Democracy and the equal participation of men and women in the political arena are closely intertwined. No parliament or any decision-making body can claim to be representative without the participation of both men and women. As stated in the Universal Declaration on Democracy adopted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Member Parliaments in 1997, "The achievement of democracy presupposes a genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of the affairs of society in which they work in equality and complementarity, drawing mutual enrichment from their differences."
Recent years have seen a steady increase in the number of women in parliament, though the world average of less than 22 percent remains far from the goal of parity between women and men. The election of women to the highest positions of state and government in several countries has also contributed to the changing face of politics.
While the road to election is a difficult one, the challenges for women do not stop there. Once women enter parliament or other bodies, they are faced with many new challenges. Parliament is traditionally a male-oriented domain where the rules and practices have been written by men. It is, therefore, an ongoing challenge to transform parliament into a gender-sensitive environment, to ensure that actions are gender-sensitive and to guarantee that gender is mainstreamed throughout the legislature.
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has been working to strengthen political parties, civil society, media and other key democratic institutions in Algeria since 1997.
There's still a gender gap when it comes to positions of power. But 2013 was a notable year for women in politics, in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Finding out why women’s voices are not being listened to is imperative to increasing the proportion of female political representation in Cambodia, a meeting heard yesterday.
ISLAMABAD: To add to the hype surrounding local bodies elections, non-government organisation and human rights groups have urged the election commission to prepare and release gender disaggregated data.
Nouakchott, Mauritania - An African Union (AU) observer mission to the Mauritanian municipal and legislative polls, led by former Algerian Prime Minister, Ahmed Ouyahia, has recommended that the Mauritanian government should create an environment which will allow more women participate in the cou
An MP has claimed some Conservatives make lurid hand gestures towards Labour women during debates in the Commons.
Sarah Champion said there was an "insidious" sexist culture in which "some Tories are very good at gesticulating about female assets".
Dec. 5 was the 79th anniversary of the day Turkish women were granted the right to vote and to be elected.
The confusion in the domestic and external agenda caused this gain to be celebrated less than it deserved.
Dec. 5 was the 79th anniversary of the day Turkish women were granted the right to vote and to be elected.
The confusion in the domestic and external agenda caused this gain to be celebrated less than it deserved.
International IDEA's Electoral Risk Management Tool (ERMTool) is now available free online. The tool was launched during the 6th Global Electoral Organization (GEO) Conference in Incheon, Republic of Korea in October 2013.
Endangered Species: Why are the Numbers of Women Representing LA County in Elected Office Dropping and How Can We Reverse this Trend?
Sunday, January 26, 2014 from 11:00 AM-5:00 PM