Women's Leadership
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment!
We here at RepresentWomen honor Cynthia Richie Terrell—the founder and executive director of RepresentWomen—for her 60th birthday and the fantastic work she does to achieve parity in this political space. The regular contributor behind this weekly column, Terrell is an outspoken advocate for innovative rules and systems reforms to advance women’s representation and leadership in the United States.
Support her through supporting our organization as we continue our fundraising initiative. Your generosity will aid us in continuing our mission of dismantling barriers that impede women’s ability to run for office and win.
Melinda French Gates once said, “A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” By this definition, Cynthia Richie Terrell is a woman who uses her voice to amplify the strength of many women and their belief that we deserve equitable representation.
Read here the full article published by Ms. Magazine on 5 April 2024.
Image source: Ms. Magazine
Generally, diversity could be considered a good thing especially if it leads to positive outcomes. Diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, and ideas are some areas of focus for policymakers seeking a more comprehensive representation in government and various organizations both private and public.
The quest to get women involved in Ghana’s public service, institutional leadership, and frontline politics has been ongoing for quite some time with a recent suggestion to give women quotas both in Ghana’s Parliament and the executive level.
An institution that seems to have made significant strides is the judiciary where 3 of the last 4 chief -justices have been women namely Justices Georgina Wood, Sophia Akufo, and Gertrude Torkornoo. It would be during the reign of one of these women chief justice that a comprehensive investigation into the judiciary was initiated.
This write-up explores the works and contributions of 4 women currently active in frontline politics who remain an inspiration to the next generation of Ghanaian kids (both boys and girls).
Read here the full article published by News Ghana on 4 April 2024.
Image source: News Ghana
"If things aren't going well in town, [...] we issue alerts. Because women are afraid. The children are afraid. We get together to discuss and solve any issues so that we can move forward together."
Mouna Awata is the president of the "Case de la Paix" (House of Peace), a project designed to foster women’s dynamic participation in conflict resolution and public life, and promote their economic empowerment in the precarious region of Gao, in the north of Mali.
A major crossroads of trade with neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, Gao also hosts a growing number of displaced people seeking refuge due to armed conflicts in the surrounding regions. According to the UN Refugees Agency (UNHCR), over 200,000 people have been displaced in and around Gao as of 31 January 2024.
Since its creation in 2013, the "Case de la Paix", now made up of 76 women’s associations and 2000 women, demonstrates the remarkable resilience and initiative displayed by women in the Sahel country in West Africa.
Read here the full article published by the UN Sustainable Development Group on 3 April 2024.
Image source: UN Sustainable Development Group
President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo has appointed Judith Suminwa Tuluka as the country’s next prime minister. Judith, a former planning minister, makes history as the first woman to hold the position. She takes over from Jean–Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge, who served as prime minister from 2021 to 2024.
In her new role as prime minister, Judith will be tasked with advancing the president’s agenda, which focuses on employment, youth, women and national cohesion for the nation of about 100 million people. In her first televised address as prime minister, she acknowledged the challenges: “The task is big, the challenges are immense but together… we will get there. She emphasised the importance of her role, stating, “I am aware of the great responsibility that is mine.”
Read here the full article published by Bella Naija on 3 April 2024.
Image source: Bella Naija
MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) – In a press conference joined by local women activists on Monday, Somali women Members of Parliament (MPs) expressed their frustration and lack of political will to include a 30% women quota in the constitutional amendments amidst a heated debate over the Somali Provisional Constitution.
"What we were pushing for was that the women quota of 30% be included into the constitution. But sadly, we have now seen that a new parallel process was started which excludes women quota,” said MP Ifrah Naaleeye, highlighting the challenges faced in advancing women’s representation.
The MPs condemned recent comments from political and religious groups opposing the women’s quota, citing religious grounds, a view dismissed by many religious scholars.
"Those who spoke in the Jazeera hotel and said that women quota is haram. I want to ask them where were they when women were killed, raped and abused?” questioned MP Ifrah Naaleeye, challenging the basis of the opposition.
Additionally, the MPs criticized remarks made by the Mayor of Mogadishu and the Somali prime minister, accusing them of using religion to confine women to their homes instead of addressing issues of violence and threats faced by women activists.
