User login
 
Consolidated Response

Consolidated Response on the Impact of New ICTs on Information Behaviour of Women in Politics

According to Marcia J Bates, professor at UCLA, "Information behaviour is the currently preferred term used to describe the many ways in which human beings interact with information, in particular, the ways in which people seek and utilize information.” How do we find the information we need?  How do we identify what it is we are lacking, and how do we go about obtaining it?  What sources do we turn to, and how do we process, analyse and distribute knowledge?  Though these may be common practices these are not the questions asked often enough by women in politics, but they are essential to the actualisation of (political) obligations and goals.  Efficient and targeted information behaviour is invaluable to any political campaign, so how do women candidates and voters make the most of this? 

This consolidated response will explore the use of new communication technologies along with detailing the difficulties women encounter in their information behaviour.  It will also highlight some strategies that have been used to overcome these, focusing mainly on networking, civil society and education at large.   

Consolidated Response on Experiences in Implementing Parity Laws to Improve Women's Political Representation

The adoption of the parity law in Senegal is an important step on the way to increased political participation and equal political representation of women.  Senegal’s women were rightfully proud of this landmark achievement, but other countries’ experiences with parity laws show that there is long road between the adoption of such laws and their effective implementation. 

This consolidated response will detail how parity laws have been implemented elsewhere, what aspects of their implementation bring most difficulties, and how such potential stumbling blocks could be overcome.  It will focus in particular on current developments in the Arab states, where the recent revolutions have led to the revision of certain political and electoral systems.  

Consolidated Response on the Impact of Illiteracy on Young Women's Political Participation

In electoral and decision-making processes, women - and especially young women - often find themselves spectators rather than active participants. While there are many factors at play, non-education stands out as one of the key reasons for the lack of young women’s political participation. Women remain disproportionally affected by illiteracy in all parts of the world, but in Africa and Asia in particular girls face considerable difficulties acquiring basic reading and writing skills.

This consolidated response will first discuss how illiteracy and non-education affect political participation for young women. It will then examine how these issues can best be tackled by reviewing a number of strategies, policies and special programmes that have been used around the world to tackle illiteracy and help girls and young women engage in politics.

Consolidated Response on Polling Station Management

In most countries a woman’s right to vote is enshrined in law, leaving no formal legal barriers to the electoral participation of women. In practice, however, many obstacles still keep women from casting their vote. The hurdles can be daunting, especially for women looking to run for office and for women in post-conflict situations, and are often difficult to overcome.

This consolidated response considers how polling station management can increase women’s electoral participation. While polling station management offers no quick fix for the low level of women’s electoral participation in some parts of the world, it can make a substantial difference on voting day.

Consolidated Response on Women and Referenda

This consolidated response highlights the important role that women play in referendum campaigns. It also discusses the importance of active participation of women and sensitivity to potential barriers to women’s participation in a referendum, especially in a post-conflict environment. The consolidated response provides examples from countries that have gone through the process of referenda and details how women and gender-related issues were addressed on these occasions.

Consolidated Response on the Prevention of Family Voting

This consolidated response includes descriptions of family and proxy voting and provides recommendations on how to eliminate family voting through holding trainings and public awareness campaigns, strengthening legislative frameworks, and sensitizing election commissioners and observers on issues faced by women.

Consolidated Response on the Involvement of Young Women in Politics

This consolidated response highlights the skills and techniques that young women can use to get involved and gain recognition in politics. The response specifically highlights the importance of developing strong communications skills, building support networks both within and outside political parties, volunteering and getting involved in community and non-profit organizations, and staying informed about socio-political issues.

Consolidated Response on the Impact of Religion on Women’s Leadership Roles in Politics and Public Life

This consolidated response highlights the impact of religious norms and religion on women’s political participation. The response also describes women’s participation in religious institutions and religious political parties, as well as women’s resistance to religious limitations to their political participation.

Consolidated response on training as a strategy to empower women in politics in Latin America

This consolidated response is based on research conducted by the iKNOW Politics staff and contributions presented by the network´s experts. The consolidated response explores perceptions on training as a strategy to empower women in politics and includes a list of some virtual experiences on training courses in Latin America.

Consolidated Response on Best Practices Used by Political Parties to Promote Women in Politics

This consolidated response highlights strategies and policies that may be used in addition to gender quotas by political parties to increase the numbers of women in politics. The strategies described in this response include establishing women’s sections in political parties, providing women candidates with training and financial assistance to hold effective campaigns, creating a forum for women to lobby and discuss policy, and offering political parties incentives for promoting women in politics.

Consolidated Response on Women’s Political Participation in Traditional and Conservative Societies

This consolidated response highlights types of positive action measures, advocacy campaigns, women’s movements, and educational opportunities that help women in traditional and conservative societies to overcome some of the barriers that they face in politics and public life.

Consolidated Response on Gender Quotas in African Countries

This consolidated response highlights various types of quotas adopted in African countries and provides details on the implementation of quotas under different electoral systems. The response also includes several annexes with data on quotas based on country and on quota type.

Consolidated Response on Gender Mainstreaming in the Americas

This consolidated response highlights some of the important aspects and examples of mainstreaming gender into legislative frameworks in the Americas. Some of these include the creation of national machineries to promote gender equal policies, the impact of international conventions and agreements on governments’ commitment to advance gender equality, and the use of gender-sensitive budgets and initiatives as a tool to promote equal economic and social opportunities for both men and women.

Consolidated Response: Profile of Women Elected to Local Governments in Latin America

This consolidated response is based on the contributions of iKNOW Politics Experts and a complementary research done by the iKNOW Politics team on the profile of women elected to local governments in Latin America.

Consolidated Response on Women’s Participation in Local Governments

This consolidated response analyzes current situation of women’s participation in local governments around the world and discusses the impact of women’s engagement in local politics.