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Women's Leadership

Background

To this day, decision-making remains widely dominated by men as they make up 64% of elected local officials, 73% of parliamentarians, 77% of cabinet ministers, and about 90% of heads of government and heads of state.[1] It is estimated that at the current pace, it will take another 162 years to close the gender gap in political empowerment.

By virtue of their gender, men tend to enjoy privileges that are unavailable to women at home and work, in their communities, and in institutions. Their privileged and dominant positioning in society and decision-making places makes an impact on, for example, the way laws and policies have been designed and implemented. Male-dominated decision-making limits access to opportunities and leadership for women. Such an unequal distribution of power not only hinders women’s well-being but also humanity’s development overall. In fact, a recent study found that, on average, women are empowered to achieve just 60% of their potential.

The road to gender equality remains long and full of roadblocks, such as violence and lower access to health, education, and paid work. Women and girls continue to be subject to harmful gender norms, that are social constructs and integral to the reproduction of unequal power relations in all spheres of life, resulting in tangible consequences. For example, nine out of ten people hold biases against women and half of them believe that men are better political leaders than women.

The rise of global crises, from wars to pandemics and climate change, impact women’s lives disproportionally, burdening them further, and stalling progress towards gender equality even more. Humanity is at a critical crossroads. To build a peaceful, democratic, and sustainable future, it has no choice but to change social norms to empower women and girls in all their diversity and reach equality for all.

Objective

This e-Discussion seeks to raise awareness and collect experiences and knowledge on gender norms change and their impact on women’s political empowerment, participation, and leadership in politics and public life. It also seeks to gather good practices and recommendations on ways to shift gender norms to end the cycle of discrimination and achieve gender equality in politics and public life.

Women and men in politics, civil society activists, practitioners and researchers are invited to join this e-Discussion from 27 November to 18 December 2023 by answering the below questions. The submissions will contribute to a report that will augment the knowledge base available on the topic.    

Questions

  1. In your opinion and based on your experience, how can gender norms change? How can their change impact women’s participation and leadership in politics and public life? Please share examples.
  2. What can lawmakers, governments, and civil society do to contribute to gender norms change? Please share examples.
  3. In your opinion, how have gender quotas impacted gender norms change and perceptions of women leaders?     

To contribute

  • Use the comments section below; or
  • Send your contribution to connect@iknowpolitics.org so that we can post below on your behalf.

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[1] Data valid as of 1 November 2023, calculations by UN Women.

Background

“The press was as kind as it knew how to be. It meant well and did all for us it knew how to do. We couldn't ask it to do more than it knew how.” [Laughter] — Susan B. Anthony, 1893

Susan B. Anthony was familiar with the press’ ways. Journalists relentlessly ridiculed the women’s suffrage movement.[1] Fast forward to more than a century later, women in public life still face biased, sexist, and discriminatory media treatment. Research over the past few decades reveals that women in politics continue to be at a disadvantage when it comes to media coverage.

When reporters cover women in politics, they often use terms that emphasize women's traditional roles and focus on their appearance. They perpetuate stereotypes of women politicians as weak, indecisive, and emotional. They sometimes even hold women politicians accountable for their children’s or husbands’ actions, though they rarely hold men politicians to the same standards.[2]

A study by the Inter-parliamentary Union on violence against women parliamentarians reports that the media can perpetuate rumors and misogynistic behavior. The study’s survey revealed that 27.3% of the participating women MPs said that traditional media had shared highly contemptuous or sexually charged images or comments about them. The percentage rose to 41.8% when they were asked about photos or comments disseminated through social media.

Globally, women in politics, particularly women of color, experience overwhelming levels of abuse and gendered disinformation campaigns, which traditional and social media often fuel and perpetuate. With the purpose of discrediting, delegitimizing, and silencing women in politics, studies have shown that women are often discouraged and dissuaded from getting involved in politics because of gendered media reporting.

Indeed, sexist media coverage contributes to the under-representation of women in politics.[3] A worldwide study found that while women’s position has generally progressed, it is slower in media representation and politics. Further, it concluded that the more there is sexism in the media, the less women candidates there are.[4] The media has a powerful influence on voters and gender differences in media coverage can have real electoral consequences. Not only can it dissuade women from engaging in politics, but it also discourages political parties and political elites from selecting women as candidates.[5]

Objective

This e-Discussion seeks to raise awareness and collect experiences and knowledge on gender differences in political media coverage, its impact on women’s political participation and representation, as well as gather good practices and recommendations on ways to counter the negative impact of media portrayals of women in politics with fair and unbiased coverage.

