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Regional Forum on Equal Participation in Decision-Making

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Sat, 2011-11-05 04:02
2011-11-15
2011-11-17
US/Eastern
Click here
City & Province/State: 
Istanbul
Country: 
Turkey
Venue: 

Dedemand Hotel - Istanbul

Description: 

UNDP is organizing a Regional Forum on Equal Participation in Decision-Making (November 15-17, Istanbul), with co-funding from the UNDP-Japan Women in Development Fund. The Forum will explore opportunities to strengthen the capacities of the institutions represented in eliminating challenges and capitalizing on opportunities related to women’s equal participation in decision-making.

The five institutions represented will be:
• Political parties
• Parliament
• Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs)
• Public administration 
• Civil society

Most importantly, the Forum will identify the platforms where the collaborative efforts of these institutions will lead to greater gender equality results in decision-making processes. It will also explore why quotas can function as a catalyst in these efforts.

For more information please visit. www.undpeuropeandcis.org/gender

REGIONAL FORUM ON “EQUAL PARTICIPATION IN DECISION-MAKING”

Istanbul, November 15-17, 2011

Day 1: Tuesday, November 15, 2011  

Session I:   Prompters: Capitalizing on the opportunities

Session II:   Mobilizing and building alliances for women’s participation in decision-making
 

 
  • Mobilizing for the establishment of national gender equality mechanisms

by Çiğdem Aydın, President, Association for the Support and Training of Women Candidates (KA.DER), Turkey

 

View more presentations from UNDP in Europe and CIS

Session III:   Quotas as tools to enhance women’s participation in decision-making

  • Special temporary measures: Legal obligations under CEDAW by Violeta Neubauer, Coordinator for International Cooperation, Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Equal Opportunities, CEDAW Committee Member
  • Introducing legislated and voluntary party quotas – recent experiences from Montenegro by Snežana Jonica, Member of Parliament, Representative of Montenegro to the Council of Europe
  • Women and quotas in a pre EU accession zone by Teuta Sahatqija, Chair of the Women’s Cross-party Caucus at the Assembly of Kosovo*
View more presentations from UNDP in Europe and CIS

DAY 2, Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Session IV: Working with political parties to enhance women’s political participation

 
 
  • Overview on key challenges and opportunities – following the electoral cycle approach 
    by Julie Ballington,Gender Adviser, UNDP Democratic Governance Group/Gender Team

 

  • Experiences  from  Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey

Gulnara Ibraeva,Independent Expert, Kyrgyzstan

Rusudan Kervalishvili,Vice Speaker of the Parliament, Chair of Gender Advisory Council, Georgia

Güldal Akşit,President, Justice and Development Party (AKP)Women’s Branch, Turkey

Seniye Nazik Işık,Secretary General, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Women’s Branch, Turkey
 

Session V:Integrating gender equality in public administration

 
 

Promoting Innovative Approaches to Gender Equality : experience made from an international perspective by Annie Demirjian, UNDP

View more presentations from UNDP in Europe and CIS

Session VI: An enabling environment for women’s electoral participation:The role of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs

  • Introduction to the electoral cycle approach
    by Julie Ballington, Gender Adviser, UNDP Democratic Governance Group/Gender Team
  • Enforcing candidate quota rules on party lists for women candidates
    by Irena Hadžiabdić, Member of the Central Election Commission, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Political Finance as a Driver for Women Candidates : Promoting  women’s access to electoral finance 
    by Zurab Kharatishvili, Chair of the Central Election Commission, Georgia                             

Canada: Women more likely to recruit other women for political office

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Mon, 2011-08-08 11:23

Summary: 

The gender composition of those responsible for candidate recruitment plays a crucial role in either encouraging or discouraging women candidates to run for office, according to a recent study in Political Research Quarterly (PRQ) published by SAGE on behalf of the Western Political Science Association.

"Researchers Christine Cheng and Margit Tavits looked at "party gatekeepers" (local party presidents) from the five major political parties in the 2004 and 2006 Canadian national elections. Unlike the US, the nomination of party candidates for the Canadian Parliament is solely the prerogative of the local party associations, and local presidents are in a position to both formally and informally influence the nomination of candidates. The research found an important relationship between the gender of party gatekeepers and who ultimately is nominated to run for office."

The study highlighted three distinct mechanisms where the gender of the party gatekeepers was likely to affect whether the local party candidate was a man or a woman: 1) gatekeepers are more likely to directly recruit and promote people like themselves, 2) the professional and social networks of women gatekeepers are more likely to include qualified women who would be suitable parliamentary candidates which increases the opportunities for direct recruitment of female candidates and, 3) the presence of female party gatekeepers sends an encouraging signal to potential female candidates that women are welcome and can be active in politics, creating a virtuous cycle of participation.

