WOMEN IN POLITICS
OVERVIEW
Gender, Women and Politics
The National Democratic Institute
INTRODUCTIONS/
GROUND RULES
• Introductions
• Ground Rules
• Ice Breaker Exercise
WOMEN IN POLITICS OVERVIEW
OBJECTIVES
• Understand the need for women’s
political participation and the related
legal framework within global, regional
and country-specific contexts
Photo: AFP/Getty Images
WOMEN IN POLITICS TOPICS
• Women’s political participation: history
and trends
• Benefits
• Obstacles
• Minimum conditions
• International/regional/national
frameworks
• Impact of women's participation
• Resources
KEY TERMS
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Empowerment
Gender equality
Critical mass
Quota
First past the post (FPTP)
Proportional representation (PR)
Transparency
Caucus
Photo: Katie Croake, NDI
OVERALL 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
OVERALL GLOBAL TRENDS
• Rates of physical violence vary from
several percent to over 59%
• Gender digital divide
• Women more likely to live in poverty
EXERCISE
Women in Politics Quiz
Photo: www.suffrage-centenniel.org
HISTORY OF WOMEN’S
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
• Right to stand for election
 US (1788)
• Right to vote
 New Zealand (1893)
• First parliamentarians
 Finland (1907)
• First head of state
 Mongolia (1953)
WOMEN IN POLITICS: GLOBAL
TRENDS
• 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
REGIONAL TRENDS
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Kosovo
Macedonia
Serbia
Bulgaria
Slovakia
Romania
Rank
24
26
56
61
80
103
Lower Upper
31.8%
30.9%
22%
20.8%
16%
11.2% 5.9%
REGIONAL QUOTAS
Country
Quota
System
Kosovo
Macedonia
Serbia
Bulgaria
Slovakia
Romania
30%-N
30%-N,L
30%-N, L
Open PR, every 3rd
Closed PR, every 3rd
PR, every 4th
FPTP/PR
PR
MMP
LOCAL 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
EXERCISE
Brainstorm: Why women?
Photo: NDI
WOMEN’S POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION: BENEFITS
• Higher standards of living
• Concerns of marginalized voters
represented
• Collaborative leadership styles
• Work across party lines
• Peace building
• Better decisions
BENEFITS
“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
WOMEN IN POLITICS: VOTERS
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Fundamental right
Barriers
Voter and civic education
When women vote, women win
Photo: NDI
WOMEN IN POLITICAL PARTIES
• Importance of women as party
members and leaders
• Benefits to the party
• Women’s wings
Photo: Amy Hamelin, NDI
WOMEN IN CIVIL SOCIETY
• Women as agents of change
Photo: NDI
EXERCISE
Women’s political participation:
identifying helping and hindering forces
Image: Inter-parliamentary Union
OBSTACLES TO WOMEN’S
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
• Structural
– Legal
– Economic
– Educational
• Social/cultural/religious
• Time and space
• Physical security
• Lack of confidence
MINIMUM CONDITIONS FOR
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
• Access to positions
of power
• Transparency
• Changing cultural
norms
• Women’s economic
empowerment
• Political will
Photo: Amy Hamelin, NDI
MINIMUM CONDITIONS
• Voice
– Empowerment
– Critical mass
• Access
– Representative resources
– Material and economic resources
– Democratic/cultural space
– Information – gender-disaggregated
• Capacity
GOALS
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
GLOBAL 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
GLOBAL 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
REGIONAL AND NATIONAL
FRAMEWORKS
• 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
DONOR POLICIES
• US Agency for International
Development (USAID)
• SIDA, CIDA, DIFD
• European Union
• World Bank
MOBILIZING WOMEN FOR
CHANGE: MECHANISMS
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Women’s parliamentary caucuses
Women’s wings within political parties
Civil society organizations
Cross-sector groups
Photo: NDI
WOMEN WORKING TOGETHER
• Albania: Equality in Decision Making
o Multi-partisan network
o Awareness raising campaign on domestic
violence
o Lobbying campaign on women’s economic
empowerment
Photo: NDI
WOMEN WORKING TOGETHER
• Burkina Faso: CEDAW Coalition
o 17 women’s NGOs
o First CEDAW shadow report produced by
coalition
Photo: NDI
WOMEN WORKING TOGETHER
• 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 TOGETHER
• Macedonia: Women’s Parliamentary
Club
o Advocated for establishment of quota
o Lobbied for adoption of Protocol on Human
Trafficking
o Proposed amendment on funding for
domestic violence
NDI 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
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WOMEN AND POLITICS REVIEW
• Women’s participation
 Recent development
 Numbers growing but not quickly
• Brings benefits
• Faces obstacles
• International/regional/national
frameworks
• Women working together make a
difference