Journalists, producers and editors, media monitoring institutions, electoral management bodies, women and men in politics, political party leaders and members, civil society and women’s rights activists, practitioners, and researchers are invited to join this e-Discussion from 07 to 30 September 2022 by answering the below questions. The submissions will contribute to a report that will augment the knowledge base available on the topic.

Questions

  1. Are women politicians less visible or covered differently than men in political news coverage in your country? Please share data, if available.
  2. What can lawmakers, governments, and civil society do to ensure media outlets/journalists deliver fair and balanced media coverage of women and men in public life?
  3. With sexist traditional media coverage disseminated on social media, women in politics are exposed to vicious online attacks and abuse by often anonymous perpetrators. What can social media companies, media outlets, governments, lawmakers, and other decision-makers do to put an end to the crisis of online violence against women in politics?

To contribute

  • Use the comments section below; or
  • Send your contribution to connect@iknowpolitics.org so that we can post below on your behalf.

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Notes:

[1] Maria Braden, Women Politicians and the Media. (University Press of Kentucky, 1996), 1.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Loes Aaldering and Daphne Joanna Van Der Pas, Political leadership in the media: Gender bias in leader stereotypes during campaign and routine times. British Journal of Political Science 50: 911–31. 2018.

[4] Amanda Haraldsson and Lena Wängnerud, The effect of media sexism on women’s political ambition: Evidence from a worldwide study. Feminist Media Studies 19: 525–41. 2019.

[5] Daphne Joanna Van der Pas and Loes Aaldering, “Gender Differences in Political Media Coverage: A Meta-Analysis” Journal of Communication, Volume 70, Issue 1 (February 2020): 114-143. doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqz046

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Background

Women’s right to equal opportunities and participation in public life is guaranteed by international agreements such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Women are active in both the formal and informal public spaces, including in social and political movements as civil society activists, political candidates and leaders, and peace negotiators.  

Over time, women activists and feminist movements have led efforts globally and nationally to advance the gender equality and women’s empowerment agenda in all spheres of life. For instance, in politics they were instrumental in achieving women’s suffrage, as well as the introduction of gender-sensitive laws and electoral gender quotas in many countries. Albeit still far from parity, women’s participation and representation in formal political institutions has increased in recent decades as a result of those reforms. For instance, women’s representation in national parliaments has nearly doubled in the last twenty years, rising from 13.4%in 2000 to 24.9%in 2020.

With the rise and renewed uses of the internet, women are using both formal and informal spaces to drive change for a more democratic and sustainable world free from discrimination. Social media tools enable digital activism and grassroots movements with unprecedented speed, reach, and often impact, transforming institutional and traditional activism and civic spaces.  

Objective 

This e-Discussion aims to explore and raise awareness on the different ways and forms women participate in public life outside of formal political institutions, such as in women’s and feminist movements, civic demonstrations and initiatives and online activism. Activists in civic and political movements, civil society groups, political parties, social media campaigns, as well as practitioners and researchers on issues related to political and public engagement are invited to join this e-Discussion from 24 August to 14 September 2020. Submissions will contribute to the elaboration of a Consolidated Reply that will augment the knowledge base available on the topic.     

Questions

  1. How have women outside of formal roles advanced the gender equality agenda and influenced other public debates and decisions? Please share concrete examples. 
  2. In organizing and pushing for change, many women activists develop valuable leadership skills. Can you share examples of women in politics who entered the formal political sphere after engaging in informal spaces?  
  3. What is the role of youth, including young women, in driving public and civil society movements and influencing decision-making? Is the public engagement of today’s youth different from previous generations’?  

To contribute

  1. Use the below comment section below.
  2. Send your contribution to connect@iknowpolitics.org so that we can post it on your behalf. 

