will also assess electoral processes through analyses conducted before and after legislative elections, with the results to be made public.
United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Ms Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, is in Zimbabwe from January 12 to 16 on a mission to strengthen national efforts to advance gender equality.
She is accompanied by the UN Women Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Ms Adama Moussa.
UN Women said the visit is aimed at reaffirming the agency’s commitment to Zimbabwe, deepening partnerships with government and civil society, and mobilising support to sustain gains in women’s rights.
According to the agency, the strategic engagement will also seek to safeguard and accelerate progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
During the five-day visit, Gumbonzvanda is expected to advocate stronger integration of global gender frameworks including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action and Sustainable Development Goal 5 — into national policies.
During the fight against apartheid in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), home party of leader Nelson Mandela, considered what a future free society would look like and how that goal should be achieved, says historian Rachel Sandwell.
ANC members weren’t just focused on ending apartheid racism, “although that was obviously foundational,” said Sandwell, assistant professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences. “They were also trying to define a future where men and women, Black and white, were equal and liberated to live well.”
Women played a major role in these debates, according to Sandwell’s new book, “National Liberation and the Political Life of Exile: Sex, Gender, and Nation in the Struggle against Apartheid.” Through an analysis of women’s diplomatic work and their advocacy for policies on sexual education, birth control, family life and child care, Sandwell challenges traditional narratives that have ignored or minimized women’s contributions.
The College of Arts and Sciences spoke with Sandwell about the book.
Discussions around gender issues, especially women’s representation in parliament, intensified in Nigeria in 2025.
A legislative proposal, widely known as the Special Seats Bill or Reserved Seats Bill, was the primary focus of the discussion.
The bill, which has received widespread support from civil societies and state governments, including the Governors’ Forum, “signals a rare cross-sector push for institutional change,” Mabel Ade, founder of Adinya Arise Foundation (AAF), noted.
Ms Ade described 2025 as a “catalytic year,” because old promises were interrogated.
“The real test ahead is whether Nigeria will translate the Beijing+30 momentum into enforceable laws, institutional reforms, and measurable increases in women’s political representation and safety,” she said.
Lydia Umar, the director of Gender Awareness Trust, corroborated Ms Ade’s opinion.
In March 2025, Nigeria’s political scene was jolted when Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan publicly accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment. Rather than prompt a serious investigation, the Senate responded by suspending her for six months on the grounds of “unruly and disruptive” behavior—an action widely perceived as punitive and silencing.
In interviews with the BBC, Natasha detailed how Akpabio would “squeeze my hands in a very suggestive way,” joked that her missing wedding ring was an “invitation to treat,” and remark that “your husband must be really enjoying… you’d be able to make good movements with your waist.” When she spoke up, the Nigerian Senate Chamber laughed. “People don’t understand what it means to carry this,” she said. “Maybe we don’t talk about it enough in Nigeria or Africa… I just want a place where I would just work. I thought the worst was over, but for a woman, it’s never really over.”
Women around the world are facing unprecedented levels of targeted political violence. This is also true in West Africa. Women can be targeted in a myriad of ways, by an array of types of perpetrators, during and outside of periods of conflict and contentious crises. The result though is consistent: such targeted violence has worrying implications for women’s political participation as well as their involvement in the public sphere. Political violence targeting women (PVTW) in West Africa has become increasingly common, with this trend increasing even more dramatically in recent years. The threat and risks, however, have not been uniform: different types of violence and different primary perpetrators dominate the gendered violence landscape across countries. Using data from ACLED, this paper tracks how women are targeted, and who is targeting women. Only by understanding how threats and risks that women face differ across countries can strategies be created to protect women.
Click here to access the report.
The overlapping impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating climate disasters, and geopolitical conflict are a threat to gender equality and women’s rights across the globe. This report from UN Women and UNDP shows what governments can do now to prevent further rollbacks and recover lost ground, while enhancing resilience and preparedness for future shocks.
