Women's Leadership
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
Beyond the ballot box
The election results reflect broader societal patterns affecting advancement in politics and other spheres. Despite increasing representation in various fields, the path to executive positions remains complex. This reality resonates particularly with established professionals who have navigated similar dynamics throughout their careers.
The conversation extends beyond individual candidates to examine institutional structures that influence leadership selection. As more voices join public discourse, many note how traditional power dynamics continue to shape outcomes across sectors.
Creating sustainable change
Community engagement and strategic coalition-building emerge as critical factors for progress. Grassroots organizations are developing new approaches to leadership development and support systems. These efforts focus on long-term institutional change rather than individual electoral cycles.
An April 2023 Pew Research Center report shows increasing political participation among diverse demographics, suggesting potential for future breakthrough moments. Thus, sustainable progress requires addressing deeper systemic issues around access and opportunity.
Read here the full article published by Rolling Out on 20 November 2024.
Image by Rolling Out
South Sudan UN Women Country Representative Rukaiya Mohammed has underscored the importance of dialogue in empowering women.
Mohammed expressed the sentiments during the three-day inter-generational dialogue on women’s leadership and political participation from East Africa.
The workshop held in Juba created a platform on breaking barriers for women in leadership.
“The transition period has been extended for two years, so we say women should not sleep. We should strategize and take advantage of the momentum,” Mohammed said.
“We said the young can walk fast, but the elderly know the road. It is vital for young women to harness the wisdom of the elders, while the elders should value the creativity and energy of the youth,” she added.
The dialogue included members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) from Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan, local MPs, and representatives from civil society organizations (CSOs).
Read here the full article published by Radio Tamazuj on 16 November 2024.
Image by Radio Tamazuj
Understanding the role traditional media and, increasingly, social media outlets are playing in the promotion of more gender-inclusive and participatory democracies and what we can all do to speed up progress is urgent, and critical.
This study aims at doing just that and has four key takeaways:
- An artificial intelligence powered analysis of the 2020 primaries shows that female candidates are attacked more often than male candidates by trolls/fake news accounts/bots and there is anecdotal evidence the same is happening in India, Ukraine and Italy.
- Despite a highly toxic social media environment, female candidates globally have been at times able to use both Twitter and Facebook to support their political ambitions, by leveraging their support networks online and offline.
- Globally and on average, women are still less visible than men on traditional media and the nature of the coverage they receive is often biased or plainly sexist, representing a serious disincentive for women to consider a political career.
- There are actionable steps and evidence-based solutions and innovations that can speed up progress towards gender equality in government, by ensuring that traditional and social media are fairer arenas of political engagement - and everyone has a role to play in implementing them.
Click here to see the report.
This first update of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index provides important insights into patterns and progress on women’s well-being and empowerment around the world. It reflects a shared vision that countries are more peaceful and prosperous when women are accorded full and equal rights and opportunities. While just two years have passed since the inaugural WPS Index was published, major insights can be drawn from recent trends. The timing of this report offers opportunities for stakeholders to review and discuss challenges and to identify opportunities for transformative change in advance of the 20th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. The WPS Index incorporates three basic dimensions of women’s well-being—inclusion (economic, social, political); justice (formal laws and informal discrimination); and security (at the family, community, and societal levels)— which are captured and quantified through 11 indicators. The indicators are aggregated at the national level to create a global ranking of 167 countries. On a pilot basis in this report, we constructed subnational indexes for three of the world’s largest countries (China, India, and Nigeria), which reveal difference in performance within countries on many fronts. We are pleased to have collaborated with National Geographic and their expert team of researchers and designers who have created a series of striking graphics capturing and portraying key insights from the WPS Index. Their results are published in the November 2019 issue of the magazine.1 Some of the graphics are included in this report. Several innovations this year have enhanced the value of the index. First, improvements in data availability made possible the addition of 14 countries, expanding coverage to 167 countries— encompassing more than 98 percent of the world’s population. Second, greater data availability has enabled the use of data on the current (past 12 months) prevalence of intimate partner violence in place of data on women’s lifetime experience of intimate partner violence. This change permits tracking changes in prevalence over time. Third, we have used data revisions and updates since the inaugural edition of the index from the International Labour Organization, the United Nations, the World Bank, and other authoritative sources to continue to ensure the reliability of the data on which the index is based. While these are major improvements, the changes also mean that comparisons of scores and ranks between the 2017 and 2019 editions must be made carefully. This report examines changes in the underlying indicators and limits attention to changes in position on the index to the biggest country movers only. We hope that this year’s report is an important contribution to national and international efforts to accelerate progress on both the international commitment to women, peace, and security and the Sustainable Development Goals. The WPS Index will be updated again in 2021, serving to track progress toward women’s inclusion, justice, and security.
Click here to see the report.
Since its establishment in 2000, the The Community of Democracies (CoD) has affirmed and maintained a commitment to engaging women in all aspects of democratic gover - nance and development, including women’s political participation and inclusion in peacebuilding processes and initiatives. The importance of female participation in the political and diplomatic sphere as a crucial component of consolidated democracy and sustain - able development was outlined and recognized as a core value in the governing document of the CoD, the Warsaw Declaration, which em - phasizes that the “informed participation by all elements of society, men and women, in a country’s economic and political life, including by persons belonging to minority groups, is fundamental to a vibrant and durable democracy”. Gender equality is one of the three cross-cut - ting themes mainstreamed into all activities undertaken by the Com - munity as part of its Strategic Plan 2018-2023.
Click here to see the report.
The Women's Network of the Union of Latin American Parties (UPLA) is a political platform that seeks to promote and strengthen the participation and positioning of women in public decision-making roles in Latin America and the Caribbean.
UPLA prepared a report for the electronic discussion on the role of political parties in the promotion of women in politics.
Click here to see the report.
Women ran for and were elected to office in record numbers in the 2018 election. They made historic gains across levels of office and reached new milestones for women’s political representation. But not all women achieved record levels of success in 2018. Republican women’s representation dropped across offices and within their party.
The progress for all women in election 2018 should also be put into important context. First, despite breaking records for candidacy and officeholding, women – who are just over half of the population – were still underrepresented among all candidates and remain less than one-third of elected officials.
Finally, measuring progress for women in electoral politics means looking beyond the numbers. When considering the gender and intersectional dynamics at play in U.S. campaigns, it is clear that there is much progress left to make in creating equitable conditions for success for women and men in American elections.
Click here to see the report.
Violence against women in politics is increasingly recognized around the world as a significant barrier to women’s political participation. This article maps how the concept emerged globally, arguing that it has multiple, parallel origins: efforts by locally elected women in Bolivia in the late 1990s to theorize their experiences as political harassment and violence against women; networking by elected women across Asia, with support from global actors, to map and condemn manifestations of violence against women in politics in the mid2000s; and initiatives in Kenya to recognize and tackle electoral gender-based violence in the late 2000s. International actors began to link these debates in the late 2000s and early 2010s, collecting and analyzing testimonies from women to develop new frameworks and toolkits for identifying and addressing violence against women in politics. They also sought opportunities to embed these new understandings into existing normative and political frameworks. Arguing that concept formation plays a crucial role in global feminist politics, the article illustrates how feminist collaborations are essential for giving voice to women’s experiences and mobilizing for change.
Click here to see the report.