Partner News

Unequal political representation of women in relation to men remains a problem all over the world.  Just 23 per cent of the world’s members of parliament are women. A major contributing factor to this is the unequal access to the resources needed to successfully seek nominations or participate in electoral campaigns. In a similar vein, political parties are often gate-keepers that promote male candidates that they believe are more likely to attract funding.

As part of the effort to close this gender gap in parliamentary politics, the last two decades have seen an increase in political finance legislation designed to promote equality within political parties. As two thirds of the world’s countries provide public funding for political parties, there is an opportunity to use these funds to promote the equal participation of women. Today, around 30 countries have regulations that tie the provision of public funding with the commitment of political parties to promote the participation of women across their ranks. More countries are now following suite. 

These regulations take different forms, following three broad categories:

• Eligibility, wherein only parties that reach some gender equality threshold may receive some or all of its party funding;
• Allocation, wherein political parties receive more public funding as they move closer to gender equality; and
• Earmarking, wherein a portion of the funds must be used for activities that promote gender equality within the party.

While tying public funding to supporting the nomination and election of women is an increasingly used policy option, it is not clear how and when these policies are effective. To this end, International IDEA conducted a series of case studies in countries that have enacted such regulations for an extended number of years. These are now published in the report “Gender-targeted public funding and women’s political participation and representation”.  The publication contains a comparative analysis of these cases and the impact of gender-targeted public funding, with the intention of unearthing the ingredients that make these systems effective. The case studies include Albania, Croatia, France, Haiti and Portugal. 

So, what do these case studies tell us? 

Albania – from 7 to 28 per cent in ten years

The proportion of women in parliament in Albania following the fall of the communist regime in 1991 remained very low, typically languishing at around five percent. Following the 2004 election, women constituted only six per cent of the elected members of parliament. 

In 2008, the country enacted regulations mandating that political parties nominate at least 30 per cent  of either gender, or otherwise the party would see its public funding reduced. Further sanctions were enacted against parties that failed to nominate women for at least one of the top three positions in the party lists. 

In the elections following the enactment of these rules in 2009, the country experienced an immediate and significant increase of women nominated within parties, growing from 9 per cent to 32 per cent between elections. However, the increase was not fully reflected in the election of women, as parties tended to put women at the bottom of party lists and the requirement to nominate at least one woman on the top three positions of the party list was not consistently enforced.

The proportion of women elected reached 16 per cent in 2009 following the enactment (an increase of 10 per cent). 

Following the introduction of these measures, the number of women nominated and elected have risen every year, reaching 40 per cent nominated and 28 per cent elected in 2017. 

When does gender-targeted public funding work?

It is very difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted public funding in general, as there are many intervening variables affecting the gender composition in parliament in any given society. Many countries utilizing gender targeted public funding have seen negligible increases, on the same levels as countries without such measures. With this in mind, how do we explain Albania’s relative success? International IDEA believes that the Albanian context partially fulfilled three criteria necessary for the effectiveness of these provisions:

Firstly, the share of total party income received from public sources is high. In Albania, political parties rely on public funding for upwards of 90 per cent of their total funding. Therefore, the incentive to nominate women is significant. This is not the case in other countries, decreasing the effect of the regulations.

Secondly, there was a strong connection between the gender balance achieved and the level of public funding provided. In Albania, parties risk significant financial loss for failing to follow the legislation. After the 2017 elections, the country’s second largest party, the Democratic Party, lost 57 per cent of the funding ahead of the elections due to its failure to adhere to the regulations in some districts.

Thirdly, the connection between public funding and gender equality is sufficient to overcome gender prejudices within political parties. Political parties must feel that they risk more by losing public funding than they risk losing votes by nominating women. In Albania, surveys ahead of the 2008 elections showed that people were not used to women in positions of power and that a conservative view of women was prevalent in society in general. However, in Albania—as well as in other countries—parties nominating women initially rose and soon plateaued, but the proportion of women elected continued rising, without regulatory pressure. This possibly signifies that gender prejudices in the parties are diminishing. 