Drawing on a unique global dataset of close to 5,000 measures adopted by 226 countries and territories in response to COVID-19, the report finds that, overall, government responses paid insufficient attention to gender dynamics. At the same time, instances of innovation and learning hold important lessons for gender-responsive policymaking in times of crisis.
For the first time, the report provides analysis on the factors that led to a strong gender response, generating key lessons for governments:
- In a context of growing threats to democratic and open societies, strong institutions proved critical for an inclusive gender response.
- Feminist movements and women’s rights organizations provided an early warning system on the gender impacts of the pandemic, particularly on violence against women and girls.
- Women’s representation and leadership in executive positions, parliaments, and public administration was critical for translating feminist advocacy into policy action.
- Countries with robust public services and gender-responsive social protection systems were in a better position to respond, while others had to improvise, under pressure, and with varying degrees of success.
- Digital tools sustained feminist activism online and enabled policy innovations and rapid support roll-out, reaching groups of women often left behind in “normal times”.
- Real-time gender data on the impact of the pandemic on women and girls was critical to making the case for gender-sensitive response measures, as was tracking what worked in government responses.
Click here to download the report.
Uganda adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and was one of the first countries to integrate them into its National Development Plan. Under Goal 5, countries commit to promoting and guaranteeing women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making. This survey report is a follow-up of the baseline survey of women in local governments that was conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics in 2017 and addresses three specific objectives:
1) To update and track progress towards attainment of gender parity in political representation at LG level;
2) To assess the extent to which women in LGs effectively contribute to local decision-making processes; and
3) To provide a deeper understanding of the factors that hinder elected women in LGs from effectively fulfilling their mandate.
The study was undertaken using Local Government (LG)’s election data from the Electoral Commission and survey data collected through key informant interviews with political leaders at the LG levels and focus group discussions with community people. The survey was conducted in Gulu, Nwoya, and Pader in the North; Napak, and Morotoin Karamoja sub-region; Pallisa and Bugiri in the East; and Kiryandongo in the West. Survey data was analysed using both quantitative (descriptive statistics) and qualitative techniques, which involved qualitative data from focus group discussions and open-ended survey responses from individual respondents was analysed through the following steps: transcribing the qualitative responses; pooling the transcribed responses from the various FGDs according to specific research questions; identifying the main ideas that occur in the answers to each question and creating themes; and writing narratives to describe the themes.
Click here to download the report.
Advancing Gender Equality in National Climate Plans: Progress and Higher Ambitions highlights the latest data on country progress in integrating gender considerations into their national climate plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), under the UNDP Climate Promise initiative. UNDP supports 120 countries through the Climate Promise to reach their climate goals as part of the Paris Agreement. The brief also explores how countries can scale up ambitions on gender integration in the NDC implementation process, as well as the challenges and opportunities that could arise as countries move from pledges to realizing these gender commitments.
Click here to access the report.
This article analyses how women governors, mayors, and local elected officials promoted public health and social protection in countries where men chief executives failed to take steps to contain the virus. We focus on adverse circumstances in six cases: Brazil, the United States, the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, and India. While individual women may not see their leadership in feminist terms, their pandemic response contrasted with men chief executives’ hypermasculine bravado and slapdash decision-making. Women leaders relied on science, co-ordinated community outreach, and attended to the needs of marginalised groups. Their stories reveal women’s resiliency, resourcefulness, and resolve at the local level.
Click here to access the article
Indians accept women as political leaders, but many favor traditional gender roles in family life.
More than half a century ago, India was one of the first countries in the world to elect a woman as prime minister, and the country currently has several highly influential women politicians, including Sonia Gandhi, the head of one of the major national parties. Today, most Indians say that “women and men make equally good political leaders,” and more than one-in-ten feel that women generally make better political leaders than men, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey of nearly 30,000 adults throughout India. Only a quarter of Indian adults take the position that men make better political leaders than women.
Click here to access the report.