Partner News

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

This year’s International Women’s Day’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, is a call to forge a better working world - a more gender inclusive world. In particular, it calls for groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women.

International IDEA has been at the forefront of advancing the political participation of women. We believe that democracy is incomplete without policies, measures and practices that seek to reduce inequalities between men and women in all spheres of life. It is in this light that we are committed to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Our call to action is best expressed by our Secretary-General in his message on what can be done to tackle violence against women in politics, taken from an interview for International Women’s Day.

In 2017, we continue to produce knowledge products, as well as undertake initiatives that highlight the role of women in politics with the end view of making democracies function better. We have partnered with key institutions of democracy, Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and political parties and published A Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs and A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for political parties.  These standards enables EMBs and political parties to manage their internal operations and processes, allowing for equal distribution of power between men and women. Furthermore, at the country level, we help build the capacity of women government executives through training and supporting spaces for peer-to-peer exchange and learning. In the case of Haiti, for example, we supported the organization of the Federation of Women Mayors of Haiti, which is a platform to strengthen knowledge of among others democratic accountability at local level, as well as gender mainstreaming in municipal policies.

In this year’s newsletter and to commemorate International Women’s Day, we feature stories on our efforts to take action for women, starting with our work to develop more knowledge products for democratic actors. In Regional organizations coming together for political empowerment of women, we present our consultative approach, working with regional organizations to arrive at Inter-Regional Policy Guidebook on Gender Equality and Political Empowerment of Women. In Using public funding to have more women parliamentarians, we explore experiences of democracies on how public funding can support a level playing field in politics; thereby improving political participation of women.

In Empowering youth – women and men - for democracy in Tunisia, we present an innovative approach to engaging the youth for democracy. Currently, being utilized in Tunisia, the Youth Democracy Curriculum seeks to build the capacities of the young people – women and men – to lead the change that they would like to see in their democratic contexts. Following the positive feedback that we received from the participants, we are now looking at ways to apply the curriculum in other regions and countries.

In relation to our work in regions and countries, we present our activities in Latin America through a feature story on Women’s political participation in Latin America: Some progress and many challenges, where we also discuss the various actions that we undertook including building alliances in countries in the region, as well as a campaign in Bolivia. In Developing Women Leaders in Tunisia, we present our training of women local executives in Tunisia, which included in particular the recently appointed Minister for Women, Children and Family Affairs in the country. Finally, in Safeguarding Women Political Participation in Myanmar’s Constitution, we focus on the rule of the Constitution in safeguarding women’s political participation. Here, International IDEA’s Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality is applied to Myanmar, drawing from the experiences of applying it to Nepal – a poignant example of our work in promoting South-South cooperation.

It is clear to International IDEA that there is no single strategy that can completely address gender inequalities that span the world in all spheres of life—including in democracy building processes. We, thus, need to work together and do our part for only being bold can we indeed effect change.

Source: International IDEA

Across the world, too many women and girls spend too many hours on household responsibilities—typically more than double the time spent by men and boys. They look after younger siblings, older family members, deal with illness in the family and manage the house. In many cases this unequal division of labour is at the expense of women’s and girls’ learning, of paid work, sports, or engagement in civic or community leadership. This shapes the norms of relative disadvantage and advantage, of where women and men are positioned in the economy, of what they are skilled to do and where they will work.

This is the unchanging world of unrewarded work, a globally familiar scene of withered futures, where girls and their mothers sustain the family with free labour, with lives whose trajectories are very different from the men of the household.

We want to construct a different world of work for women. As they grow up, girls must be exposed to a broad range of careers, and encouraged to make choices that lead beyond the traditional service and care options to jobs in industry, art, public service, modern agriculture and science.

We have to start change at home and in the earliest days of school, so that there are no places in a child’s environment where they learn that girls must be less, have less, and dream smaller than boys.

This will take adjustments in parenting, curricula, educational settings, and channels for everyday stereotypes like TV, advertising and entertainment; it will take determined steps to protect young girls from harmful cultural practices like early marriage, and from all forms of violence.

Women and girls must be ready to be part of the digital revolution. Currently only 18 per cent of undergraduate computer science degrees are held by women. We must see a significant shift in girls all over the world taking STEM subjects, if women are to compete successfully for high-paying ‘new collar’ jobs. Currently just 25 per cent of the digital industries’ workforce are women.

Achieving equality in the workplace will require an expansion of decent work and employment opportunities, involving governments’ targeted efforts to promote women’s participation in economic life, the support of important collectives like trade unions, and the voices of women themselves in framing solutions to overcome current barriers to women’s participation, as examined by the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. The stakes are high: advancing women’s equality could boost global GDP by US$12 trillion by 2025.

It also requires a determined focus on removing the discrimination women face on multiple and intersecting fronts over and above their gender: sexual orientation, disability, older age, and race. Wage inequality follows these: the average gender wage gap is 23 per cent but this rises to 40 per cent for African American women in the United States. In the European Union, elderly women are 37 per cent more likely to live in poverty than elderly men.

In roles where women are already over-represented but poorly paid, and with little or no social protection, we must make those industries work better for women. For example, a robust care economy that responds to the needs of women and gainfully employs them; equal terms and conditions for women’s paid work and unpaid work; and support for women entrepreneurs, including their access to finance and markets. Women in the informal sector also need their contributions to be acknowledged and protected. This calls for enabling macroeconomic policies that contribute to inclusive growth and significantly accelerate progress for the 770 million people living in extreme poverty.

Addressing the injustices will take resolve and flexibility from both public and private sector employers. Incentives will be needed to recruit and retain female workers; like expanded maternity benefits for women that also support their re-entry into work, adoption of the Women’s Empowerment Principles , and direct representation at decision-making levels. Accompanying this, important changes in the provision of benefits for new fathers are needed, along with the cultural shifts that make uptake of paternity and parental leave a viable choice, and thus a real shared benefit for the family.

In this complexity there are simple, big changes that must be made: for men to parent, for women to participate and for girls to be free to grow up equal to boys. Adjustments must happen on all sides if we are to increase the number of people able to engage in decent work, to keep this pool inclusive, and to realize the benefits that will come to all from the equal world envisaged in our Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

Source: UN Women