Women in politics overview

women

1. WOMEN IN POLITICS WOMEN IN POLITICS
OVERVIEWOVERVIEW
Gender, Women and Politics
The National Democratic Institute

2. INTRODUCTIONS/INTRODUCTIONS/
GROUND RULESGROUND RULES
•Introductions
•Ground Rules
•Ice Breaker Exercise

3. WOMEN IN POLITICS OVERVIEW WOMEN IN POLITICS OVERVIEW
OBJECTIVESOBJECTIVES
•Understand the need for women’s
political participation and the related
legal framework within global, regional
and country-specific contexts
Photo: AFP/Getty Images

4. WOMEN IN POLITICS TOPICSWOMEN IN POLITICS TOPICS
•Women’s political participation: history
and trends
•Benefits
•Obstacles
•Minimum conditions
•International/regional/national
frameworks
•Impact of women's participation
•Resources

5. KEY TERMSKEY TERMS
•Empowerment
•Gender equality
•Critical mass
•Quota
•First past the post (FPTP)
•Proportional representation (PR)
•Transparency
•Caucus
Photo: Katie Croake, NDI

6. OVERALL GLOBAL TRENDSOVERALL GLOBAL TRENDS
Reaching parity in primary education
but…
•2/3 of illiterate adults are women
•Women’s wages are 70-90% those of
men
•Women spend at least twice as much
time as men on domestic work

7. OVERALL GLOBAL TRENDSOVERALL GLOBAL TRENDS
•Rates of physical violence vary from
several percent to over 59%
•Gender digital divide
•Women more likely to live in poverty

8. EXERCISEEXERCISE
Women in Politics Quiz
Photo: www.suffrage-centenniel.org

9. HISTORY OF WOMEN’S HISTORY OF WOMEN’S
POLITICAL PARTICIPATIONPOLITICAL PARTICIPATION
•Right to stand for election
US (1788)
•Right to vote
New Zealand (1893)
•First parliamentarians
Finland (1907)
•First head of state
Mongolia (1953)

10. WOMEN IN POLITICS: GLOBAL WOMEN IN POLITICS: GLOBAL
TRENDSTRENDS
•Women in parliament: 20.3%
Rwanda: 56.3%
•33 parliamentary lower chambers with
30% or more women
•Presiding officers: 15.1%
•7 countries: no women
•16.7% of ministerial posts
•17 heads of government
Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images

11. REGIONAL TRENDSREGIONAL TRENDS
Rank Lower Upper
•Kosovo 24 31.8%
•Macedonia26 30.9%
•Serbia 56 22%
•Bulgaria 61 20.8%
•Slovakia 80 16%
•Romania103 11.2% 5.9%

12. REGIONAL QUOTASREGIONAL QUOTAS
Country Quota System
Kosovo 30%-N Open PR, every 3rd
Macedonia 30%-N,L Closed PR, every 3rd
Serbia 30%-N, L PR, every 4th
Bulgaria FPTP/PR
Slovakia PR
Romania MMP

13. LOCAL TRENDSLOCAL TRENDS
•1935: women’s political rights
recognized
•Advances in parliament: from
9% to 14%
•1 parliamentary committee
chair
•1 of 26 ministries headed by a woman
•Men hold 82% of executive positions

14. EXERCISEEXERCISE
Brainstorm: Why women?
Photo: NDI

15. WOMEN’S POLITICAL WOMEN’S POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION: BENEFITSPARTICIPATION: BENEFITS
•Higher standards of living
•Concerns of marginalized voters
represented
•Collaborative leadership styles
•Work across party lines
•Peace building
•Better decisions

16. BENEFITSBENEFITS
“Success without democracy is
improbable. Democracy without women
is impossible.”
“The political participation of women
results in tangible gains for democracy,
including greater responsiveness to
citizen needs, increased cooperation
across party and ethnic lines, and more
sustainable peace.”
- Madeleine K. Albright

17. WOMEN IN POLITICS: VOTERSWOMEN IN POLITICS: VOTERS
•Fundamental right
•Barriers
•Voter and civic education
•When women vote, women win
Photo: NDI

18. WOMEN IN POLITICAL PARTIESWOMEN IN POLITICAL PARTIES
•Importance of women as party
members and leaders
•Benefits to the party
•Women’s wings
Photo: Amy Hamelin, NDI

