The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) convened the WYDE Women’s Leadership Young Women’s Empowerment Academy in ECOWAS which brought together 25 young women aspiring or emerging political/community leaders, interested in standing for elective positions and elected young women officials pursuing political and leadership skills strengthening.
The Academy was convened within the framework of the European Union (EU)-funded Women and Youth Democratic Engagement (WYDE) Women’s Leadership Initiative, implemented in partnership with UN Women, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), under the overall coordination and leadership of UN Women.
Over three days, participants expressed the enhancement of their understanding of democratic processes, gender norms and social norms intersectionality with young women’s participation and representation in politics, leadership and decision making at all levels, transformative leadership, violence against women manifests in political spaces, highlighting both the personal and structural dimensions of the problem, the critical role of digital media in shaping women’s leadership, visibility, and influence in politics, emphasizing that in today’s world, digital presence is inseparable from political presence and personal development. The Academy created a space where participants felt safe to reassess their political experiences and journeys in politics, countering stereotypes and practices and redefining their place and positioning in political and public life. As one participant expressed:
“The Academy has been a real space for awareness and progress. It allowed me to understand how my own social patterns influence my decisions and to identify concrete levers to evolve in my leadership.” - Amy Top, President of ASC Entente and Leader of the Cap sur l’Avenir Movement, Senegal.
A key outcome of the Academy was a shift in how participants understood gender social norms.
"Gender social norms are not just attitudes or traditions; they are powerful unwritten rules that shape opportunities, access and participation for women and men. Meaningful change requires shifting mindsets, engaging communities, and creating environments where women can exercise their rights.” - Rhoda Daniels Sanda, founder Guardian of Hope initiative, State Coordinator Researved Seat for Women Bill, Nigeria.
They recognized norms as transformable through personal agency: “As a young female leader, the Academy has helped me understand that social gender norms are much more than cultural habits: they are silent mechanisms that determine who has the right to exist, decide and influence. I realized that changing these norms does not start with speeches, but with example.” - Diaretou Mangane, National President of the Young Women's Wing, Liberal Democratic Reformers, Senegal.
Overall, participants moved from seeing gender norms as abstract societal rules to recognizing them as systemic societal prescriptions, actionable constructs they can challenge individually, collectively, and institutionally. By the end of the Academy, the most significant transformations were visible not only in what participants learned, but in how they saw themselves — as political actors, as norm-shapers, and as leaders capable of influencing institutions and communities.
Picture 1: This “leadership cloud” captured the strength and diversity of the group of participants, creating an immediate sense of community and grounding the Academy in a shared belief: leadership begins with identity and self-definition, not with a title.
The illustrative/evident indicator of transformation lies in the precision and ambition of participants’ final commitments. These commitments demonstrate how the Academy translated new awareness, confidence, and technical knowledge into concrete leadership trajectories at the individual, community, and political levels.
Individual Leadership Commitments: Many participants committed to deepening their personal leadership, strengthening their technical expertise, and increasing their visibility as a foundation for broader influence.
Building technical and strategic capacity: “At the end of this training, I intend to transform my commitment into an operational political force by radically strengthening my leadership. I will specialize in education-sector budget management, curriculum reform, and school law to become a recognised reference. My goal is clear: to build the credibility needed to join Parliament or the Department of Education so I can influence laws and funding for lasting change.” — Adjaratou Seydou, Coordinator of Mon Choix Ma Carrière, Country Head for Young Women of Africa, Togo.
Developing inclusive and reflective leadership styles: “This Academy helped me better understand how certain social norms influenced my expectations, my choices, and sometimes my ways of collaborating. I want to adopt a more conscious and intentional posture: asking more questions, listening before deciding, and making sure my practices do not unconsciously reproduce inequalities.” — Amy Top, President of ASC Entente and Leader of the Cap sur l’Avenir Movement, Senegal.
Personal growth and self-positioning: “Instead of being just a woman engaged in politics, I want to become a force that paves the way for others.” — Aysat Aguda, Woman Leader of the Social Democratic Party, Nigeria.
“After this Academy, I plan to make a major shift in my leadership journey: moving from intuitive engagement to a more structured, strategic, and impact-driven approach. I want to strengthen my presence in decision-making spaces, use my voice more effectively, and mobilize more women around civic action and transformative leadership.” — Aïssata Dieng, Community leader, Ivory Coast
Community-Level Commitments Participants increasingly viewed leadership as service and committed to extending the Academy’s impact through mentorship, advocacy, and community empowerment.
Mentorship and the multiplier effect: “I want to shift from individual leadership to multiplier leadership. Instead of being the only woman engaged in politics, I want to open the way for others. I will mentor, coach, and mobilize more young women around me to take part in public decision-making.” — Boye Baby, Member of Parliament, Senegal.
Advocacy, education, and youth empowerment “I will advocate for the monthly inclusion of senior high schools in sanitary pad distribution programmes and renovate a community school in my hometown.” — Mabel Obeng, Young Women of Africa Country Leader, Ghana.
