Dear friends,
We are pleased to share with you this newsletter for the latest news and resources on women's leadership and political participation. Click on the buttons below for the Arabic and French versions. We hope you enjoy this update!
Take care,
Team iKNOW Politics
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Closing the Gender Gap in Politics |
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While some countries have made progress towards gender balance in politics, the vast majority are lagging behind. In 114 countries, between 10% and 29.9% of parliamentarians are women, and in 25 countries, women make up less than 10% of parliamentarians. Women account for less than 30% of ministers in 130 countries, 12 of which have no women's representation at all. Gaps in politics persist because of structural barriers and challenges that reinforce discriminatory beliefs, norms, practices, and policies. |
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In this year’s Agreed Conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women, States agreed to a raise the bar to 50/50 gender balance in all elected positions by taking all necessary measures to break barriers and accelerate progress. At the current rate of progress, gender parity will not be reached in national legislatures before 2063, and among Heads of Government before 2150. The world cannot afford to wait any longer to achieve equal representation for women. With 50/50 gender balance in politics as a global goal, fast tracked actions are needed to close the gender gap in politics once and for all.
From 11 May to 1 June 2021, we convened an e-Discussion that raised awareness about the slow progress towards achieving full and equal participation of women in politics and gathered experiences and recommendations on how to best accelerate progress and close the gender gap in politics. Click here to read the summary of experts' contributions.
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In Canada, a wave of Indigenous women won leadership roles previously held only by men. Leaders and advocates argue it is a sign of the times as communities are in crisis and want change. Click here to learn more.
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After the most contentious election in Samoa’s history, the Court of Appeal’s order brought an end to the 22-year reign of Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi as Prime Minister, who is succeeded by Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, the first woman to hold the post. Click here to learn more.
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Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez carried out a sweeping Cabinet reshuffle, boosting the representation of women to 63.6% and reducing the average age of ministers to 50. Click here to learn more.
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The United States President Biden has nominated or announced his intent to nominate a higher percentage of women to federal judgeships over the first six months of his presidency than any of his predecessors. Click here to learn more.
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Somalia is halving the registration fees for women candidates to encourage more participation in the upcoming elections, reducing fees to $20,000 for the Senate and to $15,000 for the Lower House. Click here to learn more.
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Chile’s newly elected and gender balanced Constitutional Assembly chose Elisa Loncon, an Indigenous Mapuche woman and academic, to lead the body tasked with drafting new text to replace the Pinochet-era constitution. Click here to learn more.
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Gertraud Salzmann
Member of Parliament
Austria
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Leandre Dal Ponte
Member of Parliament
Brazil
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We share news and resources in four languages for and about women in politics daily on our platform and social media pages. Our online library features more than 20,000 news and resources, including world news, reports, research papers, training material, videos, case studies, databases, and blogs. Browse our library and our enhanced elections page for unique access to insight on women's participation in politics. Do not hesitate to share your feedback with us by replying to this email [email protected].
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Our partner organizations are contributing with their specific mandate and expertise to make advancements in women’s political participation a reality. Find below some of the latest resources from International IDEA, IPU, UNDP, and UN Women.
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iKNOW Politics is a unique platform on women in politics, designed to connect members and build knowledge through e-discussions, webinars, interviews, videos, a rich online library of resources, a calendar of events and daily world news. Created in 2007, iKNOW Politics is a joint project of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (UN Women).
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