Women's Leadership

Violence against women in politics (VAWP) is a human rights violation, as it prevents the realization of political rights. Violence against women in political and public life can be understood as “any act or threat of gender-based violence, resulting in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering to women, that prevents them from exercising and realizing their political rights, whether in public or private spaces, including the right to vote and hold public office, to vote in secret and to freely campaign, to associate and assemble, and to enjoy freedom of opinion and expression” (UN Women/UNDP 2017, 20).

Although awareness of the gravity and increasing levels of VAWP is growing, the issue is a relatively new area of investigation, with no global statistics or measurements available on prevalence or incidence, a lack of commonly agreed definitions and indicators, a reliance on anecdotal evidence, and underreporting because of the stigma attached to genderbased violence in many societies. The absence of commonly agreed definitions and methodologies for measuring VAWP is a barrier to the advancement of research, monitoring, and policy and programming responses in this field. Are agreed indicators and methodologies for measuring VAWP necessary? How can consistency across different measurement approaches be ensured? This essay examines the extent to which VAWP is measured, identifying gaps in current violence against women (VAW) measurements and considering new opportunities for measuring and monitoring VAWP.

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Four years ago, Latin America was home to a third of the world’s female presidents. Today, it has none. But that doesn’t mean the region hasn’t made progress in advancing women’s role in the political sphere. In fact, as of the inauguration of Colombia’s new administration on August 7, there are more female vice presidents—in 12 different countries—in the hemisphere than ever before.

Latin America is also moving ahead when it comes to balancing the male-to-female ratio in legislative branches. The Inter-Parliamentary Union’s last update on June 1, registered that 28.9 percent of all congressional seats in the region were occupied by women, an increase of 3.7 percent since January 2014, and 5.1 percent above today’s global average. When Mexico’s new Congress is inaugurated on September 1, Latin America will be home to three of the four countries with the greatest proportion of congresswomen.

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Two years after Hillary Clinton became the first woman to win the presidential nomination of a major U.S. political party, and with a record number of women running for Congress in 2018, a majority of Americans say they would like to see more women in top leadership positions – not only in politics, but also in the corporate world – according to a new Pew Research Center survey. But most say men still have an easier path to the top and that women have to do more to prove their worth. And the public is skeptical that the country will ever achieve gender parity in politics or in business.

Republicans and Democrats have widely different views about where things stand today and what factors are holding women back. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more than twice as likely as Republicans and those who lean Republican to say there are too few women in high political offices (79% vs. 33%). And while 64% of Democrats say gender discrimination is a major reason why women are underrepresented in these positions, only 30% of Republicans agree.

There are also wide gender gaps in views about women in leadership. About seven-in-ten women say there are too few women in high political offices and in top executive business positions; about half of men say the same.

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This report reflects discussions held during the May 2018 Expert Group Meeting hosted by UN Women on women’s meaningful participation in negotiating peace and the implementation of peace agreements. The meeting included some 50 experts from a diverse range of countries and contexts, including Bosnia, Colombia, Kenya, Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244), Georgia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Philippines, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

The report highlights how far the international community and Member States have come in advancing women’s meaningful participation in conflict resolution since the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). The report highlights the aims and outcomes of the convening, which included:

• the exchange of current research and good practice on women’s representation and “meaningful” participation in peace processes;
• the exploration of the concept of “meaningful participation”—what it includes and how the United Nations, Member States, civil society, and other relevant actors can best effectively advocate for it and consistently operationalize it;
• discussion of the barriers to women’s meaningful participation; and
• assessment of the trends and challenges in gender-responsive provisions of peace agreements and their implementation.

The report includes a menu of actions for relevant actors and recommendations that reflect on nearly 20 years of implementation of the women, peace, and security agenda.

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Considering that equal access of men and women to power is a necessary precondition for democracies to flourish, the African women’s decade 2010-2020: Women’s participation in decision-making & leadership 2017- 2018 report focuses on women’s role in decision-making and leadership in key positions and at all levels. Nowadays, women leaders have an enormous potential to influence decision-making, by promoting fairer policies and practices in governments, parliaments, the judiciary and the private sector. Even though women play a crucial role in all the above fields, previous reports have mainly focused on women in governments and parliaments. In other words, this report goes beyond limitations and seeks a holistic approach with regard to women’s participation in all spheres of decision-making such as women MPs, women ministers, women in the judiciary, women in the private sector. 

Make Every Woman Count (MEWC) has been compiling a yearly report, tracking the progress of the African Women’s Decade (AWD) since 2011. This is achieved by presenting each country on the continent with a background and a presentation of progress and developments made within different areas during each year of the African Women’s Decade 2010-2020.

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In October 2018, the highest number of gender parity cabinets was achieved. Six out of the current ten gender-balanced cabinets were formed in 2018.   

In January 2014, UN Women and the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) reported only three countries with at least 50 percent of women ministers (Nicaragua, Sweden, and Finland). This figure went up to five countries in 2015 (Finland, Cabo Verde, Sweden, France, and Lichtenstein) and to six countries in 2017 (Bulgaria, France, Nicaragua, Sweden, Canada, and Slovenia). The recent appointment of gender-balanced cabinets in Ethiopia and Rwanda brings the list of countries with at least 50 percent of female ministers to ten.

1. Canada

In November 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave Canada an unprecedented young, ethnically diverse, and gender-balanced government team. In his July 2018 cabinet reshuffle, gender parity stayed intact with a total of 17 women and 17 men ministers.

2. Colombia

In August 2018, President Iván Duque of Colombia announced his new cabinet, which for the first time in the country’s history included as many women as men. Women head the ministries for justice, interior, labor, and mining and energy among others.

3. Costa Rica

In April 2018, President Carlos Alvarado of Costa Rica presented his cabinet, which made national history with the inclusion of 14 women and 11 men and the appointment of Epsy Campbell as the first woman to lead the country's foreign relations.

4. Ethiopia

In October 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia appointed a cabinet marked by gender parity with ten women and ten men.

5. France

In May 2017, President Emmanuel Macron of France formed a gender-balanced government with 11 of 22 ministries led by women. In October 2018, he announced a new 34-strong cabinet with 17 women.

6. Nicaragua

In January 2017, President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua formed a cabinet with nine women and eight men. Many women ministers lead traditionally men-dominated portfolios such as defense, environment and energy and mines.*   

7. Rwanda

In October 2018, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda unveiled a new gender-balanced cabinet with 13 women ministers out of a total of 26.  

8. Seychelles

In April 2018, President Danny Faure of Seychelles announced a new cabinet comprised of five women and five men ministers in addition to the President and the Vice president.

9. Spain

In June 2018, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of Spain announced a new cabinet with 11 women ministers and five men. Key ministries such as justice, economy, defense and education are headed by women.

10. Sweden

Sweden has the world’s first self-proclaimed feminist government. In 2014, Stefan Löfven appointed a cabinet including 12 women and ten men ministers.

The global average for women holding ministerial positions is 18.3% (as of January 2017). See UN Women and IPU’s 2017 Map on Women in Politics for more information. 

Did we miss something? Please let us know at connect@iknowpolitics.org. 

* Source: Permanent Mission of Nicaragua to the United Nation in New York, 23 October 2018