“I want to strengthen my leadership to influence public policies in energy, infrastructure, and STEM education. I will create training hubs for young women, expand STEM clubs across West Africa, and build a network of mentors.” — Winner Fandoumi, National President, AIP-JEUNES, Togo.
Inclusive decision-making and participatory governance “I want to launch awareness campaigns and training to encourage women to take leadership positions within political parties and public institutions, challenging the idea that leadership is reserved for men.” — Gertrude Nadia Sena Dossa, Deputy Mayor, Benin.
“My goal is to create participatory mechanisms where the less privileged — especially women and girls — have a voice in decision-making. I will organize and guide communities to inspire collective action.” — Aisha Kabir, Peace builder and community development officer, Nigeria.
Political and Institutional Commitments Several participants left the Academy with renewed determination to enter or advance within formal political structures and influence policy directly.
Running for office and leadership positions “I will run for the secretary position of my political party at ward level.” — Nerat Yakubu Gyang, Welfare director faculty of social sciences students’ union, University of Jos, Nigeria.
“I will write an official letter to the party chairman to express my interest in serving on the executive committee of the women’s wing.” — Laura Targbeh Korvah, President - National Young Women Political Council of Liberia (NYWPCL). Regional Coordinator -Board of the Women NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL), Liberia.
“I will contest the National Students Union presidency in Ghana again — and this time win. There has never been a female president.” — Mabel Obeng, Young Women of Africa Country Leader, Ghana.
Transitioning from activism to political influence “I will advocate within my political party for more inclusive structures — including women’s reserved seats and gender-balanced committees — to ensure women are not only present but actively contributing.” — Rhoda Daniels Sanda, founder Guardian of Hope initiative, State Coordinator Researved Seat for Women Bill, Nigeria.
“Having had no previous political involvement, I have decided to join the youth league of a political party to gain a platform for concrete action.” — Monica Van Gabriella Boulanga-Moughola, Legal Officer and Youth Leadership Advocate, Gabon.
The Academy is already supporting these ambitions by enabling participants to build mutual accountability systems and peer networks. As Nerat Yakubu Gyang explained, “I have reached out to some co-participants from the Academy to become my accountability partners so I can implement my plan.” This spirit of solidarity and the concrete commitments above capture the Academy’s long-term impact. As Boye Baby, Parliamentarian from Senegal, reflected: “Eventually, they realise: ‘she is not going anywhere’ — and then they start to support you.”
Booth-level campaign by the DMK women’s wing at Ramachandra Nagar in Tiruchi on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY
On a humid afternoon in Ramachandra Nagar in Tiruchi West constituency, a small group of women knock on doors carrying cloth bags filled with booklets — part campaign material, part household diary. But this is not a routine political visit.
When residents scan a QR code inside the booklet, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin appears on their phone screens through augmented reality, seemingly addressing them from their living room.
DMK women’s grassroots push blends politics with AR outreach
‘Vellum Tamil Pengal’ campaign deploys booth-level women cadres armed with booklets, QR codes and augmented reality to deepen voter connect — while opening new space for women in party politics.
In an election triggered by a Gen Z–led uprising in Bangladesh, a youth-driven party secured only six seats in the 300-member parliament, showing the challenge of turning street momentum into votes.
When it came to it, results showed on Friday that voters overwhelmingly chose the long-established Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which has already ruled the country three times, most recently from 2001-2006.
They largely stayed away from The National Citizen Party which emerged from the 2024 protests that toppled former premier Sheikh Hasina, but fared poorly as part of a rival coalition.
In recent years, young men and women in Generation Z have moved in opposite political directions, producing a gender gap unlike any other generation before. Young men have increasingly leaned towards the conservative, Republican party while women have moved towards the liberal, Democratic party. While gender gaps are a feature in every generation, none have been as stark as Gen Z.
Who is the main driver? Women. They are now the force pushing Gen Z towards the left politically and socially, and becoming increasingly more civically active compared to any other generation. There are divides not just about how they feel about political candidates, but cultural issues which could deeply affect America.
International Women’s Day 2026 | Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.
This International Women’s Day, we’re inviting people across the Pacific to share, through poetry, spoken word, or song, what fairness, dignity, safety, freedom and opportunity for women and girls really looks like in their lives.
Submit one original creative piece and be part of a Pacific-wide call for voices, truth, and action for gender equality.
Digital spaces offer both opportunities and risks for women in politics. While online platforms can enhance visibility, engagement, and political participation, they also expose women to harassment, disinformation, and exclusion risks that are amplified for marginalized groups. A recent discussion highlighted how social norms, gender biases, and power hierarchies are reproduced online, and explored strategies to protect women, including legal frameworks, community support, digital literacy, and proactive allyship. The conversation emphasized the need for systemic accountability, individual resilience, and cultural change to create safer, more inclusive digital spaces for women’s political participation worldwide.
In October 2024, the IPU amended its Statutes to define a young MP as below the age of 40 years. Previously this limit was 45. To be sensitive to national variations in the meaning of “young”
as well as variations in the age of eligibility to hold parliamentary office, the IPU report explores trends in relation to two age categories: 30 and under, and 40 and under.
