While there have been important advances in women’s leadership in politics, as of November 1 2017, women make up only 7.2% of Heads of State and 6.2% Heads of Government. Data on women representatives in local government, including as mayors, heads of villages and towns, is not well collected and analyzed. The adoption of an SDG indicator on women’s representation in local government is a great step forward in tracking progress on gender balance, allowing for the systematic collection and analysis of data on women in local government. Women’s access to and continued role in leadership positions is challenged by a range of barriers, including discriminatory laws and practices, as well as social norms that prescribe traditional roles and attitudes towards women’s participation in leadership and decision-making roles. Proactive gender-equality policies within political parties and local government structures, including quotas and special temporary measures, gender-sensitive approaches to electoral processes, support networks, mentoring, training, and engagement of male champions, can all help promote women’s role in political leadership.
The 2018 midterm elections saw voters elect a record number of women to the House of Representatives, with a number of individual candidates achievi
Rwanda’s Genocide Museum is a haunting place, one of the memorials in the capital city of Kigali that commemorate a hundred days of terrifying tribal conflict in 1994.
By Betsy Gotbaum and Meridith Maskara.
The mayor of a small town in Bolivia has been attacked by opposition protesters who dragged her through the streets barefoot, covered her in red paint and forcibly cut her hair.
With another election on the horizon, parties are busy selecting their candidates for seats up and down the country.
Political parties act as gatekeepers, meaning that improvements in the representation of women depend on parties’ willingness to nominate women candidates.
For several weeks, angry Latin Americans have been protesting in the streets.
From mayors to MEPs: new study reveals women’s representation across Europe.
Political parties that do not have structures on the ground should not present women as candidates during elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission warned on Tuesday.