Joining the MPs in their advocacy were women activist groups, emphasizing the importance of respecting women’s political participation in Somalia.
Click here to read the full article published by the Horn Observer on 20 March 2024.
Image source: Horn Observer
The European Union and partners launch the Women’s Leadership Initiative, a component of the Women and Youth in Democracy Initiative (WYDE), in New York today during the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said: “In recent years, we have witnessed the erosion of democratic values. And when democracy is being eroded, women’s rights are under attack as well. Protecting democracy means ensuring an open civic and political landscape in which women can participate safely. This is the objective of the Women Leadership programme which I am pleased to launch today with our partners as part of the EU’s Women and Youth in Democracy Initiative.”
With €11.5 million from the EU for a period of three years, the WYDE | Women’s Leadership Initiative will promote the full and effective participation in decision-making of diverse women, especially those most often left furthest behind, by leveraging collective action, partnerships, coordination, knowledge, and resources at global level. The initiative will prioritise changing the social norms and cultural attitudes that portray the roles of women in communities and society as incompatible with political power. It will build the political skills of young women, and engage men, boys, office holders and the media as allies for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Read here the full article published by the EU International Partnerships on 14 March 2024.
Image source: EU International Partnerships
This chapter surveys the literature on gender and politics in Portugal, focusing on explanations for gender differences in political participation and representation. We map trends in women’s inclusion in key areas of political life: from conventional to unconventional political participation, to the election of women to parliamentary parties (descriptive representation), and responsiveness to women’s policy demands (substantive representation). Examining Portugal in comparative perspective, we highlight the crucial roles of state feminism, women activists within parties, and strategic incentives for parties to advance gender equality. We propose several avenues for developing future research which leverages the Portuguese case, including the downstream impacts of political gender quotas, intersectional and non-binary analysis, and the symbolic impact of women’s inclusion in public life.
Click here to access the article.
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.
Latinas are serving in record numbers across levels of elective office, but we are still vastly underrepresented when compared to our numbers in the population.
Data from the 2020 U.S. Census shows that those identifying as Hispanic or Latino accounted for more than half of the country’s population growth in the previous decade, with the greatest increases in Texas, California, and Florida. Latinas are key to that rise. But has representation in elective office kept pace with that population growth? This report helps to answer that question. It provides a review of the current status of Latinas in elective office in the U.S. within a historical context and with attention to what is possible in the 2022 election
Click here to access the report.
This article presents the results of a randomized survey experiment demonstrating that the public evaluates women politicians more highly than men across multiple characteristic assessments. This finding is consistent with a recent wave of research indicating greater preference for women politicians. Which respondents rate women politicians more highly, and why? The survey found that women and younger voters do not account for the greater marks given to women politicians. Instead, respondent partisanship and the presumed partisanship of the politician account for a great deal of the findings, with gender playing a complicating role. Democratic and Republican respondents are apt to project their own partisanship onto politicians, and across both parties, the survey found higher assessments for co-partisan politicians and for women politicians. On the whole, women politicians are evaluated on par with of significantly higher than men politicians across six characteristics, scoring especially well relative to men when politicians are presumed to be members of the opposing party and when traditionally feminine characteristics are assessed.
Click here to access the article.
UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025, aligned with its Strategic Plan, guides UNDP in its efforts to assist countries in accelerating progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women over the next four years. It aims to move beyond piecemeal efforts and to instead help countries to shift power structures and the economic, social, and political systems that perpetuate discrimination.
Click here to access the document.
After national news coverage of a COVID-19 mask requirement controversy in Dodge City, Kansas in December of 2020, Mayor Joyce Warshaw received numerous threats such as “Burn in hell”; “Get murdered”; and “We’re coming for you.” Fifteen days later, Mayor Warshaw resigned saying that she and her family no longer felt safe.
Four important questions arise from the circumstances in which Mayor Warshaw and other mayors find themselves.
- How prevalent is violence against mayors from the public?
- Are there gender and race-based differences in violent experiences of mayors?
- Is the violence experienced by mayors causing them to rethink their service?
- What are the wider implications to representation of exposing public servants to abuse and violence? Will fewer people, especially women and women of color run, for and stay in office?
This research seeks answers to these questions.
Click here to access the report.