The following are key findings of the 2025 IPU report onyouth participation in national parliaments.This 2025 report is the sixth IPU review of youthparticipation in national parliaments. It maps the presenceof young members of parliament (MPs) worldwide,providing the most recent data on the proportion of MPsaged 30 and under and MPs aged 40 and underat the time of the most recent election or renewal.The report also provides insights on good practices toincrease youth participation in parliament. Age data inthis report comes from 210 parliamentary chambersin 155 countries and is current as of 31 July 2025
Talking about youth political participation means confronting two main issues. On one hand, there is a dominant narrative portraying young generations as apathetic or disengaged from the future of their communities. On the other, from a more scientific standpoint, the challenge lies in understanding what political participation means today in an increasingly digital, multicultural, and disintermediated context.
New research commissioned by the Istituto Toniolo di Studi Superiori, based on unpublished data from Ipsos, explores the dynamics shaping the relationship between young people (aged 18 to 34) and politics today.
What is political participation?
First of all, there is no universal consensus on the definition of political participation. Interpretations range from traditional institutional views — limiting participation to behaviours aimed at influencing government decisions and selecting representatives — to broader conceptions that hold everything as political.
This spectrum shapes how we describe youth political activism, with narrow definitions excluding emerging forms of participation, while overly broad ones risk diluting the concept.
This absence of women in prominent positions in politics subtly reinforces societal biases and moulds public opinion, which subconsciously excludes women from political leadership.
We are a group of researchers who have expertise in gender and African politics and childhood political socialisation. We have been researching the political socialisation of children in Nigeria for the past three years.
Our research in Ogun State reveals that children are internalising what they see on the political stage. We asked children aged 5 to 16 at 12 schools in Ogun State to imagine and draw a leader such as a president, governor, or member of a national or state assembly at work. Only 5% of 981 children drew a woman as a political leader.
Ninety-two percent of girls drew a man, compared to 98% of boys.
While almost two-thirds of young people in the U.S. support democracy, almost a third view it skeptically and are more inclined to accept authoritarianism, according to a new report on attitudes of youth in America after the 2024 elections.
In a nationally representative poll of 18–29 year olds by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and Protect Democracy, researchers found that 62% of the young people surveyed display "passive appreciation" for democracy, trusting government institutions, valuing democratic principles, and rejecting authoritarianism and political violence.
At the same time, the people in this group—who are more likely than the average to be conservative—are not civically engaged and do little more than vote, which doesn't augur well for democracy, say the report authors.
And then there are the 31% of the Gen Z survey respondents who do not buy into the value of democracy, have little confidence that the system works, and show higher support for authoritarian governments than other youth. This group, which the researchers refer to as displaying "dismissive detachment" from democracy, vote at a similar rate as other youth, but rarely participate in political action, and believe that they cannot create political change.
Read here the full article published by Phys.org on 14 April 2025.
Young people’s urban lives are often riddled with inequalities and everyday obstacles inhibiting their full societal participation, to negatively affect their health and wellbeing. Findings from a study in intermediary cities in six countries show that programming interventions that support adolescents contain much tacit knowledge in on how inequity and exclusion challenges may be overcome, that is worth sharing. Yet, these initiatives also face and must strategically respond.
Today, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has become a dirty word in some political circles. US presidential action ostensively seeking to curtail ‘illegal and immoral discrimination’ has involved the immediate termination of federal government policies, programs, and activities towards advancing equity and inclusion. Simultaneously, a sledgehammer has been put to USAID, creating havoc in countless international development projects globally, and causing real, immediate and enduring harm to people’s livelihoods, lives and health, with children and adolescents being amongst those hardest hit.
This hostility towards equity and inclusion stands in sharp contrast to what young people and adults supporting them in health and wellbeing projects in intermediary cities in Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Senegal and Vietnam have recently told us.
Read here the full article published by the Institute of Development Studies on 3 April 2025.
Women across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region continue to face underrepresentation in political and economic spheres, which limits their ability to shape important political and economic decisions. Although several countries in the region have introduced rules to increase women’s participation, their perspectives and needs remain largely excluded from both national and regional negotiations. Furthermore, as conflicts in the region persist and escalate, women face additional barriers, which undermine the progress already made towards achieving gender equality.
Approach
The project focuses on increasing women’s political and economic participation in the MENA region through targeted actions and collaborations. To achieve this, it implements the following measures:
The project provides tailored advice and development opportunities to economic and political change agents, enhancing the impact of their work.
It shares successful and innovative strategies across the region to encourage adoption in other countries, with the goal of increasing women’s participation.
The project cooperates with national and regional networks to implement measures that promote women’s involvement in economic and political life.
It promotes women’s fundamental human rights, ensuring they can influence policies that advance gender equality and inclusion in the MENA region.
The project raises awareness across various age groups, fostering a more active role for women in political and economic activities.
Read here the full article published by GIZ on 8 November 2024.
