Women's Leadership
On March 14, 2024, rural women from communities in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria expressed concerns over women’s low inclusion in politics. The women lamented neglect and financial constraints as problems in assessing political and leadership positions. The outcome of the 2023 general elections is evidence of low women’s political leadership representation. The low participation of women in political leadership results in less development for the nation since not all capable human resources are utilised.
To build women’s capacity for greater inclusion in leadership, the Nigerian government should foster avenues for knowledge acquisition and networking. The mass media should also commit to projecting the effects of disadvantageous cultural beliefs. Sharing content that influences and shapes cultural beliefs would boost inclusivity. The Nigerian government should likewise invest in initiatives that fund and encourage women’s political dreams and aspirations.
A significant number of Nigerian women still face a lot of social and financial challenges despite having fundamental political rights. These social challenges are exemplified by disadvantageous cultural beliefs. Cultural beliefs such as early girl-child marriage disrupt girls’ education, affecting their political aspirations and dreams. A report by Save the Children International reveals that Nigeria homes 23 million girl-child brides which inadvertently results in the low representation of women. Addressing disadvantageous cultural beliefs such as this requires the full leverage of the media.
Read here the full article published by The Guardian Nigeria on 25 September 2024.
Image credits: The Guardian Nigeria
As global instability mounts, the stakes are high for the 79th United Nations General Assembly high-level debate, which begins Tuesday in New York City.
While tensions in Europe and the Middle East continue to dominate the diplomatic agenda and shake up the global order, all eyes will be on the Big Apple for leaders to set the diplomatic agenda for the coming year. This year, once again, the U.N. General Assembly high-level debate will be dominated by men speaking at the rostrum.
A provisional list of speakers published earlier in September - which is likely to change until the very last moment - revealed that less than 10 of the leaders set to speak at the high-level week are women, showing the hill remains steep for women in politics, especially in the top job. There were only 27 countries where 28 women served as Heads of State and/or Government globally as of June, and gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years, according to UN Women.
While, so far, only around ten women prime ministers or presidents are set to travel to New York for the event, there is a bright side: the first woman to speak comes earlier than usual.
Read here the full article published by Forbes on 23 September 2024.
Image credits: Forbes
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says it's time for a woman to lead the United Nations, a call echoed by 14 other female foreign ministers Friday.
"Within the UN system, it is time for the next secretary-general to be a woman," she told reporters in Toronto.
"The UN has been existing for more than 75 years, so it is more than time."
States will nominate the UN's tenth secretary-general for a term starting in 2027. Women have only served in the role of deputy secretary-general, including Canadian diplomat Louise Fréchette.
The ministers also say there should be gender parity in the role of the president of the UN General Assembly — out of 72 terms only four women have held the position.
Joly co-hosted women foreign ministers in Toronto alongside her Jamaican counterpart Kamina Johnson Smith, following a similar gathering in 2018. The two-day meeting included ministers from Ghana, Indonesia, Nepal and Romania. It came ahead of high-level visits at the UN General Assembly next week in New York City.
Read here the full article published by CTV News on 20 September 2024.
Image credits: CTV News
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
At her rallies and on the campaign trail ahead of Mexico’s presidential election in June, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum made one phrase in particular her mantra: “It’s women’s time.” She repeated it in a speech at Mexico City’s Metropolitan Theater last month to mark the official certification of her election victory, while also highlighting the fact that, after 200 years of independence and 65 presidentes, Mexico will finally have its first presidenta—with the “a” in Spanish denoting the feminine.
Now that preparations are underway for Sheinbaum’s Oct. 1 inauguration, the historic moment gives Mexico an opening to champion women’s rights and leadership, not just at home, but globally—and at a crucial time. In what has been called the Year of the Election, with countries home to half the world’s population going to the polls in 2024, the number of women serving as heads of state is on the decline, from a peak of 38 out of 195 countries in 2023 to 25 as of last month. Around the world, women in politics are more likely to face violence and harassment than their male counterparts, giving them cause to think twice about running for office or reelection. As it is, though women count for roughly half the global population, they only hold one in four federal legislative seats.
Read here the full article published by World Politic Review on 18 September 2024.
Image credits: World Politic Review
UN Women’s project Women Make Change* underscores the importance of increasing women’s participation and leadership in politics at all levels. Despite global advancements, women continue to be underrepresented in politics, particularly at the subnational level. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), women encounter significant obstacles, including cultural norms, limited resources, and discrimination. Presently, only three out of 118 members of national parliament are women, and just 2 per cent of subnational ward members.
UN Women is dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in PNG. Recently, UN Women conducted the initiative Political Leadership and Campaign Strategies Training for women leaders across the country’s four regions. This initiative aims to enhance the capacity of women leaders at the subnational level who are planning to contest the upcoming election, enabling them to effectively participate in political processes and elections, some for the first time. The trainings were held simultaneously in Lae for the Momase region, Hagen for the Highlands region, and Port Moresby for the Niugini and Southern regions. A total of 121 women attended. Attendants were equipped with knowledge of political systems, campaign strategies, messaging, and communication strategies. The training also fostered networking and collaboration among participants.
“As the sitting ward member of Ward 8 in Kimbe Urban Local Level Government in West New Britain Province, I have gained invaluable skills and knowledge from this training,” said Paula Golpak, one of the participants of the Niugini Islands region training. “It has equipped us with concrete strategies and a deeper understanding of effective governance, further motivating us to plan and prepare thoroughly for the upcoming election and prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable."
