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Elections

Women’s political participation in electoral processes requires targeted support to overcome gender discrimination. Key strategies for enhancing gender balance in electoral processes include: working with political parties to promote gender sensitive policies and practices to foster women’s leadership; targeted outreach and support for women to register to vote and safely access polling stations; guarantee of protection from election related violence and harassment; the use of quotas and temporary special measures to increase women’s representation; effective technical and financial support to women candidates and political leaders; and engagement of male champions for women’s empowerment and gender equality.

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Joint EC-UNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance

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August 30, 2010

Joint EC-UNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance

The EC-UNDP partnership in electoral assistance is unique for its scope, for its achievements and ambitions.

The EC-UNDP partnership in electoral assistance is unique for its scope, for its achievements and ambitions.

e-Discussions

Fundraising strategies for women candidates

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on
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Fundraising strategies for women candidates

What are some strategies that women have used effectively to raise money? What makes some women very successful fundraisers? What fundraising techniques work best in different political environments (i.e.: corporate donors, direct appeal to individuals, fundraising events, etc.)? What are some networks that women can draw upon for help in raising money?

What are some strategies that women have used effectively to raise money? What makes some women very successful fundraisers? What fundraising techniques work best in different political environments (i.e.: corporate donors, direct appeal to individuals, fundraising events, etc.)? What are some networks that women can draw upon for help in raising money?

e-Discussions

Advocating for Quotas

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on
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Advocating for Quotas

What strategies have been used by women and grassroots organizations to promote the adoption and implementation of quotas? What are the main obstacles encountered by these organizations in their advocacy work?

What strategies have been used by women and grassroots organizations to promote the adoption and implementation of quotas? What are the main obstacles encountered by these organizations in their advocacy work?

Running Start

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February 13, 2008

Running Start

Running Start is an organization that brings young women to politics so that they are knowledgeable about the process, invested in the outcome, and interested in participating as elected leaders.

Running Start is an organization that brings young women to politics so that they are knowledgeable about the process, invested in the outcome, and interested in participating as elected leaders.

e-Discussions

Campaign Fundraising: How Do Women Find the Money Necessary to Run and Win?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
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Campaign Fundraising: How Do Women Find the Money Necessary to Run and Win?

One of the greatest issues for women running for office, and for those women deciding whether or not to run for office, is money. Women generally feel as if they have fewer financial resources and networks upon which to draw for financial campaign support. And yet women around the world are employing new and innovative strategies to find the money necessary to run and win an effective campaign. This is the ideal forum for women to share these strategies.

One of the greatest issues for women running for office, and for those women deciding whether or not to run for office, is money. Women generally feel as if they have fewer financial resources and networks upon which to draw for financial campaign support. And yet women around the world are employing new and innovative strategies to find the money necessary to run and win an effective campaign. This is the ideal forum for women to share these strategies.

Tasnim Zara, an independent candidate for parliament, takes a selfie with other young women in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 6, 2026. Suman Kanti Paul/Drik/Getty Images
A security personnel carries ballot boxes toward a vehicle sending them to different constituency from the election commission ahead of the general election in Kathmandu, Nepal, February 8, 2026. Navesh Chitraker/Reuters
February 11, 2026
After Gen Z Protests, Bangladesh and Nepal Head to the Polls

A global wave of Gen Z-led protests have called for a fundamental restructuring of government and politics.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi affixes celebratory rosettes to the names of winning candidates in the Lower House election on Feb. 8 at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo’s Nagatacho district. (Hikaru Uchida)
February 11, 2026
Over 90% of LDP candidates win; record number of women run

The Liberal Democratic Party’s lopsided victory was not the only record set in the Feb. 8 Lower House election.

A total of 313 women ran as candidates, accounting for 24.4 percent of the 1,284 contenders and surpassing the previous high of 23.4 percent.

Women's organisations protest in front of the election commission in Dhaka over comments by Shafiqur Rahman, Jamaat e-Islami’s leader. Photograph: Maruf Rahman/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Women marched in Dhaka at midnight
Female supporters of Jamaat e-Islami take part in a march in Dhaka
February 11, 2026
‘Women’s freedoms are at stake’: concern at rise of Islamist party before Bangladesh election

Participents pose for a photo after a public dialogue titled ‘Excluded by Design: Women, Politics, and Ethical Failure’ on Saturday.   https://kathmandupost.com/national/2026/01/31/women-call-for-fair-representation-as-systemic-barriers-persist-in-nepali-politics
February 2, 2026
Women Leaders Demand End to Systemic Exclusion from Nepali Politics

More than 300 participants at a public dialogue highlight barriers to women's political participation and sign petitions demanding equal representation in decision-making roles.