Background

Women are hardest hit by the current COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts. Beyond the direct effect of the infection by the coronavirus, women’s health and safety are at greater risk as increased prevalence of domestic violence and abuse is reported and sexual and reproductive health services are reduced. In this time of unprecedented crisis, women also face an increased burden of care and subsequent risk of getting sick because they represent the majority of front-line healthcare workers and caregivers in homes and communities globally. This is all in addition to the disproportionate indirect impact of the pandemic on women’s livelihoods everywhere. With the majority of women working in the informal economy, they often lack health insurance and social security, putting them further at risk. 

While women make up 70% of the world’s healthcare workers and are overall more vulnerable in times of crisis, they only make up 25% of legislators and 6% of state and government leaders. Emergency response taskforces around the worlds are overwhelmingly male-dominated, as seen for example in the United States and the United Kingdom. Additionally, few women are invited and quoted in the media to provide expertise on relief and recovery responses.  

Representation always matters, especially in times of crisis. The ways we respond to the pandemic and its ramifications will challenge democratic institutions in an unprecedented way if the appropriate steps are not taken. With elections being postponed or remote voting anticipated, parliaments closing or deliberations taking place online, and traditional media spaces reduced, women’s voices may be further silenced as gender equality issues move to the back burner. 

To ensure an optimal relief and recovery response without compromising women’s safety and rights, governments and decision-makers across all sectors must include a gender perspective in all decisions. Gender-sensitive policies that recognize and respond to women’s needs will benefit not just women but society at large. More than ever, this crisis has shown that people’s safety and wellbeing is determined by decision makers, both elected and unelected. We are all as vulnerable as the most vulnerable among us.   

Objective

With nearly two million cases and over one hundred thousand deaths deplored, the stakes are too high to ignore women’s voices and the perspectives and resources they bring to the table. This e-Discussion raises awareness about the lack of women’s leadership and representation in relief and recovery decision-making and on the importance of incorporating gender-sensitive responses during and after the crisis. Women and men in politics, civil society activists, practitioners and researchers are invited to join this e-Discussion from 15 April to 8 May 2020. The submissions will contribute to the elaboration of a Consolidated Reply that will augment the knowledge base available on the topic.     

Questions

  1. Is sex-disaggregated data on the effects of the pandemic available? How has your national and local government responded to the specific needs of women and girls in your area?
  2. Are women leaders visible in your country/area? Can you share examples of successful women leaders’ initiatives to mitigate coronavirus impacts?  What sector are they working in, and what contributions did they make?
  3. What can be done by governments, parliaments, civil society, and the media to ensure women’s voices are more included?
  4. What are the non-formal sectors and spaces where key decisions are being taken and women’s voices need to be bolstered (e.g. logistics, supply chains, etc.)?

To contribute

  1. Use the below comment section below.
  2. Send your contribution to connect@iknowpolitics.org so that we can post it on your behalf. 

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The United Kingdom’s Health Secretary is one of many political figures that recently expressed their dismay at the number of women Members of Parliament (MPs) who renounced standing for re-election to Parliament and decided to leave politics after citing rising online harassment and abuse. Recent reports show similar trends in many other countries, such as the United States, India, Kenya, and Colombia.   

Politics is a hostile environment to women everywhere. An Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) global study published in 2016 and a 2018 study focused on European countries found that violence against women MPs is very widespread, with varying prevalence in different regions and countries of the world. According to IPU’s research, psychological violence -- which includes sexist and misogynistic remarks, humiliating images, intimidation and threats of death, rape, beatings or abduction -- is the most common form of violence women MPs face, affecting more than 80% of the global survey respondents. It also suggests that digital communication is the main tool used to deliver threats of death, rape and beatings against female MPs and that most perpetrators are anonymous users. Moreover, IPU reports that 58% of the European study respondents and 42% of those in the global study received online sexist attacks on social media, notably Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Online violence is a phenomenon of pandemic proportion as reports suggest that almost three quarters of women Internet users worldwide have experienced some form of online violence.[1] Online presence, mainly through social media, can be described as a double-edged sword for women politicians: [2] while it is a unique and extremely useful tool to directly communicate with constituencies and to mobilize support and engagement, it provides a forum where violence can proliferate with impunity.