Read here the full article published by UN Women Asia & The Pacific on 18 September 2024.
Violence against women in politics is increasingly recognized around the world as a significant barrier to women’s political participation, following a troubling rise in reports of assault, intimidation, and abuse directed at female politicians. Yet conceptual ambiguities remain as to the exact contours of this phenomenon. In this article, they seek to strengthen its theoretical, empirical, and methodological foundations. The article proposes that the presence of bias against women in political roles—originating in structural violence, employing cultural violence, and resulting in symbolic violence—distinguishes this phenomenon from other forms of political violence. The authors, Mona Lena Krook and Juliana Restrepo Sanín identify five types of violence against women in politics—physical, psychological, sexual, economic, and semiotic—and three methodological challenges related to underreporting, comparing men’s and women’s experiences, and intersectionality. Inspired by the literature on hate crimes, we develop an empirical approach for identifying cases of violence against women in politics, offering six criteria to ascertain whether an attack was potentially motivated by gender bias. They apply this framework to analyze three cases: the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, and the murder of Jo Cox. They conclude with the negative implications of violence against women in politics and point to emerging solutions around the globe.
Click here to see the academic article.
Inclusive decision-making is necessary in terms of both legitimacy and good policy outcomes. Recognizing this, closing persistent gender gaps in public life has emerged as a critical policy issue as countries increase their efforts to foster inclusive growth and build trust and confidence in public institutions while working towards the SDGs. The public administration determines the manner in which political and economic decisions are implemented and how budgets are planned and spent. Additionally, it is a primary employer for women in many developing countries – particularly in the Arab world. In some countries, women have in fact surpassed parity in terms of public administration employment but still lag far behind the 30% target in leadership positions. Balanced total employment among women and men is important but it is equally important to have women dispersed throughout all the different sectors of administrative governance, as well as equitably represented in all levels of decision-making. Women tend to outnumber men in general positions and decrease significantly in number further up the grade ladder. In addition to the glass ceiling that women face in the public sector, there also appears to be a strong trend of horizontal profiling: "glass walls". Women in the public sector are primarily involved in the traditionally feminized sectors of health, education and social services and almost absent from other sectors such as security and foreign affairs. The status quo represents a challenge to achieving SDGs 5, 8 and 16 and the biggest impediment to adjusting the situation is the absence of relevant data. This paper will examine the gender gap in the public administrations of Arab countries; analyze trends and policy with the ultimate aim of contributing to the development of tracking mechanisms for gender equality in the public administration.
Click here to see the academic article.
The goal of the survey consists in analyzing perceptions and experiences of civil servants in central administration with regard to the level of corruption, its forms, transparency of the decision-making process and impact of these phenomena on the career development practices among men and women.
Click here to see the survey.
Women and girls with disabilities, who make up almost one-fifth of the world’s population of women, face significant barriers to accessing justice, due to discrimination on the basis of both gender and disability, accessibility barriers to the justice system, and lack of reasonable accommodations throughout judicial proceedings. Compared to both men with disabilities and women without disabilities, women with disabilities are disproportionately excluded from legal protection and are more likely to have their credibility questioned, owing to harmful gender and disability stereotypes. Women with disabilities also encounter barriers to attaining positions as lawyers, judges, and other officials in the justice system, and may be excluded from serving on juries. Such barriers not only limit the ability of women with disabilities to use the justice system, but also limit their ability to contribute to the administration of justice to society as a whole. Access to justice is interdependent with a number of fundamental rights. Effective access to justice is essential for challenging human rights violations, such as discrimination in employment or deprivation of parental rights. Lack of access to justice can reinforce vulnerability to rights violations, particularly where perpetrators may feel emboldened when they know the justice system is unlikely to respond to complaints by women with disabilities. Access to justice also depends on the fulfilment of other rights—realization of the right to accessibility, for instance, will often determine whether women with disabilities have effective access to the justice system.
Click here to see the factsheet.
By Ruth Igielnik and Kim Parker,
As moms across the United States celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, five of the six women vying for the Democratic residential nomination are themselves mothers.
These women, all seeking the same high political office, became mothers at different points in their careers – some while they were starting out in politics and others long before that.
Roughly half of Americans (51%) say it’s better for a woman who wants to reach high political office to have children before entering politics, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey on gender and leadership. About a quarter (26%) say it would be better to wait until she is well-established in her political career, while 19% say it would be better for a woman not to have children at all if she plans to seek higher office.
Click here to read the full article published by the PEW Research Center on 9 May 2019.
Public approval is a crucial source of executive power in presidential systems. Does the public support female and male presidents similarly? Combining insights from gender and politics research with psychological evidence, this study theorizes sex-based differentials in popularity based on more general expectations linking gender stereotypes to diverging performance evaluations. Using quarterly analyses of eighteen Latin American democracies, South Korea and the Philippines, the analyses compare the levels, dynamics, and policy performance of macro-approval for male and female presidents. As expected, female presidents are less popular, experience exaggerated approval dynamics and their approval is more responsive to security and corruption (though not economic) outcomes. These findings have clear implications for our understandings of mass politics, political accountability and presidentialism.
Click here to see the report.