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In the fight for gender equality, women around the world have advanced in small and large ways. Yet for women in Africa, progress is measured in micro steps, and the struggle has a long way to go.

The good news is that women’s representation in political decision making has been on the rise globally. The not-so-good news is that the increase has been stubbornly slow, barely 1% in 2018 compared with the previous year. In 2018 the number of women ministers worldwide reached an all-time high at 20.7% (812 out of 3922).

In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of women seated in parliament grew in 2018, with a regional average share at 23.7%, according to the just-released 2019 edition of the biennial Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Map of Women in Politics.

The IPU, made up of more than 170 national parliaments from around the world, tracks the number of women elected to parliaments globally every year and produces an analysis that helps to monitor progress, setbacks and trends.

Click here to read the full article published by Modern Ghana on 18 April 2019.

In the fight for gender equality, women around the world have advanced in small and large ways. Yet for women in Africa, progress is measured in micro steps, and the struggle has a long way to go.

The good news is that women’s representation in political decision making has been on the rise globally. The not-so-good news is that the increase has been stubbornly slow, barely 1% in 2018 compared with the previous year. In 2018 the number of women ministers worldwide reached an all-time high at 20.7% (812 out of 3922).

In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of women seated in parliament grew in 2018, with a regional average share at 23.7%, according to the just-released 2019 edition of the biennial Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Map of Women in Politics.

The IPU, made up of more than 170 national parliaments from around the world, tracks the number of women elected to parliaments globally every year and produces an analysis that helps to monitor progress, setbacks and trends.

Click here to read the full article published by Modern Ghana on 18 April 2019.

In the fight for gender equality, women around the world have advanced in small and large ways. Yet for women in Africa, progress is measured in micro steps, and the struggle has a long way to go.

The good news is that women’s representation in political decision making has been on the rise globally. The not-so-good news is that the increase has been stubbornly slow, barely 1% in 2018 compared with the previous year. In 2018 the number of women ministers worldwide reached an all-time high at 20.7% (812 out of 3922).

In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of women seated in parliament grew in 2018, with a regional average share at 23.7%, according to the just-released 2019 edition of the biennial Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Map of Women in Politics.

The IPU, made up of more than 170 national parliaments from around the world, tracks the number of women elected to parliaments globally every year and produces an analysis that helps to monitor progress, setbacks and trends.

Click here to read the full article published by Modern Ghana on 18 April 2019.

In the fight for gender equality, women around the world have advanced in small and large ways. Yet for women in Africa, progress is measured in micro steps, and the struggle has a long way to go.

The good news is that women’s representation in political decision making has been on the rise globally. The not-so-good news is that the increase has been stubbornly slow, barely 1% in 2018 compared with the previous year. In 2018 the number of women ministers worldwide reached an all-time high at 20.7% (812 out of 3922).

In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of women seated in parliament grew in 2018, with a regional average share at 23.7%, according to the just-released 2019 edition of the biennial Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Map of Women in Politics.

The IPU, made up of more than 170 national parliaments from around the world, tracks the number of women elected to parliaments globally every year and produces an analysis that helps to monitor progress, setbacks and trends.

Click here to read the full article published by Modern Ghana on 18 April 2019.

In the fight for gender equality, women around the world have advanced in small and large ways. Yet for women in Africa, progress is measured in micro steps, and the struggle has a long way to go.

The good news is that women’s representation in political decision making has been on the rise globally. The not-so-good news is that the increase has been stubbornly slow, barely 1% in 2018 compared with the previous year. In 2018 the number of women ministers worldwide reached an all-time high at 20.7% (812 out of 3922).

In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of women seated in parliament grew in 2018, with a regional average share at 23.7%, according to the just-released 2019 edition of the biennial Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Map of Women in Politics.

The IPU, made up of more than 170 national parliaments from around the world, tracks the number of women elected to parliaments globally every year and produces an analysis that helps to monitor progress, setbacks and trends.

Click here to read the full article published by Modern Ghana on 18 April 2019.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The IPU and UN Women held a joint parliamentary event at the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) on 13 March 2019 in New York. Participants at the event discussed ways of making social protection programmes more gender responsive.