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To read the complete news EurekAlert published on 8 August 2011.


From Words to Action: Best Practices for Women's Political Participation in Latin American Political Parties

Even though women represent more than half of the voting population in many countries and have been widely incorporated into the economic sphere over the last decade, reality tells us that there is still an important gap between these advances and women's access to elected or political party positions. While considerable improvements have taken place in women's participation in political decision-making bodies, the numbers continue to show substantial levels of underrepresentation. In the eighteen Latin American countries examined in this study, there is an average of two women representative for every ten male mayors, and those countries with an Upper Chamber have less than two women Senators for every ten men.

In oder to resolve this asymmetry, and in response to the demands of socially and politically organized women - as well as the international consensus supporting them- several countries have chosen to include quota mechanisms in electoral regulations. These quotas have been functioning with greater or lesser effectiveness depending on the context and regulatory framework in which they are applied.

This manual provides political party members and leaders with the means to implement concrete strategies for achieving equality for women within party organizations and to access positions of power and representation.

More than a year of research and field work in 18 Latin American countries is condensed in this publication, which describe 95 "good practices" implemented by party organizations. It also analyzes the progress and the challenges still facing women in politics, both in the region and in each of the countries studied.

The production of an English version was undertaken by UNDP and was made possible through the generous support of the United Nation’s Development Programmes Gender Team, in the Bureau for Development Policy.

Turkey: Women's political group seeks to get more women running in futures elections

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Tue, 2011-04-26 05:46

Summary: 

Despite failing to reach its target of 275 female candidates for Parliament in the general elections, a women’s political group has vowed to keep fighting and seek more female representation in future polls.

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TO read the complete article please visit Hurriyet Daily News 


Ukraine: Lack of women in top government posts highlights deep problems in administration

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Mon, 2011-03-21 05:24

Summary: 

Lilia Ostapenko writes about the role of women in modern Ukrainian society. "Traditionally, as part of her Soviet heritage, Ukrainian woman always carried a hammer and a sickle alongside her man, picked up a rifle during war time, and laid train rails and asphalt, if needed, being an equal partner in every aspect of life.Things seemed to change with our new Ukrainian government, including a role played by the first lady."


 


 

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To read the full article please visit Kyiv Post


Ghana: Set Aside Some Funds For Women In Politics - Otiko Proposes

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Mon, 2011-03-14 05:28

Summary: 

The National Women’s Organizer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Otiko Afisah-Djaba is proposing that some funds in the national kitty be allocated for women participation in politics.

Otiko, who identified raising funds by women as one of the factors bedeviling their active involvement in politics, opined that when politically-inclined women in politics have access to more funds, they will not need to fall on a man.

Body: 

To read the complete news story please visit Peace FM Online.


Global Task Force on the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Mon, 2011-03-07 14:15
2011-03-11
2011-03-13
US/Eastern
Click here
City & Province/State: 
Mexico City
Country: 
Mexico
Venue: 

Mexican Senate

Description: 

GOPAC Women’s Network
This workshop will consider the introduction of a women’s’ network of current and former parliamentarians and its potential roles. Participants will be invited to share empirical evidence from heir own experiences regarding, but not limited to:
• women parliamentarian roles in different national political systems and governance structures;
• incentives and barriers for women parliamentarians in preventing corruption and dealing with specific issues: and
• how to move from advocacy and lobbying to political results which requires political processes, engagement and coalitions.

The aim of the workshop is therefore to:
• test the proposal and get feedback from GOPAC members and potential partners;
• provide an initial list of issues for consideration and an early work plan; and
• adjust this document as needed on an ongoing basis.

The attached document has been prepared by GOPAC Secretariat in consultation with parliamentarians, UNDP and others although a more significant consultation will be required to identify partners and further engage GOPAC membership.

1. Objective of GOPAC Women’s Network
Although there are many women parliamentarian networks3, there does not appear to be one global network focussed solely on the prevention of corruption through good governance and oversight. The idea for this initiative came out of the GOPAC Global Task Force on the UNCAC (UN Convention Against Corruption) in Manila in October 2010. Parliamentarians discussed the fact that in Africa especially that the voice of women parliamentarians in some cases garnered greater political attention. There are also a number of related ideas, that corruption has a greater impact on women and children and also that the perspective of women parliamentarians could be an important addition on certain issues related to corruption.

It is therefore proposed to create the GOPAC Women’s Network (GWN) that will bring together women parliamentarians and supporting partners including male parliamentarians, international agencies and representatives of civil society, media and academia who have the common goal of furthering the integration of gender considerations in the prevention of corruption. The work of GWN will be aligned with the UN Convention Against Corruption or other conventions where appropriate.