A forthcoming research study[3] based on social media trends analysis in seven countries (Zimbabwe, Haiti, Afghanistan, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine) reveals growing online incivility, hate speech, and overt violence against women in politics. It reports little regulation and widespread impunity and concludes there is a real negative effect on women’s freedom of expression and  political participation. Online and offline violence against women in politics is a violation of human rights and, by hindering women’s political participation, is also a violation of women’s political rights. As such it undermines democratic exercise and good governance, and creates a democratic deficit.[4]

Objective

This e-Discussion seeks to raise awareness on the online harassment, abuse, and violence against women in politics by encouraging a dialogue and an exchange of knowledge, experiences, and solutions to fight this phenomenon and ensure online and political spaces are safe and inclusive. Women and men in politics, civil society activists, practitioners and researchers are invited to join this e-Discussion from 9 to 30 March 2020. The submissions will contribute to the elaboration of a Consolidated Reply that will augment the knowledge base available on the topic.

Questions

  1. Why do you think online harassment and abuse of women in politics occurs and is so widespread?
  2. What can States do to stop online harassment and violence against women while respecting freedom of expression and the prohibition of incitation to violence and hatred? What are the good practices?
  3. What can social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram do to make their spaces safe for women?
  4. Online violence against women in politics makes political careers unattractive. What message would you give to women who are considering leaving politics or discouraged from engaging in public life because of this?

To contribute

  1. Use the below comment section below.
  2. Send your contribution to connect@iknowpolitics.org so that we can post it on your behalf. 

[1] Cyber Violence against Women and Girls - A report by the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development Working Group on broadband and Gender, Page 2. 2015: en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/genderreport2015final.pdf

[2] #SHEPERSISTED: Women, Politics & Power in the New media World, Page 23.  2019: she-persisted.org/

[3] Defending Democracy in Digital Spaces: Ending Violence Against Women in Politics Online. IFES, forthcoming.

[4] United Nations, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences on violence against women in politics”, para 11. August 2018. See also UN Women, “Violence against women in politics: Expert Group Meeting report and recommendations”, 2018, and NDI, Not The Cost: Stopping Violence Against Women in Politics, 2016.

Background

It is estimated that 15% of the world’s population live with some form of disability and that prevalence is higher among women, as about 1 in 5 women 18 years and older live with one. The 12th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) took place in the UN Headquarters in New York from 11 to 13 June 2019 and focused on the overarching theme of "Ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities in a changing world through the implementation of the CRPD." The CRPD, which includes gender equality as one of its general principles, recognizes “that disability is an evolving concept and that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.” [1][2]

In 2019, women still represent a small minority of elected representatives and political decision-makers everywhere. Worldwide, only 24.3% of parliamentarians, 6.6% of heads of state, and 5.2% of heads of government are women.[3] Data on political participation of women with disabilities is scarce. According to the UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development, the limited available data shows an “extremely low” participation and representation of women with disabilities in political leadership roles. It reports that “[T]he representation of women from organizations of persons with disabilities tends also to be low in national coordination mechanisms on disability matters” and that their representation “in national machinery for gender equality is even lower.”[4]

Everyone has the right to take part in government [5] and public affairs, to vote, and to be elected. [6] Women with disabilities are a diverse group who experience various degrees of discrimination and face many systemic barriers to the exercise of their political rights and empowerment because of their gender and disability. These barriers can be of legal, physical, and attitudinal nature, and include an inadequate access to education, health care, employment, and justice. 

Objective

This e-Discussion aims to promote a dialogue on the political participation of women with disabilities, in all their diversity, and exchange knowledge and good practices on ways to increase and strengthen their representation in political institutions and national and local elected bodies. Please join the e-Discussion from 14 June to 8 July 2019. Civil society advocates including representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities, women and men in national and local politics, government representatives, experts, practitioners, and academia are invited to contribute with their experiences by answering to one or more of the below questions. The submissions will contribute to the elaboration of a Consolidated Reply that will augment the knowledge base available on the topic. .

Questions

  1. What is the level of political participation of women with disabilities in your country/region? Where can this information be found? 
  2. Amongst women with disabilities in political leadership roles in your country, which groups of women with disabilities (e.g. women with sensory disabilities such as visual and hearing impairments, physical disabilities, and intellectual and psycho-social disabilities) are most represented? 
  3. What are the obstacles limiting women with disabilities’ participation and representation in politics in your country?  
  4. What can be done to increase women with disabilities’ access to political leadership roles in your country? How inclusive of women with disabilities are existing programmes focused on women’s political participation? Please share concrete examples of programmes, laws, regulations, and practices. 