19. WOMEN IN CIVIL SOCIETYWOMEN IN CIVIL SOCIETY
•Women as agents of change
Photo: NDI

20. EXERCISEEXERCISE
Women’s political participation:
identifying helping and hindering forces
Image: Inter-parliamentary Union

21. OBSTACLES TO WOMEN’S OBSTACLES TO WOMEN’S
POLITICAL PARTICIPATIONPOLITICAL PARTICIPATION
•Structural
–Legal
–Economic
–Educational
•Social/cultural/religious
•Time and space
•Physical security
•Lack of confidence

22. MINIMUM CONDITIONS FOR MINIMUM CONDITIONS FOR
POLITICAL PARTICIPATIONPOLITICAL PARTICIPATION
•Access to positions
of power
•Transparency
•Changing cultural
norms
•Women’s economic
empowerment
•Political will
Photo: Amy Hamelin, NDI

23. MINIMUM CONDITIONSMINIMUM CONDITIONS
•Voice
–Empowerment
–Critical mass
•Access
–Representative resources
–Material and economic resources
–Democratic/cultural space
–Information – gender-disaggregated
•Capacity

24. GOALSGOALS
We want MORE:
•(informed) women voters
•women party leaders
•elected women at all levels
•effective women leaders
•inclusive party platforms
•inclusive public policy
Photo: Washington Post

25. GLOBAL FRAMEWORKSGLOBAL FRAMEWORKS
•CEDAW (1979)
–International bill of rights for women
–Defines discrimination
–States commit to end discrimination
•Beijing Platform for Action (1995)
–Agenda for women's empowerment
–Aims to remove obstacles to women's
active participation

26. GLOBAL FRAMEWORKSGLOBAL FRAMEWORKS
•Millennium Development Goals (2001)
–promote gender equality and
empower women
•UN Security Council Resolutions
–1325: Women’s participation in peace
negotiations and reconstruction
–Subsequent Resolutions: 1820,1888,
1889 and 1960

27. REGIONAL AND NATIONAL REGIONAL AND NATIONAL
FRAMEWORKSFRAMEWORKS
•Regional
–Southern African Development Community
Protocol on Gender and Development
(2008)
–African Union Protocol on the Rights of
Women (2003)
•National
–National Policy Framework for Women’s
Empowerment and Gender Equality

28. DONOR POLICIESDONOR POLICIES
•US Agency for International
Development (USAID)
•SIDA, CIDA, DIFD
•European Union
•World Bank

29. MOBILIZING WOMEN FOR MOBILIZING WOMEN FOR
CHANGE: MECHANISMSCHANGE: MECHANISMS
•Women’s parliamentary caucuses
•Women’s wings within political parties
•Civil society organizations
•Cross-sector groups
Photo: NDI

30. WOMEN WORKING TOGETHERWOMEN WORKING TOGETHER
•Albania: Equality in Decision Making
oMulti-partisan network
oAwareness raising campaign on domestic
violence
oLobbying campaign on women’s economic
empowerment
Photo: NDI

31. •Burkina Faso: CEDAW Coalition
o17 women’s NGOs
oFirst CEDAW shadow report produced by
coalition
WOMEN WORKING TOGETHERWOMEN WORKING TOGETHER
Photo: NDI

32. •Iraq National Women’s Platform
o Multi-partisan and multi-sector
o Identified critical issues and policy
solutions
o Used platform to coordinate advocacy and

legislative initiatives
WOMEN WORKING TOGETHERWOMEN WORKING TOGETHER

33. •Macedonia: Women’s Parliamentary
Club
oAdvocated for establishment of quota
oLobbied for adoption of Protocol on Human
Trafficking
oProposed amendment on funding for
domestic violence
WOMEN WORKING TOGETHERWOMEN WORKING TOGETHER

34. NDI RESOURCESNDI RESOURCES
•iKNOW Politics: www.iknowpolitics.org
•Win with Women Global Action Plan
•Political Party Assessment Tool
•Empowering Women for Stronger
Political Parties
•Democracy and the Challenge of
Change

35. WOMEN AND POLITICS WOMEN AND POLITICS REVIEWREVIEW
•Women’s participation
Recent development
Numbers growing but not quickly
•Brings benefits
•Faces obstacles
•International/regional/national
frameworks
•Women working together make a
difference