The parliamentary event, Investing in gender equality: Parliaments ensuring social protection, public services and infrastructure deliver for women and girls, was attended by over 170 people, including three women Speakers from Namibia, Togo and Zimbabwe; 110 MPs from 35 countries, of which 100 were women; parliamentary staff; government officials; and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

Social protection programmes are crucial to creating a sustainable society: they protect people from poverty and assure the equal distribution of public services, such as health, water and sanitation. Unfortunately, they are often designed without taking women’s needs and changing roles into consideration and are based on outdated gender roles. Parliaments play an important role in ensuring that the programmes help women by allocating adequate resources to gender equality and by overseeing social protection programmes.

The parliamentary event aimed to share best practices of parliaments. Participants suggested four ways to make sure that social protection, public services and infrastructure could advance gender equality. First, MPs should promote the adoption of laws that give legal status to social protection programmes and to gender-responsive budgeting. Second, parliaments should carry out oversight to guarantee that the design and implementation of social protection, public services and infrastructure take into account women’s needs and realities and are adequately financed. Third, parliamentarians should engage more with citizens, especially women and young people, to build the political will to achieve gender equality, and should consult with women on public policy design. Fourth, parliaments themselves have to be gender equal by increasing the number of women MPs, ensuring women MPs are represented in leadership positions, and gender-mainstreaming structures in parliament.

The IPU also co-organized three side events on sexism and gender equality, all of which were well-attended with over 100 people at each. On 12 March, the IPU and the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations organized an event, Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians. Participants took stock of the legal measures and policies taken to combat violence against women MPs and to share best practices. The event aimed to strengthen partnerships at global, regional and local levels, and to increase the impact of the work on this issue.

Two side events took place on 14 March. The first one, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Albania and Canada, was called From Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making Do Make a Difference! Participants discussed how women leaders have brought about positive change, especially in social protection programmes and in eliminating gender-based violence.

The second side event, organized by the IPU, UN Women and the Permanent Missions of Trinidad and Tobago, was titled Data on Women in Politics: Getting to Equal? Using findings from the IPU's report, Women in Parliament and UN Women’s research into local government, participants examined the trends of women in politics.

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Nadi, Fiji – The inaugural Pacific Women in Power Forum which ended on Wednesday, 27 March has confirmed the need for an ongoing Pacific regional network of women Members of Parliament, which aims to encourage more women to enter politics and support current women MPs.

The two-day Forum attracted women MPs from seven Pacific island countries and featured panel discussions on issues relating to gender equality, economic empowerment of women, discussions on integrity in leadership and benefits of a gender sensitive parliament.

With funding support from the Governments of Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the Forum provided an opportunity for robust and frank discussions on the current status of women in politics in the different Pacific countries which provided insights on how regional and international parliamentary networks can support current women legislators.

In her contribution to the panel discussion on ‘Creating a Support Network for Pacific MPs’, Honourable Te Hani Brown, a Member of the Parliament of the Cook Islands reflected on the different experiences shared between the participants and called for a multi-country network of sitting women MPs.

“Those who stood before me definitely paved the way for me. However, we need to do more to create supportive measures for new ones and young ones wanting to come through”, said Hon. Brown.

Following Hon. Brown’s election into Parliament, at 22 years of age she officially became the youngest ever MP for the Cook Islands and in the Pacific region.

“I was lucky I had my mother as a mentor, but I’m thinking of other women wanting to come into politics and how we can establish a support and mentorship system in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and also other women in power in the wider Pacific region.”

“Forums like this are a tremendous help for us in establishing connections and networks with our fellow Pasifika women. It is empowering to meet other women in similar positions as well as to build relationships and learn from each other.”

She added, “There is definitely potential for us as women MPs to create a support network and we should consider forming a Pacific Women MPs group.”

The UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji Resident Representative a.i. Vineet Bhatia while addressing the Forum, highlighted that the full inclusion and effective representation of women is an enabler for sustainable development.

“The Forum is an opportunity to inspire, learn and empower one another in our common pursuit to promote women in leadership at all levels. Participants have different experiences in different countries and in different sectors and sharing this experience and information is a crucial part of empowering Women MPs in the Pacific.

“The participation of women is key to development—there can be no peace, no democracy, no prosperity and no progress without the full and equal participation of women”, said Bhatia.

He added, “The promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women in the Pacific region is a goal in itself, but also underpins all development efforts in this region.”