To contribute

  1. Use the below comment section below.
  2. Send your contribution to connect@iknowpolitics.org so that we can post it on your behalf.

_____________________________________________________

[1] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Preamble, para (e). 2006.

[2] See also Articles 6 and 29 of the CRPD.

[3] Map of Women in Politics. UN Women and IPU, 2019: unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2019/03/women-in-politics-2019-map

[4] Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with Person with Disabilities, UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development 2018, page 110.

[5] Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 21. 1948: ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/eng.pdf

[6] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 25. 1966: ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to University of Houston's Mirya Holman about why women in political leadership tend to be referred to by their first names more often than their male counterparts.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: A moment from four years ago might feel familiar to any woman in a position of authority.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SUSAN PAGE: Kamala Harris - Senator Harris, I mean - I'm sorry.

KAMALA HARRIS: That's fine. I'm Kamala.

PAGE: No, no, no...

HARRIS: (Laughter).

PAGE: ...You're Senator Harris to me.

SHAPIRO: That was the vice presidential debate in 2020, where moderator Susan Page slipped and called Senator Harris by her first name. Research shows that this happens to women in positions of power all the time, whether they are authors, professors or even vice president of the United States. So if you've noticed people referring to Trump, Biden and Kamala, it's not your imagination.

Mirya Holman studies gender in American politics at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston, and I asked her whether this first-name gender gap is simply evidence of a bias against women.

MIRYA HOLMAN: One of the pieces that I think is going on here is that women are not seen as the norm in politics. They're unusual. And so people think about who they are in a different way. I do actually think it is a sign of disrespect in an environment where you have multiple candidates, and you're referring to one by her first name and then all of the men by their last name. You are making her the exception and not giving her that very small piece of respect that we give people in positions of power.

Read here the full interview published by NPR on 24 July 2024.

Image by NPR

 

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

 

Here we are in another presidential election year. (Pause for scream.) Chaos will surely abound on the campaign trail and elsewhere, but we here at Cosmo have found a way to not only survive elections but to use them to feel tangibly better about the world: Focus on the women.

 

 

A few elections ago, this took the form of our award-winning guide telling women exactly How to Run for Office. It felt urgent—at the time, only 8 percent of women told us they’d even consider running for office. Fast-forward seven years and nearly one-third of our state legislature seats are held by women. Twenty-eight percent of elected officials in Congress are women (compared to 19 percent 10 years ago). And we have our first-ever woman Vice President.

Now there’s a new urgency: While more women are gaining elected positions, they’re facing frustrating—and frustratingly gendered—obstacles once they’re on the job. So we’ve decided to publish a new guide about how to succeed in office once you get there.

It’s perhaps no surprise that for elected women, success requires the support of other women. Take it from our partner on the project, Pivotal Ventures, an investment and philanthropic company founded by Melinda French Gates to put $1 billion toward expanding women’s power and influence in the U.S. I caught up with Melinda—or “MFG” as her colleagues fondly call her and now so do I—this spring, right before Election Year 2024 really went into overdrive, to talk about our shared passion for helping all women thrive.

Read here the full article published by Cosmopolitan on 16 May 2024.

Image by Cosmopolitan

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There are calls for more support for Pacific women to get into politics, while also recognising cultural leadership roles.

Pacific Island Forum Secretariat policy advisor on gender equality Dr Fiona Hukula says Pacific women have to balance expectations that can contradict each other.

“We live and fend in a world where we are also tied to some of our cultural and social obligations, and it in many ways influences the way we think about gender relations, the way we think about leadership.”

In the Pacific region, just 8.8 per cent of MPs are women. In the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine is the first woman to become president, and the first woman president of any Micronesian country.

Speaking to William Terite on Pacific Mornings, Hukula says the low representation of women in parliament is a longstanding concern.

“We know that our region has some of the highest rates of violence in the world and the lowest rates of women’s political representation, but to be fair, there’s been a lot of work in trying to ensure that women take up leadership roles.”

Louisa Wall is a former Labour cabinet minister, and was the Ambassador for Gender Equality in the Pacific until March when her role was scrapped by the coalition government.

Read here the full article published by the Pacific Media Network News on 14 May 2024.

Image by the Pacific Media Network News

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Colorado has consistently ranked highly for the number of women holding elected office for the last few decades. Colorado currently ranks second in the nation for the number of women elected to the state legislature. But this number only tells a fraction of the story.

