Women's Leadership
Women's political leadership is evolving, with both progress and challenges. Inspiring figures like Angela Merkel and Jacinda Ardern have made strides, but achieving gender parity is still over a century away. Local leadership and advocacy play crucial roles in this ongoing journey.
In the evolving landscape of global politics, a compelling narrative unfolds, revealing both progress and setbacks in the quest for gender parity in political representation. As we venture into 2024, the strides and struggles of women vying for political leadership positions paint a complex picture of the current state and the road ahead. While some regions celebrate breakthroughs, others confront enduring barriers, underscoring the multifaceted challenges women face in their political journeys.
The Landscape of Women in Politics: A Global Overview
At the forefront of this narrative are the 28 formidable women who, as of this year, helm the leadership as Heads of State or Government across 26 countries. Icons like Angela Merkel and Jacinda Ardern epitomize the resilience and visionary leadership that have paved the way for future generations. Despite these inspiring figures, the sobering reality emerges that achieving gender parity in executive government roles remains a distant goal, predicted to be over a century away. The underrepresentation extends to national parliaments, where women constitute a mere 26.5% of parliamentarians globally. However, there are glimmers of hope, as evidenced by Rwanda's remarkable 61.3% female representation in its parliament, leading the world in this aspect, with Cuba and New Zealand also making notable strides forward.
Click here to read the full article published by the BNN Breakings News on 18 February 2024.
Image source: BNN Breaking News
Ethical principles help us make positive and just decisions that contribute to the common good of all.
Reliability, honesty, integrity, fairness, and collaboration are a few of many ethical behaviors that fulfill basic human needs, prevent harm to people and the environment, and create credibility and trust. The consequences of unethical decisions include loss of trust, authoritarianism, autocracy, nepotism and corruption.
The controversial bill that reduced wetlands protection illustrates the importance of ethical decision-making. Despite opposition from wetland scientists and rejected attempts to amend the bill, legislators passed House Bill 1383 in a party-line vote, 64-30 in the House, 32-17 in the Senate. Some media reports stated that several legislators who voted in favor of the bill have ties to land development companies and lobbyist groups.
Click here to read the full article published by the Daily Journal on 15 February 2024.
Image source: League of Women Voters
In a panel on Feb. 5, Black female scholars from across the country came together to explore the power of Black women in American politics and their nuanced role as actors in the current political climate. The panel titled “Black Women’s Politics,” was hosted by the Women and Gender Studies, African American Studies, and Government departments to commemorate Black History Month.
The panel included Dr. Sharon Austin, professor of political science at the University of Florida; Dr. Ayana Best, assistant professor of political science at Howard University; Dr. Pearl Dowe, professor of political science and African American studies at Emory University; and Dr. Christine Slaughter, assistant professor of political science at Boston University. Alongside the five scholars, Dr. Nadia Brown, chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies department at Georgetown, moderated the discussion.
Click here to read the full article published by The Georgetown Voice on 13 February 2024.
Image source: The Georgetown Voice
TOKYO -- Two strong, prominent female leaders have found themselves facing very different political futures in neighboring countries on the Bay of Bengal.
On Feb. 1, Myanmar marked the third anniversary of the military takeover that overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi, who led the civilian government as state counselor, was detained and has been convicted on myriad charges in what critics call sham trials. The country's democratic forces, shorn of the charismatic leader, are mired in an armed struggle with the army.
In Bangladesh, the ruling Awami League achieved a resounding victory in the general election on Jan. 7, which was boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The vote paved the way for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's fourth consecutive term and her fifth overall, making her the longest-serving female head of state in the world.
Click here to read the full article published by Nikkei Asia on 13 February 2024.
Image source: Nikkei Asia
The Women's Political Participation Program is committed to reshaping the narrative and reality of women's political engagement in the Arab region. At the heart of this initiative lies the belief that women's political participation is not just an aspect of gender equality, but a fundamental component of robust and resilient democracies. We view women's involvement in politics not merely as a matter of representation, but as a vital force in shaping public policy, governance, and the very fabric of political life.
