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.
Four decades after the election that shattered the glass ceiling for women in the Minnesota Legislature, gender equality is still elusive at the state Capitol.
In a state infamously governed by “three men in a room,” three women want to take the helm of upstate cities.
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Welfare Mary Clara Makungwa has called on the media in the country to promote women aspirants in politics in order to achieve the 50-50 women representation campaign.
For the fourth year, a campaign school to encourage women to consider a role in municipal politics will be run in Brantford.
It's raining machismo in France. Chucking it down, in fact.
From parliament to local councils, via national media and regional newspapers, storms have erupted as French men indulge in misogynist outbursts that could have come from the cave age.
Lincoln Sen. Amanda McGill will host town hall meetings this month to examine barriers that face women as they struggle to reach professional goals.
The meetings stem from LR295, introduced by McGill to study the income gap between men and women.
The four female incumbents in the field of about 30 governors seeking reelection in November 2014 are doing something considered incumbent upon any female executive who wants her job back: playing up their accomplishments.
I have a story in this week’s magazine about the 20 Senate women and their growing—and positive—influence on the Upper Chamber.