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Raul Cordenillo

The International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme, #PressForProgress, is a strong call to action amid current world developments. It stresses that efforts to achieve greater gender equality and gender inclusivity are made best and more effectively when in tandem with partners, urging us all to form alliances with fellow advocates and friends.

International IDEA is committed to ensuring gender equality in democracy building. By transforming unequal power relations, democracy promotes the equal distribution of power and influence between men and women. It is in that regard that we continue to be in the forefront of supporting the advancement of women in politics.

We are a firm supporter of the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5  - achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls - as expressed by our Secretary-General in his video message. Recognising that our voice is more effective in tandem with like-minded organisations, International IDEA partners with other actors in undertaking efforts to ensure gender balance in the conduct of elections, political parties, parliaments, constituent assemblies and politics at large. We are, for example, involved in inter-regional discussions on the conditions to advance gender equality.

By way of analysis, we put a spotlight on the Global State of Gender in our first edition of the Global State of Democracy publication in 2017. Like in the case of democracy, all the world’s regions have seen improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975, although there are regional disparities. While this trend is an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate into impact, obstacles remain that hinder women from participating in representative institutions. Representation of women in parliaments is still low despite the increase to 23 percent in 2017 from 11 percent in 1995.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is worthwhile creating a shortlist of policies and actions that have had a positive impact on women in their countries. While there is no one-size-fits-all policy or action for gender inclusion and context is very important, such a list could serve as a good food for thought

One way of addressing the low representation of women in parliaments is by establishing a gender quota system. International IDEA’s research has shown that an electoral system in which political parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them (the Proportional Representation system) coupled with reserved seats for women via a quota system, leads to more women in parliament. Our publication, Designing for Equality: Best-Fit, Medium-Fit and Non-Favourable Combinations of Electoral Systems and Gender Quotas, and its accompanying online tool, Interactive Overview of Combinations of Electoral Systems and Quota Types, provides an overview of how women’s representation can be increased under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas.

Case studies undertaken on Indonesia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Tunisia in our publication, Improving Electoral Practices: Case Studies and Practical Approaches, have corroborated this positive result. Gender quotas are however, more effective when they are mandatory. Moreover, quotas are not meant to be permanent but only meant to address the low level of political inclusion of women.

Another form of support to women that is increasingly being adopted by democracies is through public funding. Our research has shown that it is difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of gender-targeted funding. Although there are very good cases such as that of Albania that have shown how prejudices against women can be overcome through a mix of policies, including public funding. More on this will be covered in our forthcoming Facebook Live Q&A on the topic on 13 March.

Another area that International IDEA believes will break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians is through interparty dialogue. Cooperation across party lines has the strongest potential to put gender-based issues into national political agendas. This has proven to be the case in International IDEA’s work in Bolivia, Nepal and Zambia, where women’s issues were put above political party concerns. In Zambia, a Communiqué on Gender and Democracy was issued by five political parties, expressing their commitment to push for the attainment of 50-50 gender parity.  In Bolivia, this resulted in policies that paved the way for gender parity in parliament. In Nepal, it led to the recognition of women as members of the Constituent Assembly and gender-informed policies in the constitution.

Drawing on our experience in Nepal, we are working on promoting the role of the women in Myanmar in constitution building. In particular, we would like to build their capacity to ably sit in the negotiating tables and participate in the discussions to shape a gender sensitive constitution.

In all these policies and actions, it is important to note that awareness is key. We should take the time to know what policies are in place, what gender issues are at stake and who will be making the decisions that will affect us all. While it may seem simple, being aware is oftentimes not so straight forward not just because of the lack of access to information but because we can be conditioned not to see things as they are.

It is in this light that initiatives such as #MeToo and other hashtag protests have the potential to advance women’s interests and are much more than just awareness campaigns. Protests and different forms of citizens movements have the power to reinvigorate democracy, calling our attention. In this case, we have become more conscious of cases of sexual misconduct and harassment of women and in the entertainment industry, it has taken the form of the Time’s Up initiative. For policy impact, however, there is a need to take the movement out of social media and the streets and bring them to the decision-making tables, where the political framework for change can begin.

So what (more) can we do to #PressForProgress?