Click here to read the full article published by the Arab Reform Initiative on 9 February 2024.
Image source: Arab Reform Initiative
In a sector where women are rarely seen at the forefront, 33-year-old Shoko Kawata made history by becoming Japan's youngest female city mayor when she was elected in Yawata, southern Kyoto Prefecture last year. Her victory was unexpected — but for some is a welcome change.
Despite having no direct ties to the city, Kawata successfully appealed to the almost 70,000 people residing in the city, backed by the support of three political parties. Previously, the record for youngest city mayor was held by Sawako Naito, who was 36 years old when she was elected as Tokushima’s mayor in 2020.
Click here to read the full article published by The Japan Times on 6 February 2024.
Source image: The Japan Times
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.
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.
By Tapan Kumar Sahu, Kusum Yadav
The paper empirically examined the relationship between education level and political participation of women. The indices of political participation include the following: membership of political party, voting in elections, occupation of political post, means of occupation of political post and level of occupation of political post. The results revealed that women of the South West region of Cameroon are fairly well exposed to formal education as only 4.1% of the sampled population had no formal education. The study revealed that the higher the level of women's formal education, the more their tendency to participate in politics in areas of voting in elections and occupation of political post either through elections or appointments at all levels of government. The study was guided by the following objectives; the first was to assess women’s political participation and decision making. Secondly, what the opportunities of women political participation the third objectives was to determine the level of opportunities women’s political participation and decision making. The researcher recommends that the government, civil society and women activists need to work towards sensitization and awareness creation among the community to realize the need of the Women to participate in politics and governance. The men need to realize the women’s need for political power and change the way they look at the women and the government should embark on activities which support women’s political x Initiatives. The researcher recommends these areas to be further studied including: a study that could analyzes the contribution of civil society organizations in promotion of women political participation and human rights, a study that could assess the policy gaps concerning gender equity in governance and politics for women empowerment and other study could be conducted in the field concerning implication of culture on women’s political participation and decision making.
Click here to read the full article.
By Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
While rebuilding a country previously engulfed in civil war for over 14 years, my administration oversaw, then, one of the deadliest health crises of the 21st century. I, Africa’s first democratically elected woman president and Liberia’s first elected president of the post-conflict period, had to pivot quickly in both attitude and action, as a means of responding to the Ebola outbreak of 2014. The outbreak posed a devastating threat to Liberia’s people and to the gains we had made in recovery and development. Rather than falter, we leaned into the complex challenges the outbreak posed, crafting and embarking upon an approach that embraced the strategies called for by community health workers and ordinary people fighting to save their loved ones. During this period, we lost many lives but averted a national crisis and found an inclusive and sustainable path of hope. In most African countries, strengthening the national health structure requires investing in and prioritizing community health workers and systems. Local community health workers are crucial in times of crisis because of their proximity to those most impacted. Utilizing community leadership ensures communities feel empowered and share in the responsibility, creating genuinely inclusive and responsive approaches. Liberia’s early success in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic relied on the same community health workers and leaders from the Ebola crisis. They were central in the dissemination of reliable information, coordination efforts across the country, building partnerships both internally and internationally, and leading their communities.
Haga clic aquí para leer el artículo completo.
The primary objective of this 2019 CEMR study on women in politics is to evaluate the progression of women’s representation in decision-making over a ten-year period and to present an overview of the current situation. The study aims to mobilise actors and decision- makers at all levels across Europe, in the institutions and organisations included in the study, but also in the associations of local and regional governments, political parties, civil society organisations, as well as anyone interested in just and democratic governance.
Click here to download the report
LGBTQ Victory Institute’s The Decision to Run Report set out to uncover the barriers and motivators for LGBTQ women who want to run for office. The findings — a result of an extensive survey of nearly 290 LGBTQ women as well as four focus groups — show six common barriers and four motivators mentioned by respondents. It is a first glance – not a comprehensive account – of the challenges LGBTQ women encounter. Yet it can be a guide for equality organizations, campaign training organizations and candidate recruitment programs that believe in the importance of representation for LGBTQ women, as well as a starting point for future research.
Click here to download the report.