Webinar Opportunities and Challenges: Women’s Political Participation in the Digital Age

The webinar focused on the challenges and opportunities for women politicians in the digital space. Speakers discussed key issues such as online harassment, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and misinformation/disinformation, all of which hinder women's participation in politics. The discussion also emphasized the importance of digital literacy, legal safeguards, and creating safer online environments for women in politics. Additionally, speakers highlighted the need to engage men in these discussions and support women at the grassroots level. 

The invited speakers were:

• Chikas Kumle (Nigerian politician, Women Political Activist)

• Gloria Anderson (Founder & Executive Director at TEDI, Tanzania)

• Juliane Muller (Associate Programme Officer, Digitalization and Democracy, International IDEA)

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

Several action points were identified for different stakeholders.

• Electoral commissions should raise awareness among their staff about the challenges women face in digital political spaces, collaborate with civil society organizations and political parties to better understand and address these challenges, and advocate for and participate in policy reforms to protect women online.

• Political parties need to develop actionable policies and legal frameworks to support and protect female candidates. They should also publicly condemn online abuse against women and take disciplinary action against perpetrators within their parties.

• Women’s rights organizations play a crucial role in advocating for stronger support for women in politics by political parties and electoral bodies. They should also push for digital literacy programs that incorporate a gender perspective. 

• Digital platforms must implement and enforce gender-sensitive community guidelines to protect women in political spaces. 

• iKNOW Politics in collaboration with civil society organizations should continue organizing webinars and discussions on women’s political participation in the digital age while actively engaging in the development of online safety guidelines and policies for women politicians.