Youth
One hundred and twenty-two years after women in Australia won the right to vote and stand for parliament, it’s fair to say we’ve come a long way on women’s representation in politics.
In 2024, women make up 38 per cent of the House of Representatives, while 57 per cent of Senators are women.
But if we look a bit closer, there are plenty of issues preventing Australia from reaching total gender parity in federal parliament, and we remain a long way off changing attitudes so that the women who do end up sitting in a parliamentary chamber are treated equally to men.
Alarmingly, new research has confirmed there are still some pretty big barriers that are thwarting the political ambitions of young women. In a series of interviews with young people, it was clear that young women feel reluctant to become a member of federal parliament.
The study, led by Head of Politics and International Relations at Monash University, Dr Zareh Ghazarian, observed that gender stereotypes, women’s perceptions of their own knowledge and confidence, and the “toxic”, masculine culture of parliament were all preventing women from wanting to put their hands up for a career as an MP.
Read here the full article published by the Women’s Agenda on 15 April 2024.
Image source: Women’s Agenda
Last week, former prime minister Tony Abbott called for more women to be represented in the Australian parliament. While his comments were focused on the Liberal Party, they did remind us of the consistent gap that remains between the number of men and women in the nation’s parliament.
This is highly problematic, as a lack of women in the national legislature suggests our political system is misfiring.
The inequality of gender representation also undermines the democratic notion of government being for the people, by the people.
This problem isn’t unique to Australia, as many other countries continue to have fewer women than men representing the community in the national parliament.
Australia became a world leader when, in 1902, women gained the power to vote, and also stand for election to the parliament of Australia. But it took more than 40 years until, in 1943, Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney became the first women elected to the national parliament.
The situation has changed since the 1940s, but we’re still a long way from enjoying gender parity in parliament. For example, at the start of 2024, Australia was ranked 37th in the world for the percentage of women in its national parliament, with just 38% of seats in the House of Representatives (where governments are formed) being held by women. The story is somewhat better in the upper house, as 57% of seats are occupied by women.
Read here the full article published by the Monash University on 15 April 2024.
Image source: Monash University
Three quarters (77%) of women are not comfortable expressing political opinions online because of fears they will be targeted by harmful online behaviours such as misogyny, trolling, threats and harassment, according to new research published today (Wednesday 20 March) at AI UK, the UK's national showcase of data science and AI hosted by The Alan Turing Institute.
The survey found that while men and women reported seeing harmful content online almost equally overall, women reported being directly targeted by misogyny, cyberstalking, cyberflashing, eating disorder content, and image based sexual abuse to a significantly greater extent than men.
Women are also significantly more fearful of experiencing every type of harm that they were asked about.
The research also found that women were 96% more likely than men to say they had been left feeling sad or low as a result of an online experience, and 47% more likely than men to say they had been left with physical symptoms such as insomnia or headaches.
The research also looked at the use of safety tools and across all seven tools surveyed, including disabling location sharing, making accounts private and limiting who can engage with posts, women consistently report using these tools to a greater extent than men. This could suggest that women feel the need to do more to protect themselves from online harms.
Click here to read the full article published by The Alan Turing Institute on 20 March 2024.
Image source: The Alan Turing Institute
After an invigorating three-day assembly, the CSW68 Youth Forum, held on 15–17 March 2024, closed with renewed commitments and actionable insights. Aligned with this year’s Commission on the Status of Women priority theme, “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”, the Forum stood as a beacon for young voices ready to echo through the halls of global decision-making.
Meaningful engagement and diverse voices
The Youth Forum brought together a vibrant mosaic of more than 400 young leaders from across the globe, ranging from activists to experts with a rich diversity of experiences, including adolescents, young people with disabilities, indigenous youth, LGBTIQ+ youth, and more, adding depth to the dialogue on poverty eradication and galvanizing efforts to push forward for gender equality.
“It is high time that we stop thinking about you as the leaders of tomorrow and start working with you as the leaders of today”, said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.
Read here the full article published by UN Women on 20 March 2024.
Image source: UN Women
Youth leaders from around the world have come together to discuss their vision for ending poverty and advancing gender equality at the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) at the UN Headquarters in New York from 11 to 22 March. In this landmark election year, when 2.6 billion people are expected to cast their votes, young people – as voters, community members, and leaders – hold the power to demand higher investment in gender equality in countries, regions, and globally.
Here are the voices from some young women leaders attending CSW68 and the annual Youth Forum, reflecting on their priorities, challenges, and hopes.
Read here the full article published by UN Women on 18 March 2024.
Image source: UN Women
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations that promotes democratic elections has called for more youth participation and representation in Zimbabwe’s electoral and governance processes, citing the low number of young lawmakers in the country’s parliament.
In a statement highlighting the crucial importance of youth involvement in electoral affairs as enshrined in the constitution, ZESN said that despite constitutional provisions and global mandates advocating for youth empowerment, youth are still underrepresented in key electoral, governance, policy and legislative affairs.
