Women's Leadership
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On 20 May 2024, a round table on "Ensuring women’s engagement in political processes in Ukraine" was held in Kyiv.
The round table discussion was focused on the issues of common strategy towards supporting active women participation in political process, ensuring guarantees for the exercise of electoral rights by women in view of the challenges caused by the military aggression of the Russian Federation, as well as strengthening the legal framework for the provision and effective enforcement of gender quota in electoral lists, and other issues.
The round table discussion was attended by more than 50 participants, including members and representatives of the Parliament of Ukraine, Central Election Commission, other state authorities, civil society and international organizations.
During the event, amongst other, the results of the Council of Europe study "Gender equality, balanced political participation and representation of women and men in post-war public and political processes in Ukraine: challenges and perspectives" were presented and discussed, as well as the results of the strategic session, which the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine co-organised with the Central Election Commission in November 2023 on issues of needs, challenges and relevant support measures to ensure gender-balanced participation and representation of women and men in public, political and electoral processes in Ukraine in the post-war period.
The event was organised by the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional and Urban Development in cooperation with the Civic Network “OPORA,” International Foundation for Electoral Systems and Council of Europe*.
Read here the full article published by the Council of Europe on 22 May 2024.
Image by Council of Europe
Before Donald Trump was a president, he was a television celebrity and high-profile real estate mogul. His political experience, or lack thereof, was touted on the campaign trail eight years ago as a fresh presence in Washington.
A few other men have garnered celebrity status before they ventured into politics. Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger were all tough-guy film stars long before they ran for president, mayor and governor respectively. Al Franken got people laughing on Saturday Night Live before serving as a Minnesota Senator.
But no woman has transitioned from stardom to high public office.
To better understand why and which famous female might be able to make the shift, Suffolk University and USA Today conducted an exclusive poll earlier this month of 1,000 likely voters.
Three celebrity women would win the backing of nearly 30% of those polled: TV personality Oprah Winfrey, actor Sandra Bullock and 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams. Actresses Viola Davis and Julia Roberts and comedian Tina Fey each earned the support of about a quarter of those surveyed, with Whoopi Goldberg, Jodie Foster and Rachel Maddow not too far behind.
Read here the full article published by USA Today on 22 May 2024.
Image by USA Today
Here we are in another presidential election year. (Pause for scream.) Chaos will surely abound on the campaign trail and elsewhere, but we here at Cosmo have found a way to not only survive elections but to use them to feel tangibly better about the world: Focus on the women.
A few elections ago, this took the form of our award-winning guide telling women exactly How to Run for Office. It felt urgent—at the time, only 8 percent of women told us they’d even consider running for office. Fast-forward seven years and nearly one-third of our state legislature seats are held by women. Twenty-eight percent of elected officials in Congress are women (compared to 19 percent 10 years ago). And we have our first-ever woman Vice President.
Now there’s a new urgency: While more women are gaining elected positions, they’re facing frustrating—and frustratingly gendered—obstacles once they’re on the job. So we’ve decided to publish a new guide about how to succeed in office once you get there.
It’s perhaps no surprise that for elected women, success requires the support of other women. Take it from our partner on the project, Pivotal Ventures, an investment and philanthropic company founded by Melinda French Gates to put $1 billion toward expanding women’s power and influence in the U.S. I caught up with Melinda—or “MFG” as her colleagues fondly call her and now so do I—this spring, right before Election Year 2024 really went into overdrive, to talk about our shared passion for helping all women thrive.
Read here the full article published by Cosmopolitan on 16 May 2024.
Image by Cosmopolitan
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There are calls for more support for Pacific women to get into politics, while also recognising cultural leadership roles.
Pacific Island Forum Secretariat policy advisor on gender equality Dr Fiona Hukula says Pacific women have to balance expectations that can contradict each other.
“We live and fend in a world where we are also tied to some of our cultural and social obligations, and it in many ways influences the way we think about gender relations, the way we think about leadership.”
In the Pacific region, just 8.8 per cent of MPs are women. In the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine is the first woman to become president, and the first woman president of any Micronesian country.
Speaking to William Terite on Pacific Mornings, Hukula says the low representation of women in parliament is a longstanding concern.
“We know that our region has some of the highest rates of violence in the world and the lowest rates of women’s political representation, but to be fair, there’s been a lot of work in trying to ensure that women take up leadership roles.”
Louisa Wall is a former Labour cabinet minister, and was the Ambassador for Gender Equality in the Pacific until March when her role was scrapped by the coalition government.
Read here the full article published by the Pacific Media Network News on 14 May 2024.
Image by the Pacific Media Network News
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Why is it important to have more diverse women in spaces of power for democracy in Latin America? How does misinformation and online gender violence operate against them now that they are conquering political spaces? How is artificial intelligence beginning to play a role in the political participation efforts by women and underrepresented groups? These and other questions will be up for discussion this Tuesday in Mexico at the forum ‘Mujeres al poder, representación política y tecnología en elecciones (Women in power, political representation and technology during elections), organized by EL PAÍS América and Luminate, the alliance behind the Women Leaders of Latin America project. The event will feature numerous women with a public voice.
With less than a month to go before a national election in Mexico, where there are two women candidates with a strong chance of winning, the debate becomes increasingly relevant, and even more so because the forum is organized around solutions and an exploration of the challenges and difficulties faced by women who reach positions of power. One of the guest speakers who will discuss online gender violence is Salma Luévano, Mexico’s first trans lawmaker, who has suffered it firsthand; other Mexican speakers include Senator Beatriz Paredes of the PRI party, the politician and feminist Martha Tagle; and Rita Bell López, Advisor for the National Electoral Institute (INE).
Read here the full article published by El País on 14 May 2024.
Image by El País
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Progress towards legal gender equality has stalled in many parts of the world. The data published earlier this year by Women, Business, and the Law report reveals that women, on average, have less than two-thirds of the legal protections that men have, down from a previous estimate of just over three-quarters. This stark reality is a sobering reminder of the challenges that still lie ahead.
For example, the absence of legislation prohibiting sexual harassment in public spaces, such as mass transit, hampers women's ability to access employment opportunities and fully participate in the workforce. The lack of services and financing for parents with young children places a disproportionate burden on women. Furthermore, the effectiveness of gender-sensitive legislation is often undermined by inadequate enforcement mechanisms. In many regions, women's limited political clout fuels a self-perpetuating cycle of restricted legal rights and reduced economic empowerment.
Recognizing the importance of women's representation in political leadership, the World Bank, represented by the Women Business and the Law (WBL) report, Women Political Leaders (WPL), and the Oliver Wyman Forum (OWF), have joined forces to address the challenges faced by women in political leadership positions. Our collaborative efforts under the Representation Matters program aim to foster women’s participation in decision-making positions, and to promote legal equality and economic opportunities not only for women, but for everyone.
The initiative comes at a critical time. Achieving equal opportunity is not only a fundamental human right for half of the world's population; it is also an opportunity to drive faster economic growth, fostering prosperity for all.
Read here the full article published by The World Bank on 14 May on 2024.
Image by The World Bank
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