In many Parliaments across the world there will be a women’s caucus or an all-party women’s group that provides a network of support for women MPs. However, many Pacific parliaments lack a critical mass of women MPs to make a national women MPs caucus or group viable and effective.

Due to the Pacific context, the participants agreed to the formation of a network for Pacific women MPs for the purposes of mentoring, a platform for each member to consult openly as it provides a safe space for learning and improving their own ability in dealing with diverse issues within their own countries and across the Pacific.

Source: UNDP.

Nadi, Fiji – The inaugural Pacific Women in Power Forum which ended on Wednesday, 27 March has confirmed the need for an ongoing Pacific regional network of women Members of Parliament, which aims to encourage more women to enter politics and support current women MPs.

The two-day Forum attracted women MPs from seven Pacific island countries and featured panel discussions on issues relating to gender equality, economic empowerment of women, discussions on integrity in leadership and benefits of a gender sensitive parliament.

With funding support from the Governments of Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the Forum provided an opportunity for robust and frank discussions on the current status of women in politics in the different Pacific countries which provided insights on how regional and international parliamentary networks can support current women legislators.

In her contribution to the panel discussion on ‘Creating a Support Network for Pacific MPs’, Honourable Te Hani Brown, a Member of the Parliament of the Cook Islands reflected on the different experiences shared between the participants and called for a multi-country network of sitting women MPs.

“Those who stood before me definitely paved the way for me. However, we need to do more to create supportive measures for new ones and young ones wanting to come through”, said Hon. Brown.

Following Hon. Brown’s election into Parliament, at 22 years of age she officially became the youngest ever MP for the Cook Islands and in the Pacific region.

“I was lucky I had my mother as a mentor, but I’m thinking of other women wanting to come into politics and how we can establish a support and mentorship system in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and also other women in power in the wider Pacific region.”

“Forums like this are a tremendous help for us in establishing connections and networks with our fellow Pasifika women. It is empowering to meet other women in similar positions as well as to build relationships and learn from each other.”

She added, “There is definitely potential for us as women MPs to create a support network and we should consider forming a Pacific Women MPs group.”

The UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji Resident Representative a.i. Vineet Bhatia while addressing the Forum, highlighted that the full inclusion and effective representation of women is an enabler for sustainable development.

“The Forum is an opportunity to inspire, learn and empower one another in our common pursuit to promote women in leadership at all levels. Participants have different experiences in different countries and in different sectors and sharing this experience and information is a crucial part of empowering Women MPs in the Pacific.

“The participation of women is key to development—there can be no peace, no democracy, no prosperity and no progress without the full and equal participation of women”, said Bhatia.

He added, “The promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women in the Pacific region is a goal in itself, but also underpins all development efforts in this region.”

In many Parliaments across the world there will be a women’s caucus or an all-party women’s group that provides a network of support for women MPs. However, many Pacific parliaments lack a critical mass of women MPs to make a national women MPs caucus or group viable and effective.

Due to the Pacific context, the participants agreed to the formation of a network for Pacific women MPs for the purposes of mentoring, a platform for each member to consult openly as it provides a safe space for learning and improving their own ability in dealing with diverse issues within their own countries and across the Pacific.

Source: UNDP.

Nadi, Fiji – The inaugural Pacific Women in Power Forum which ended on Wednesday, 27 March has confirmed the need for an ongoing Pacific regional network of women Members of Parliament, which aims to encourage more women to enter politics and support current women MPs.

The two-day Forum attracted women MPs from seven Pacific island countries and featured panel discussions on issues relating to gender equality, economic empowerment of women, discussions on integrity in leadership and benefits of a gender sensitive parliament.

With funding support from the Governments of Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the Forum provided an opportunity for robust and frank discussions on the current status of women in politics in the different Pacific countries which provided insights on how regional and international parliamentary networks can support current women legislators.

In her contribution to the panel discussion on ‘Creating a Support Network for Pacific MPs’, Honourable Te Hani Brown, a Member of the Parliament of the Cook Islands reflected on the different experiences shared between the participants and called for a multi-country network of sitting women MPs.

“Those who stood before me definitely paved the way for me. However, we need to do more to create supportive measures for new ones and young ones wanting to come through”, said Hon. Brown.

Following Hon. Brown’s election into Parliament, at 22 years of age she officially became the youngest ever MP for the Cook Islands and in the Pacific region.

