Women's Leadership

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of only five countries in the world that have no female members of Parliament (alongside Yemen, Qatar, Micronesia, Vanuatu) and is below the global average of 23% female representation in Parliament.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, PNG, for the first time in 25 years (since the 1992 election), no females will make up the 111 - member Parliament - despite more female candidates being nominated for elections in 2017 than ever before; 167 of 3,332 were female candidates.

Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organisation now wants the government and political parties to recognise its members by ensuring that more women acquire elective positions ahead of the next General election.

The women’s organisation currently has more than four million members. The organisation's leadership wants the State to create an enabling environment for women eyeing elective posts.

Was it the year of the woman? Angela Merkel left the political stage. New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern and Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen were given gold stars for their respective responses to the pandemic. And Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya emerged as Belarus’ democracy warrior.

Democracy Works Foundation (DWF) in conjunction with Botswana Editors Forum Botswana recently held a two-day workshop to train journalists on how media can play a supportive role in advancing meaningful participation of women in politics.

Currently DWF is implementing a year-long program in Botswana geared towards the advancement and development of women in politics.

In just two years, the pandemic has threatened decades worth of progress towards gender equality. As of December 2020, women suffered a net loss of over 5 million jobs due to COVID-19; in 2021, one in three women reported that they may end up downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce entirely if conditions don’t improve in the United States.

In a society of transition, the role of women is also in transition in Bhutan, but the farsighted leadership of Their Majesties the Kings has helped Bhutanese women progress. This message came out strongly as three Bhutanese women, who worked closely with women, talked about their experience as important leaders and trailblazers for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Germany on the night of December 16.