Women's Leadership

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Challenges for women in politics: the glass ceiling - stereotypes in terms of portfolio assignments

“The principles of gender-sensitive parliaments can be advanced if women occupy leadership positions as parliamentarians and as key members of parliamentary staff, as they are in a position to influence policy directions, change parliamentary procedure and practices, serve as role models to other...

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Young Women and Political Leadership

Welcome to the circle on Young Women and Political Leadership. In this circle, iKNOW Politics members are invited to share their ideas and experiences about the participation of young women in politics and public life. It would be interesting to hear what iKNOW Politics members think are are the...

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Violence Against Women: What can parliaments do to protect women?

Watch the fourth in a series of short videos on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This video shares some shocking facts about violence against women and outlines steps that parliaments can take against this scourge.This is a partnership video project between the IPU, Arizona State...

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Michela Montevecchi

Michela Montevecchi is a Secretary of the Senate Presidency of Italy.This interview was conducted in March 2019 in the margins of the sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) in New York.

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Violence against women in politics a growing problem

While women have made significant inroads into politics in recent years, their involvement has spurred attacks, intimidation and harassment in many parts of the world, says Mona Lena Krook, a professor of political science at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and author of the new book ...

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The 1975 Women in Politics Conference

In 1973 Elizabeth Reid became the first ever women’s adviser to a national leader, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. She went on to have a distinguished and influential career at the UN.To mark International Women's Year, Elizabeth organised the Women and Politics Conference which brought 700 women to...

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Harriet Baldwin

Harriet Baldwin is a Member of Parliament from The United Kingdom.This interview was conducted in March 2019 in the margins of the sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) in New York.

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‘Reluctant politician; Forever social worker’—Congress’ MP from chattisgarh Jyotsna Mahant

Congress’ lone female MP in Chhattisgarh, Jyotsna Mahant’s entry in politics is a result of nepotism. It’s the same as how several women who belong to political parties enter politics, but what is unique about her is that she has already been working in social work for close to four decades now....

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Toolkit: Advancing Women Leaders in Africa

In March 2017, Dr. Joyce Banda launched her paper, “From Day One: An Agenda for Advancing Women Leaders in Africa” as the crux of her research while serving as a Distinguished Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center. As a woman leader and former President of Malawi, Dr. Banda knows the barriers...

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Guide on Women’s Political Networks: Defining Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Fostering Change

Since 1995, the world average of women in parliament has grown from 11.3 percent to 22.7 percent. Although progress is slow going, multiple initiatives can be credited for building momentum behind equal representation. The Beijing Platform for Action, an agenda for women’s empowerment, is one...

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Manual for facilitators: breaking barriers and empowering young women to participate in democratic politics

This research aims to map young women’s political participation at the Local Government, Presidential and Parliamentary levels including university student bodies. It also aims to track the political engagement and participation of young female aspirants and their strategies for engaging in local...

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Learning opportunity: Program in Gender, Leadership and Public Policy

The Program in Gender, Leadership and Public Policy was founded more than 40 years ago and has been a premiere training ground for women leaders. The program’s academic home is within the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The...

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Promoting Women's Political Participation: A MONITORING GUIDE

The program “Enhancing Women’s Political Participation in China,” implemented between 2011 and 2015 by the All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF) with the support of the UN Women’s Fund for Gender Equality, has three goals: (1) to improve laws and policies to create an institutional environment...

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An Oxfam Guide on Transformative Leadership for Women’s Rights

In this guide written by Jeanette Kloosterman of Oxfam Novib and Chloe Safier of Oxfam International, Oxfam explores the meanings of the “Transformative Leadership for Women’s Rights” approach by distinguishing transformative leadership from other forms of leadership. Read this guide to learn what...

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