Despite this ranking, political experts and female lawmakers around the state say there is still a lot of work left to be done to level the playing-field for women at the State Capitol.

According to the director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics, Kelly Dittmar, despite the robust recruitment of women for public office in Colorado, what Colorado’s national ranking doesn’t indicate is who these women are and the political power they hold.

“When we're thinking about women's political power and influence, it's important to look across different levels and types of office because we make assumptions that a state that's doing well at one level is doing well at all levels, and often that's not the case,” said Dittmar.

And this rings true for Colorado. Despite having a high number of women represented in the state legislature, Colorado has never had a female U.S. Senator, a female governor, or even a female mayor of Denver — the most powerful leadership positions in the state.

On top of that, women of color — particularly Latina, Asian, and Indigenous women — are significantly underrepresented in the Colorado state legislature.

According to Dittmar, lack of access to resources, gatekeeping, toxicity, and institutional racism and sexism are among the “unique dynamics” in Colorado that explain why women are either dissuaded from running for office or are unable to win elected offices.

Read here the full article published by Colorado Public Radio on 26 April 2024.

Image by Colorado Public Radio

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This podcast series tells the stories of women as civil society actors, activists, authors, leaders, health and humanitarian workers, youth representatives, traders and entrepreneurs in the Sahel and West Africa. We gather first-hand examples of their outstanding work within local communities as well as their important contributions to advancing gender equality and positive change. These conversations also aim to better connect the Sahel and West Africa Club’s evidence-based analysis with civil society advocacy and action through dialogue and knowledge exchange.

Edith Efua Chidi is co-convener for the CSOs Cluster on Decentralisation and Participation. She is also the advocacy manager for SOS Children’s Village in Ghana.

Our host for this podcast episode is Dr Olajumoke (Jumo) Ayandele. She is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at New York University Centre for the study of Africa and the African Diaspora.

Click here to listen the podcast published by the OECD on 30 June 2023.

Image source: OECD/SWAC - Sahel and West Africa Club

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VVEngage is a Vital Voices signature fellowship supporting outstanding women political leaders making and influencing policy across the globe. Through this fully-funded fellowship, we aim to increase the capacity, decision-making power and effectiveness of women leaders in politics and government, shifting culture around women’s public leadership and moving towards equality in public representation globally. We also aim to work towards a more inclusive and equitable world by advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through policy.

Through this fellowship, Vital Voices advances women’s political leadership and the SDGs by conducting online and in-person* trainings with experts such as women leaders from the Vital Voices Global Network and professors from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. The fellowship also connects participants to a global network of peers and mentors, such as current and former female heads of state with the Council of Women World Leaders, with whom they can brainstorm and share challenges and best practices.

Click here to learn more and to access application details.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has developed a 10-Point Action Agenda for Advancing Gender Equality in Crisis Settings (10PAA), a roadmap to guide its development programming towards results that will help transform and advance gender equality in crisis contexts and achieve the Women, Peace and Security agenda. The 10PAA is central to UNDP’s new Crisis Offer, as well as its new Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025. It represents a strong corporate commitment to addressing the most stubborn roots of gender inequalities.  

The 10PAA is the result of a broad consultation process that aimed at finding entry points to strengthen gender-transformational results and women’s leadership and participation in crisis contexts. It is grounded in the understanding that deep-rooted, intersectional discrimination sits at the heart of the multiple challenges humanity faces and reinforces models of dominance that exclude and leave women behind, especially in crisis settings.  

Click here to access the publication.

Online violence against women in politics (OVAW-P) poses a deepening challenge to democracy, serving as a key tool of illiberalism and democratic backsliding across the globe. OVAW-P encompasses all forms of aggression, coercion, and intimidation seeking to exclude women from politics simply because they are women. This online behavior seeks to achieve political outcomes: targeting individual women to harm them or drive them out of public life, while also sending a message that women in general should not be involved in politics. This online violence has a chilling effect on the political ambitions and engagement of women and girls, decreasing their presence and agency in politics and public life. Stopping gender-based attacks online is a solvable problem, and it is the fastest and clearest investment toward building an internet that enables everyone to be politically engaged. 

