Women's Leadership

Spain’s government minister for economic affairs is making a stand for gender equality, saying she won’t take part in any more events or official group photographs where she is the only woman present.

Spain’s government minister for economic affairs, Nadia Calviño, made a stand for gender equality Thursday, saying she won’t take part in any more events or official group photographs where she is the only woman present.

Click here to read the full article published by ABC News, on 3 February 2022.

As part of last December’s Summit for Democracy, the Biden administration launched a wide range of commitments aimed at countering the troubling anti-democratic headwinds around the world. One of these pledges is the “Advancing Women’s & Girls’ Civic and Political Leadership Initiative,” a new U.S. government effort to promote women’s democratic inclusion. Implemented by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) with a planned budget of $33.5 million, it seeks to strengthen women-led civil society organizations, tackle entrenched barriers to women’s political and economic participation, and foster a more inclusive environment for women in politics.

Click here to read the full article published by Just Security.

Women remain underrepresented in political leadership in the United States and beyond. While abundant research has studied the possible impact of gender stereotypes on support for women candidates, our research finds that voters also withhold support for women candidates because they perceive practical barriers to women successfully attaining political leadership positions. We find that providing Democratic primary voters with evidence that women earn as much electoral support as men in US general elections increased intentions to vote for women candidates. Our results suggest that women face complex barriers that prevent gender equity in politics, and these barriers can be reduced when voters believe that Americans not only want but also will take action to support women candidates.

Click here to read the full article published by PNAS.

When voters perceive women political candidates to be less electable than men they are likely to vote for a man instead. But there are ways to overcome these often-exaggerated beliefs, according to new Stanford research.

In a primary election, if voters believe that it is too hard or impossible for a woman candidate to win a general election, they’ll support a male candidate from their party instead – even if they personally preferred a woman, according to new Stanford research.

Click here to read the full article published by Stanford News on 1 February 2022.

The issue of gender equality in Myanmar is in the spotlight again. Women are on the frontlines of the anti-coup protests taking place since the junta ousted the civilian government a year ago.

Since the Myanmar military brutally put down the mass protests that began following the February 1 coup last year, flash mobs have repeatedly gathered in major cities such as Yangon and Mandalay to protest against the military junta.

Click here to read the full article published by DW on 1 February 2022.

The gender disparity in politics is indicative of the of need to promote education amongst women, thus, enabling greater political participation.

While numerous political advancements have occurred throughout the world in recent decades, the most important influence has to be on women’s involvement and representation in political roles. Women make up about half of our population, but they are underrepresented in our political system in proportion to their numbers. At every level, from the home to the highest levels of government, women are excluded from decision-making. Women’s decision-making engagement in politics may have a substantial impact on women’s empowerment, which is why India is battling with the issue of gender disparity. Despite the Indian Constitution’s provision of equal opportunity, women have a small presence in legislative bodies and political participation at all levels. Accessing the possible reasons, we see that, interestingly, education plays a part in politics; however, only for women because the literacy rate of female politicians is higher than the male politicians, implying that only women need political education.

Click here to read the full article published by Observer Research Foundation.