Women's Leadership
Another election, another round of politicians who tout the same ideas, speak the same way, wear the same suits and, possibly, the same aftershave. Another round of politicians who, a little too often, claim to represent women’s interests, or be outraged on the basis of familial connections – being a “father of daughters”, a “husband of a wife”.
Maybe I’m being cynical here, but women’s interests aren’t yet adequately represented in British politics. This under-representation can partially be attributed to a pervasive culture of misogyny, which continues to shape modern politics. It is a culture that bleeds into both women’s personal and professional lives, a culture in which former Home Secretary James Cleverley can “joke” about spiking his wife’s drink, where women are labelled, as Theresa May was, “bloody difficult”, and threats and intimidation are endemic.
Read here the full article published by Vogue on 5July 2024.
Image by Vogue
Welcome to the first installment of the new "International Election Series," where they explore the vital role women play in shaping democratic processes around the world. In this episode, they delve into the recent Mexican elections, examining how women candidates influence politics.
RepresentWomen’s Communications Director Ashley Thurston, International Research Manager Fatma Tawfik, and Mexican scholar interviewed Jennifer Piscopo and Catherine Reyes-Housholder about the historic Mexican elections.
See here the full episode published by RepresentWomen on 8 July 2024.
Image by RepresentWomen
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s Washington, D.C. office hosted a distinguished international delegation of twelve female professionals working in politics, from May 4th – May 11th, 2024 in Washington, D.C., and Denver, Colorado. The group comprised of participants from: Argentina, Armenia, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Chile, Germany, Hungary, Jordan, Lithuania, Pakistan, Philippines, and Tanzania. The delegation met with experts across various political women’s institutions, non-profit organizations, political NGOs, legislative offices, and more specifically with The World Bank Group, researchers, journalists, and academics. The group discussed in detail initiatives and policies that have helped to promote gender equality as well as the persistent economic, political, legal, and social barriers for women.
Across meetings there was one consistent theme: we are far from reaching gender equality and there is much to do. However, the bleak outlook was countered with many examples of policies and tangible ways to take steps toward equality. One cannot start to draft policies without fully understanding the economic, political, legal, and social barriers that exist for women in the context of their home country. What might be feasible or encouraged somewhere, will not always work in someone else’s context. For the purposes of this policy takeaway, we will focus pointedly on the United States.
Read here the full article published by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit on 27 June 2024.
Image by Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit
This year, countries accounting for nearly half of the world’s population are holding national elections. Instead of representing a triumph of democracy, however, the results suggest something darker: in many places, voters have flocked to the polls only to elect or reelect autocratic populists. They have notched victories this year in some of the largest countries, including India, Indonesia, and Russia. And these wins come on the heels of last year’s populist victories in Argentina and Turkey.
Today, more than 70 percent of the world’s population lives under autocratic rule, and a minority of the world’s governments are democratic, according to the most recent annual report from the V-Dem Institute, an organization that studies democracy. What the report does not reveal is that a central component of this assault on democracy is the targeting of women political leaders and women’s rights by far-right extremists and elected autocratic populists who represent the leading edge of democracy’s decline. For three decades, the share of women legislators across the globe was growing thanks to mandated quotas in many countries, but the rate of increase has stalled over the past two years, a signal U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Geeta Rao Gupta calls “scary.” Women today only occupy 27 percent of the world’s legislative seats. An even starker sign is that the number of women leading countries has sharply declined in the past year.
Read here the full article published by Foreign Affairs on 3 June 2024.
Image by Foreign Affairs
India, the world’s largest democracy, has made significant strides in women’s political participation since its independence in 1947. However, a substantial gender gap persists in Indian politics, reflecting deeper societal inequalities and cultural barriers. This article examines the current state of women’s representation in Indian politics, the progress made so far, and the challenges that continue to hinder gender parity in the political sphere.
Current State of Women’s Representation:
While women constitute nearly 50% of India’s population, their representation in political bodies falls far short of this proportion. As of 2024, women make up approximately 15% of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of parliament) and 14% of the Rajya Sabha (the upper house). At the state level, women’s representation in legislative assemblies averages around 9%. These figures, though gradually improving, highlight the significant underrepresentation of women in Indian politics.
Read here the full article published by Odishabarta on 27 June 2024.
Image by Odishabarta
Mongolians go to the polls in parliamentary elections on Friday, with the ruling Mongolian People's Party widely expected to retain a majority it has held for eight years.
But for the first time in almost a decade, parties are required by law to ensure that 30 percent of their candidates are women, in a country where politics is overwhelmingly dominated by men.
As a result, more women than ever before are running this year, in a new voting system that balances proportional lists with district candidates elected directly by the people.
"The era we are living in demands the quota," Dorjzodov Enkhtuya, a 51-year-old former TV anchor running for the main opposition Democratic Party, told AFP in capital city Ulaanbaatar.
"There are almost no women in decision-making positions," she said.
"We are changing the game."
Read here the full article published by France 24 on 27 June 2024.
Image by France 24
The Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) drafted a National Action Plan (NAP) on United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) to advance women, peace and security on the national level. The JNCW proposed a draft for the NAP in October 2014, which then was transferred for discussion within the Government of Jordan. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) Jordan country office produced this note, which serves as a summary of the discussions hosted by UN Women and the JNCW on issues of women, peace and security in Jordan. Two consultations were held under the framework of the Beijing+20 review and appraisal process and the high level review of the implementation of resolution 1325. The consultations targeted national actors and decision makers on issues of women, peace and security, as well as Syrian refugees living in the Za’atari refugee camp in Al Mafraq governorate. For more information, click here.
The Women in Parliaments Global Forum (WIP) will present the WIP – World Bank Study “The Female Political Career” at the Palace of Westminster, on October 20th, 2015. A panel discussion on how to increase the presence of women in parliaments and best-practice examples will follow the presentation of the study, which comes as a response to the poor presence and participation of women in politics around the world. Please visit here for further information.
Women are often dynamic leaders of change, galvanizing women and men to get involved, claim their rights, strengthen their communities and protect their planet. Their participation is fundamental to democratic governance. Yet women still have far to go towards equal representation in positions of power and leadership, whether in corporate boardrooms or presidential cabinets.
Discriminatory laws and practices hold women back, as do limits on education, income and time away from caregiving. Just over 21 per cent of parliamentarians are women, up from around 11 per cent when the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women took place in 1995. While women have made inroads in many areas, at the current pace of change, we won’t see gender parity in governments, parliaments or peace tables until the next century.
The Beijing conference agreement, known as the Platform for Action, dubbed women in power and decision-making one of 12 critical areas of concern. It made two essential commitments to change. First, it called for measures ensuring women’s equal access to and full participation in power structures and decision-making. Political quotas or positive measures are examples of these. By reserving seats or candidacies for women, they have driven dramatic increases in the number of women leaders in some countries. Second, the Platform urged steps to increase women’s ability to participate. Training on leadership, public speaking and political campaigning, for instance, grooms women to compete, win and be good leaders who can inspire others.
Women have a right to equal participation. Once in leadership roles, they can make a difference that benefits whole societies. The Inter-Parliamentary Union has found that women politicians give more attention to social welfare and legal protections, and improve trust. Taking up the Beijing commitments and rallying around women’s leadership could accelerate progress towards equal participation—right now. We can’t wait until the next century!