Women's Leadership

The world we live in is marked by a profoundly unequal distribution of the burden of adversity between men and women. From Japan to Africa, to the United States of America, gender disparity exists in almost every country. Inequality between men and women, on the other hand, can take various forms. It shows up in the unequal portrayal of men and women in diverse fields, disparities in remuneration, lingering gender stereotypes, and sexual discrimination.

In Africa, women's political representation has risen dramatically in recent decades. Between 1980 and 2015, the proportion of women in Parliament nearly doubled, while women's representation in Cabinet grew fivefold to 22%. Regrettably, numbers alone do not always imply power.

Click here to read the full article published by News Day on 2 November 2022.

MALAYSIA is viewed as progressive where gender equality and advancing women's rights are concerned.

The government has supported women's empowerment and will continue to do so. Despite the progress, however, several issues and challenges exist, and data suggest disparities and shortfalls.

Figures by the All-Women's Action Society (Awam) and PantauPRU15 show that in the last general election, 7.3 million women made up 50.4 per cent of registered voters but only 251 out of 2,333 candidates were women.

Click here to read the full article published by The Straits Times on 1 November 2022.

The attack on Paul Pelosi in his home by an assailant who reportedly was looking for the House speaker highlights the danger of the outrage and vitriol that often particularly targets women in positions of power. 

The man charged with breaking into the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and assaulting her husband was reportedly yelling, “Where is Nancy?” echoing some of those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

That question — and the suspected targeting of one of the most powerful women in American politics — points to a form of violent misogyny that is part and parcel of larger threats to American democracy, say experts who study and track gendered political violence.

Click here to read the full article published by The 19th on 31 October 2022.

2022 ELECTIONS 

In Reddit comments, female politicians are more likely to be referred to by their first names, and with a less professional focus, than their male counterparts. This a new study from the University of Copenhagen finds. Previous work from the researchers investigated gender differences in search engine results and language models with the same main conclusion: gender bias is widespread online. According to the researchers, this disadvantages female politicians.

In the run up to both the Danish parliamentary and US mid-term elections, many first-time voters are heading online to find out more about political candidates. So far so good. 

“We see a clear trend of female politicians being more frequently referred to by their given names alone and described with language that relates to their body, clothing or family”,  

- Professor Isabelle Augenstein of the Department of Computer Science, Copenhagen University

Click here to read the full article published by The University of Copenhagen on 28 October 2022.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia — Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must redouble efforts to correct the slim representation of women in leadership posts across multiple sectors of society – or they will risk holding back the region’s full potential for COVID-19 pandemic recovery and sustainable growth.

This week’s ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Finance Ministers’ Meeting next week, and the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November should pay heed to the findings of a new report, Data Snapshot: Women’s Leadership in the ASEAN Region, co-written by UN Women and the Government of Cambodia as Chair of ASEAN.

Click here to read the full article published by UN Women on 14 October 2022.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Community Vision 2025 of the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They are also key to fostering a more sustainable and inclusive region. Providing women with equal access to decision-making power and leadership not only supports their well-being, but also enables their contribution towards regional progress and inclusiveness.

Data, however, shows that substantial progress is needed to empower a new generation of ASEAN women leaders. This factsheet explores, through available official statistics, the various leadership roles that women play in the ASEAN region, and sheds light on areas where improvement is needed.

Click here to access the report.