Be more gender aware. Ask questions. Share information with friends and colleagues. Let them know what is at stake. For it is only with informed decisions that are inclusive, that sustainable gender policies can be put in place.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.

By Ruby Leahy Gatfield

There is broad consensus that a healthy, sustainable and representative democracy is one that is based on inclusive participation and representation. Gender equality and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life is imperative for development and democratic consolidation. However, violence and discrimination against women persists the world over, and women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of governance and public decision making. To break down the barriers to gender equality and empower women politicians, International IDEA promotes interparty dialogue as a key tool.

In October 2017, International IDEA facilitated an Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  workshop for female politicians and local government councilors from nine African and Eastern European countries. During the workshop, International IDEA Senior Programme Manager and gender equality advocate, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, encouraged participants to rise above party lines and engage in a cooperative dialogue, putting gender-based issues onto their national political agendas.

Certainly, progress towards gender parity in political life has been made over recent decades. In fact, “women’s representation in legislatures has more than doubled over the last 22 years—from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23.5 per cent in 2017”. Further, nations have committed to a range of agreements, conventions and legislative frameworks to redress gender imbalances in politics. For example, 189 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, all 193 UN members unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 (including Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), and 118 countries used a gender quota in 2016.

However, despite these written commitments, progress in terms of effective implementation is slow and uneven around the world. Women remain significantly under-represented and, too often, their participation and representation is treated as tokenistic. The myriad of challenges that women in politics continue to face today were expressed by participants at International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training in October. Women from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia shared stories about defamatory public rumors about their personal relations and patronizing, dismissive and aggressive behavior from male colleagues, including even threats of violence and sexual abuse.

“We were always raised that a woman must take a back seat. We have to suppress our views, we have to suppress our opinions”,explained Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, used the term “kitchen politics” to describe the all-too-common expectation that women perform domestic tasks at work, such as making tea, coffee and cakes, despite holding the same position as their male colleagues.

Facilitating the workshop, Kandawasvika-Nhundu, argued that resistance to women’s empowerment is inevitable, as it threatens the status quo and implies a redistribution of power. “Political parties are patriarchal entities that are not gender neutral; they are grown nurtured and pursued from male perspectives”, she explained.

To break existing barriers, prejudices and fears of a loss of power, International IDEA’s Interparty Dialogue Skills Training  promotes effective dialogue and negotiation within and across political parties. The module recognizes dialogue as a sustainable and inclusive way to finding solutions to complex national issues, such as gender inequality. Dialogue creates greater trust and cooperation between parties, enabling them to pursue reforms that are needed for democracy, peace and development.

“We must recognize that violence and discrimination against women happens regardless of party-lines”, said Kandawasvika-Nhundu, “it is gender-based”. In creating multi-party dialogues, networks and caucuses, women can push issues of mutual interest—such as equal pay, access to childcare, and gender-based violence and discrimination— onto the national agenda, regardless of political ideology.

The workshop ignited an animated discussion about the challenges women politicians face and the possible ways forward.

“The first thing I’m going to do (when I return home)… is to start a multi-party women’s caucus whereby we are going to speak of issues relating to women as leaders in Council and see how we pave a way forward for our community.” – Linda Landu, Chief Whip of Cape Winelands District Municipality, South Africa.

“I have an idea to start a new training session for women in Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.” – Rajka Lucar, Deputy at the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia.

“When I go back to my country, the first thing I’m going to do is to make sure that I pull a lot of women to come and be part of decision making positions… As women out there, we have to start supporting each other. This is what this workshop has taught me.” – Chilando Chitangala, Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia.

As well as establishing dialogues across party lines, the workshop highlighted the critical role of intra-party dialogues. Empowered with new dialogue and negotiation skills, the participants left determined to create an internal party environment for women to move beyond ‘kitchen politics’ and tokenistic representation to having a tangible influence on decision-making. 

To read more about the importance of dialogue for democracy, peace and development or to register for the Interparty Dialogue Skills Training Module, see our webpage or email ipd_nimd-idea@idea.int. You can also read more about International IDEA’s work on Gender and Democracy.

--

Extracts from the interviews with the participants can be viewed here.