The National Youth Day, which falls on February 21, was proclaimed and introduced by the Zimbabwe government in 2017 to recognize youth and celebrate their contributions to the development of Zimbabwe as well as for the young people to emulate the leadership values of the country’s liberation heroes.
Click here to read the full article published by 263 Chat on 21 February 2024.
Image source: 263 Chat
Last week, former prime minister Tony Abbott called for more women to be represented in the Australian parliament. While his comments were focused on the Liberal Party, they did remind us of the consistent gap that remains between the number of men and women in the nation’s parliament.
This is highly problematic, as a lack of women in the national legislature suggests our political system is misfiring.
The inequality of gender representation also undermines the democratic notion of government being for the people, by the people.
This problem isn’t unique to Australia, as many other countries continue to have fewer women than men representing the community in the national parliament.
Australia became a world leader when, in 1902, women gained the power to vote, and also stand for election to the parliament of Australia. But it took more than 40 years until, in 1943, Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney became the first women elected to the national parliament.
The situation has changed since the 1940s, but we’re still a long way from enjoying gender parity in parliament. For example, at the start of 2024, Australia was ranked 37th in the world for the percentage of women in its national parliament, with just 38% of seats in the House of Representatives (where governments are formed) being held by women. The story is somewhat better in the upper house, as 57% of seats are occupied by women.
Read here the full article published by the Monash University on 15 April 2024.
Image source: Monash University
Three quarters (77%) of women are not comfortable expressing political opinions online because of fears they will be targeted by harmful online behaviours such as misogyny, trolling, threats and harassment, according to new research published today (Wednesday 20 March) at AI UK, the UK's national showcase of data science and AI hosted by The Alan Turing Institute.
The survey found that while men and women reported seeing harmful content online almost equally overall, women reported being directly targeted by misogyny, cyberstalking, cyberflashing, eating disorder content, and image based sexual abuse to a significantly greater extent than men.
Women are also significantly more fearful of experiencing every type of harm that they were asked about.
The research also found that women were 96% more likely than men to say they had been left feeling sad or low as a result of an online experience, and 47% more likely than men to say they had been left with physical symptoms such as insomnia or headaches.
The research also looked at the use of safety tools and across all seven tools surveyed, including disabling location sharing, making accounts private and limiting who can engage with posts, women consistently report using these tools to a greater extent than men. This could suggest that women feel the need to do more to protect themselves from online harms.
Click here to read the full article published by The Alan Turing Institute on 20 March 2024.
Image source: The Alan Turing Institute
Young people form a large share of the global population, but they make up only a small proportion of members of parliament around the world. This disparity is greatest among younger cohorts: while half of people worldwide are under age 30, and 18% of people are between the ages of 20 and 29, this report finds that only 2.8% of parliamentarians are aged 30 or under. The exclusion of youth from these spaces is not only unjust, but also has important policy implications. By virtue of their age, younger generations will live the longest with the consequences of legislation passed today. If young people’s voices are not heard, these laws are not likely to reflect their political priorities and perspectives, making it less likely that attention will be paid to issues like education, unemployment and climate change.
Click here to read the full report published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 19 October 2023.
This year’s State of the World’s Girls report is focused on girls’ and young women’s political participation.
It explores their attitudes towards, and experiences of, political and civic participation and institutions, across many different backgrounds.
The report is based on a large-scale survey of almost 29,000 girls and young women aged 15-24 from 29 countries spanning all regions, income levels and civic contexts. Additionally, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 94 girls and young women across 18 countries.
Click here to access the report.
Plan International Australia, in collaboration with YouGov, conducted a poll with a representative online sample of 1,034 Australian young women aged between 18 and 24 to gauge their views on the culture and diversity of representation in Australian politics. Around 26% of respondents identified as being from a Culturally and Linguistically diverse (CALD) background, around 24% identified as LGBTQI+ and around 14% identified as having a disability. The theoretical margin of error on a sample of this size is ±3.05 percentage points. Due to rounding, totals for results may not add to 100.
Click here to access the report.
Young people care – about our planet, our future and our political systems. In the last decade, young people have initiated social movements, tackling issues that impact their own lives and those of communities around the globe. They have done so with hope and optimism about the future, at a time when we face extreme challenges. In a world where global conflict, climate change and socio-economic issues are becoming ever more acute, we need young people’s fresh perspectives to guide political decision-making.
This report aims to outline how and why young people engage in political decision- making, and the challenges that sometimes prevent them from doing so. It puts forward policy and legislation recommendations for advancing the needs and rights of young people, ensuring their voices are meaningfully heard in public life and decision- making. The research from The Body Shop International and the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth supports the Be Seen Be Heard campaign. Launching in 2022, this global campaign aims to increase young people’s participation in political arenas and help make their voices heard across all spheres of public life.
The objective of the campaign is to seek to inspire a change in legislation or policy, or support initiatives, to promote youth participation in political life in all 75+ countries where The Body Shop operates.
Click here to access the report.