“I was lucky I had my mother as a mentor, but I’m thinking of other women wanting to come into politics and how we can establish a support and mentorship system in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and also other women in power in the wider Pacific region.”

“Forums like this are a tremendous help for us in establishing connections and networks with our fellow Pasifika women. It is empowering to meet other women in similar positions as well as to build relationships and learn from each other.”

She added, “There is definitely potential for us as women MPs to create a support network and we should consider forming a Pacific Women MPs group.”

The UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji Resident Representative a.i. Vineet Bhatia while addressing the Forum, highlighted that the full inclusion and effective representation of women is an enabler for sustainable development.

“The Forum is an opportunity to inspire, learn and empower one another in our common pursuit to promote women in leadership at all levels. Participants have different experiences in different countries and in different sectors and sharing this experience and information is a crucial part of empowering Women MPs in the Pacific.

“The participation of women is key to development—there can be no peace, no democracy, no prosperity and no progress without the full and equal participation of women”, said Bhatia.

He added, “The promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women in the Pacific region is a goal in itself, but also underpins all development efforts in this region.”

In many Parliaments across the world there will be a women’s caucus or an all-party women’s group that provides a network of support for women MPs. However, many Pacific parliaments lack a critical mass of women MPs to make a national women MPs caucus or group viable and effective.

Due to the Pacific context, the participants agreed to the formation of a network for Pacific women MPs for the purposes of mentoring, a platform for each member to consult openly as it provides a safe space for learning and improving their own ability in dealing with diverse issues within their own countries and across the Pacific.

Source: UNDP.

Nadi, Fiji – The inaugural Pacific Women in Power Forum which ended on Wednesday, 27 March has confirmed the need for an ongoing Pacific regional network of women Members of Parliament, which aims to encourage more women to enter politics and support current women MPs.

The two-day Forum attracted women MPs from seven Pacific island countries and featured panel discussions on issues relating to gender equality, economic empowerment of women, discussions on integrity in leadership and benefits of a gender sensitive parliament.

With funding support from the Governments of Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the Forum provided an opportunity for robust and frank discussions on the current status of women in politics in the different Pacific countries which provided insights on how regional and international parliamentary networks can support current women legislators.

In her contribution to the panel discussion on ‘Creating a Support Network for Pacific MPs’, Honourable Te Hani Brown, a Member of the Parliament of the Cook Islands reflected on the different experiences shared between the participants and called for a multi-country network of sitting women MPs.

“Those who stood before me definitely paved the way for me. However, we need to do more to create supportive measures for new ones and young ones wanting to come through”, said Hon. Brown.

Following Hon. Brown’s election into Parliament, at 22 years of age she officially became the youngest ever MP for the Cook Islands and in the Pacific region.

“I was lucky I had my mother as a mentor, but I’m thinking of other women wanting to come into politics and how we can establish a support and mentorship system in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and also other women in power in the wider Pacific region.”

“Forums like this are a tremendous help for us in establishing connections and networks with our fellow Pasifika women. It is empowering to meet other women in similar positions as well as to build relationships and learn from each other.”

She added, “There is definitely potential for us as women MPs to create a support network and we should consider forming a Pacific Women MPs group.”

The UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji Resident Representative a.i. Vineet Bhatia while addressing the Forum, highlighted that the full inclusion and effective representation of women is an enabler for sustainable development.

“The Forum is an opportunity to inspire, learn and empower one another in our common pursuit to promote women in leadership at all levels. Participants have different experiences in different countries and in different sectors and sharing this experience and information is a crucial part of empowering Women MPs in the Pacific.

“The participation of women is key to development—there can be no peace, no democracy, no prosperity and no progress without the full and equal participation of women”, said Bhatia.

He added, “The promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women in the Pacific region is a goal in itself, but also underpins all development efforts in this region.”

In many Parliaments across the world there will be a women’s caucus or an all-party women’s group that provides a network of support for women MPs. However, many Pacific parliaments lack a critical mass of women MPs to make a national women MPs caucus or group viable and effective.

Due to the Pacific context, the participants agreed to the formation of a network for Pacific women MPs for the purposes of mentoring, a platform for each member to consult openly as it provides a safe space for learning and improving their own ability in dealing with diverse issues within their own countries and across the Pacific.

Source: UNDP.