This report includes a list of interventions that technology platforms, governments, civil society organizations, and the media can take to make meaningful progress towards ending online violence against women in politics.

Click here to access the report.

The Women in Government Fellowship is a six-month program that is focused on capacity-building, training, and mentorship of women in politics. It seeks to enhance and improve the quality of political participation of women.

The fellows will undergo in-person workshops, intensive virtual learning sessions, and hands-on mentorship by seasoned women politicians. This three-pronged approach will provide an academic grounding of democratic frameworks and policy-making, up-skill them with practical know-hows of electioneering, build the fellows' personal brands through personalised Public Narrative trainings by coaches from Harvard Kennedy School, and learn the ropes of politicking directly from a mentor who is undergoing the realities and tackling the challenges of being a woman in public office.

Application deadline: 30th November 2022

Shortlisted applicants' interviews: 5-15th December 2022

Selected Fellows list: 21st December 2022

Click here to learn more.

A compendium of ideas to reach gender parity in municipal politics

How can we begin to overcome the countless obstacles that are preventing women from fully participating in municipal politics? 

The suggestions in this Inventory were compiled following consultations we carried out across Canada, as part of FCM’s Toward Parity Project.

These actions are not official FCM recommendations. They are potential strategies that need to be assessed to determine whether they can be adapted to fit local realities and opportunities.

Click here to access the guide.

To inform our own programming on advancing gender-balanced appointments and to establish a scalable, replicable, transformative model for advancing gender-balanced appointments, RepresentWomen gathered learnings from five similar initiatives around the country.

The following summary reviews these conversations:

  • Key ingredients for success
  • Stumbling blocks
  • What they wish they knew
  • Common tactics

Click here to access the guide.

For its inaugural Solutions Summit, RepresentWomen gathered experts in election administration, voting rights, and democracy reform to discuss the viable, scalable, and transformative initiatives that will strengthen our democracy. Over the course of three days, they held sessions on fair elections, fair access, and fair representation, ending each day with ways we could take actions to advance the solutions discussed that day.

They compiled all of those ideas, resources, and guides into one place to create this 2022 Solutions Summit Resource Guide, which provides a plethora of take-action options so you can be a part of the solution. 

Click here to download the guide. 

The internet is a tool that can simplify and encourage democratic engagement, but the rise of online disinformation challenges even the world’s most robust democracies. While the most recognizable disinformation campaigns are related to national politics, disinformers frequently employ narratives targeting women’s gender and sexuality in order to disrupt democracy. This is often then amplified by media agents and the general population, who may not have the intent to drive disinformation nor the capacity to discern it. NDI’s robust research in this field concludes that gendered disinformation is the use of false information to confuse or mislead by manipulating gender as a social cleavage to attack women and/or to sway political outcomes. It has three primary goals: to keep women out of politics; to change the views of women and men about women’s political participation; and specifically to change party policies or political outcomes. In short, it aims to undermine women’s free and equal participation in politics to the detriment of inclusive, resilient democracy.

Based on research conclusions, this paper outlines recommendations for NDI, its partners and those working globally to mitigate the democratic harms of disinformation, to ensure women’s safe participation and leadership in politics, and to monitor the social media and information environment in elections. 

Click here to access the guide.

This guide is designed to increase the understanding of the legal obligations of countries in the West and Central Africa (WCA) region to achieve gender equality in decision-making. It focuses on strengthening efforts to improve the legal framework in the region to ensure that laws are clearly drafted, implementable and effective. Special focus is devoted to the processes by which laws supporting political participation of women are developed, negotiated, drafted, passed and implemented. It aims to strengthen law-making processes that build and secure the legal rights of women who want to run for elections and who are ready to take over leadership positions in their parliaments and governments. Legal instruments are presented that can be used to advance the political participation of women.

The comparative experiences presented in this guide address both examples of good practices and laws that have failed because their regulations are imprecise, unclear and/or lack effective sanctions. The guide presents also various provisions of laws resulting from different constitutional requirements or electoral systems, assessing their advantages and disadvantages.

Click here to download the guide published by UN Women in 2021.

This Handbook has been developed as publication by register of Political Parties with support from the Papua New Guinea Election Commission and the United Nations Development Programme in Papua New Guinea. This is part of UN Women Make the Change programme funded by the Australian Government’s Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development Programme.

Click here to download the report.