2. Secretariat
Subject to funding availability, the Secretary for this network could be provided by the GOPAC Global Secretariat to build additional links to GOPAC programming.

3. Approach and Potential Impacts
The proposed approach includes multi‐stakeholder regional workshops and training events with parliamentarians and others. The aim of these events would be to establish regional strategies that are linked to changes in specific countries by working with GOPAC chapters at both the regional and country level. It is therefore expected that a number of products will also be developed, e.g. handbooks and toolkits of various types at the global and regional levels to support parliamentarians in this effort.

The potential impacts or results of the network include but are not limited to the following:
• provide women with training and tools to raise corruption issues in Parliament;
• establish women’s’ caucuses on anti‐corruption issues to support the implementation and review of the UNCAC where such an approach is feasible;
• create an additional voice to press for parliamentary committee hearings on corruption;
• increase the likelihood that women parliamentarians can use their knowledge and skills in national
GOPAC chapters;
• increase the likelihood that state budgets reflect gender concerns; and
• increase female representation in Parliaments in selected countries.

4. Partnerships
Partnerships are seen as a key aspect of GWN at the global, regional and country level. The GOPAC Global Secretariat and individual GOPAC members could contact organizations on the international and national levels respectively such as UNDP, WBI, USAID, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Hansard Society, TI, OECD and iKNOW politics to name just a few.

5. Strategy
• Develop or identify general products and tools that can serve as a starting point to regionalize or nationalize the ideas.
• Regionalize products and approaches through initial workshops and other events and build formal and informal networks in regions and countries with links to GOPAC chapters to support the implementation and review of UNCAC. Also one GOPAC objective is to ensure chapters have more women members.
• Monitor and evaluate and share lessons learned.

6. Projects
The GOPAC Women’s Network, subject to interest and funding from partners, could undertake projects in the above strategic areas.

Products and Tools
• make linkages where appropriate to the UNDP‐GOPAC Toolkit re gender based analysis and other
aspects;
• identify useful tools from other organizations e.g. UNDP, WBI;
• develop a web site that among other things would capture what women parliamentarians have achieved and the lessons learned in preventing corruption and showing leadership and also work with partners,for example, there could be a dedicated section on iKNOW Politics (pending discussion); and
• build capacity for all GOPAC members in gender based analysis as part of the parliamentary oversight
process, including tools and other guidance.

Regionalize
• hold multi‐stakeholder events as stated under Approach above;
• advocate integration of women parliamentarians in corruption prevention initiatives and GOPAC
chapters;
• identify and develop regional strategies and identify local partners; and
• identify lessons learned and build or strengthen capacity for women parliamentarians in countries where female representation is recognized as a need (e.g. Westminster Foundation for Democracy is working in Arab region in this regard – to be confirmed).
Monitor

• monitor developments and communicate information on parliamentary performance in this area; and

• adjust global and regional strategies as required.

Draft resolution for GOPAC Women’s Network
GOPAC resolves to pursue the creation and funding of a GOPAC Women’s Network of current and former women parliamentarians and supporting partners, including men parliamentarians, international agencies, representatives from civil society and others such as academia

GOPAC Policy on the UNCAC, Kuwait Resolution, November 2008

GTF UNCAC – (GOPAC main site)

UNCAC Toolkit – Short

UNCAC Toolkit – Long

UNDP Guide on UNCAC Self-assessment

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Signatories to the UNCAC Chart


Bahrain: Women take a back seat ahead of Bahrain elections

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Mon, 2010-09-13 14:57

Summary: 

Only 10 have announced plans to run for legislature. Manama As candidates began to sign up, hopes began to fade last night that a high number of women would run for a seat in Bahrain’s lower legislative chamber.

Political hopefuls have five days to register their names in one of the country’s five election supervision bureaus, one for each governorate. Registration for the municipal elections will start on September 20.

Body: 

To read the complete news story please visit ZAWYA.com


Nigeria: Minister Vows to Empower Women in Elections

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Thu, 2010-06-03 09:48

Summary: 

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development (FMWSD), Mrs. Josephine Anenih, in Abuja on Tuesday vowed to empower women to participate fully in the 2011 general elections. "It is my goal to pursue the ministry's agenda, particularly that of empowerment of women and to facilitate their full participation in all spheres of life, particularly in politics as we draw close to the forthcoming general elections," she said. The minister said the drive for women's empowerment was the expected role of the states ministries of women affairs and social development and the sectoral partners through the mechanism of gender mainstreaming.

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To read the complete news story please visit AllAfrica.com


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Submitted by mardiko on Wed, 2009-11-11 00:26