Women's Leadership

Gender equality is both an essential development goal in its own right and a driver of human development. International law recognizes that everyone has a right to participate in public life, but it remains an ongoing challenge to achieve women’s equal participation, especially in decision-making. The importance of advancing women’s leadership in politics has continued to gain traction. Although much remains to be done, advances are being made slowly but surely. Unfortunately, less attention and support has been given to promoting women’s leadership in public administration. In response, UNDP developed a joint research and policy development initiative titled Gender Equality in Public Administration (GEPA) to help fill this gap. This global report reflects extensive research based on available national data, and provides analysis of the obstacles in the way of women’s equal participation and decision-making in public administration. It highlights examples of approaches which can work, and offers recommendations for further action. 

This study report on Women in Power and Decision-Making in the Eastern Partnership Countries, 2015 is part of the project Short term high quality studies to support activities under the Eastern Partnership – HiQSTEP, carried out by an international consortium under the leadership of Kantor Management Consultants. 

This study has been carried out to support the activities of Platform I - ‘Democracy, Good Governance and Stability’ – of the Eastern Partnership at the request of the Government of Sweden, supported by Georgia and Moldova. Gender has been identified as priority area by the EaP Platform I Work Programme 2014-2017. The Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), the European Union External Action Service and the European Institute for Gender Equality are the driving forces in cooperation with EaP partner countries on this theme. The European Institute for Gender Equality has provided methodological support to the present Study to ensure comparability between the EU-28 and Eastern Partnership data. 

In the Eastern Partnership Countries, women are remarkably absent from the structures of power. In politics, 17 women are currently appointed to Senior Minister posts out of 136 such posts, women elected as Parliament Members constitute 16 per cent and 3 political parties are led by women. Only 17 per cent of women managed to break the glass ceiling to reach the highest ranking civil servants positions. Small bright spots can be found in the judiciary, were women judges count for 29 per cent of the Supreme Courts posts, and in Local Assemblies, where their share reached 27 per cent. 

Looking more closely at some countries, timid but possibly real gender-related advances can be identified, such as in Ukraine where two women were appointed to the most important financial positions of the Minister of Finance and the Head of the Central Bank. However, the Minister of

Finance is the only woman in the Ukrainian cabinet. In Moldova, a different approach led to the appointment of 6 women out of 22 as Senior Ministers1, the highest number in the EaP, and to the attribution of socio-cultural portfolios to 4 of them. In Georgia, a system of exams based on qualifications resulted in a higher number of women judges than men (51 to 49 per cent respectively). Women are even less present in positions of economic power. They represent 9 per cent of members of the boards of central banks, 15 per cent of members of the governing bodies of trade unions and 10 per cent of members of the governing bodies of employers’ organisations. Women in the boards of companies registered on the stock exchange are less than 15 per cent. Ukraine, however, stands out again as the only EaP country with two women Presidents and two women Vice-Presidents in two of its organisations representing workers. 

These results are not surprising when one analyses the social and economic situation endured by women in the EaP Countries, where they often face severe horizontal and vertical segregations that constrain them in low-paid and informal jobs – predominantly in services sectors such as retail trade, education and health care. Protective regulations that prohibit the employment of women in dangerous or harmful conditions can further deprive women of jobs, which is the case in Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine. Despite their higher levels of education than those of men across EaP Countries, gender pay gaps for women can be as high as 50 per cent, as is the case in Azerbaijan. Except in Belarus2, women’s unemployment is higher than men’s and they are more exposed to poverty. 

The combination of these factors drives large numbers of women to entrepreneurship, such as in Belarus where women are 63 per cent of all individual entrepreneurs3. Access to credit or even micro-credit is difficult and the span of women’s activities remains limited. Women will often be excluded from the trade networks that facilitate the launch and development of businesses and companies for men. Many women, especially in rural areas, work in the agricultural sector of countries, such as Georgia, where land is mostly owned by men. Their work is not registered and they cannot benefit from allowances nor can they apply for compensations, thereby limiting their capacity to engage in society and politics. 

When all other possibilities fail, women resort to emigrating: this is the case of Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Not only has Moldova the lowest level of labour participation amongst the EaP Countries, but it also experiences a continuing decrease of the active female labour force, losing 7 per cent of its active female population in the 2004-2014 decade. The lack of social services is particularly critical, when one considers that child-care services were more readily available prior to the current transition period. This is compounded by the fact that men are rarely involved in children’s education.

Women are scarcely present at the highest echelons of universities, with an average of 12 per cent women rectors in the EaP Countries, or in media, although some more women are appointed in positions at the second level of power. Their capacity to influence the public discourse appears therefore limited. All Eastern Partnership Countries are affected by different forms of violence against women including human trafficking and harmful practices. Violence against women negatively affects women’s general well-being and prevents them from fully participating in society.

From a legal standpoint, women in the Eastern Partnership Countries benefit from virtually all the gender equality requisites. All EaP constitutions, adopted between 1994 and 1996, rigorously impose parity between women and men and all legislations provide for equal rights, albeit in varying degrees. In contrast, however, legislation on violence and harassment against women remains insufficient. All these factors have direct and indirect implications on women’s roles in leadership and decision-making.

Summary record of the Joint Biennial Meeting of the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) and the OECD-DAC Network on Gender Equality (GENDERNET)

“Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: A game changer for gender equality, women's empowerment and women's human rights”

12-14 January 2016, Kampala, Uganda

KEY MESSAGES

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its comprehensive standalone goal on gender equality (SDG5) and gender-specific targets across the other goals, provides an ambitious framework to transform the lives of women and girls everywhere. However, it will only be a game-changer if it is fully implemented (...).

Women have historically faced greater barriers than men when it comes to fully participating in society. Across geographies and income levels, disparities between men and women persist in the form of pay gaps, uneven opportunities for advancement, and unbalanced representation in important decision-making. Despite their strong convictions about gender equality in leadership, this Rockefeller Foundation and Global Strategy Group report shows that Americans are acutely aware of the forces that hold women back. Nine in ten (92%) say that traditions of, and expectations for, male leadership in workplace cultures contributes at least somewhat to women’s lack of representation in top positions—including 69%, who say it contributes highly. Other preconceptions also play a role, including women being seen as prioritizing family over career (89%), and the perception that women are less effective leaders than men (78%). Click here to access the report. 

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This factsheet, produced by Oxfam, gives a brief overview of the status of women in the Middle East and North Africa with a focus on the themes of violence against women and girls in conflict and women’s political participation and leadership. It also discusses the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and the extent of progress towards its goals, more than 15 years after the adoption of this landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security. The factsheet is divided into two sections as it first highlights the different manifestations of gender-based threats and risks that women face, and then looks into the limited participation of women in decision making and peace processes. For more on this, click here.  

The Arab region ranks the lowest in the world in terms of women‘s participation in parliaments. Recognizing the power of the challenges facing women in politics, this paper examines the political participation of women in the Arab countries and identifies the different challenges that impede Arab women's participation in decision making. It finds that these challenges include cultural factors, lack of coordination among women's organizations, shortcomings in the institutional and legal frameworks, practices of political parties and election process among many others. To read the full report, click here.