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Jakarta Indonesia — UN Women Indonesia marked the annual United Nations 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign 2023 by inviting young people to learn about how to combat violence perpetrated online.
Entitled “Combating Online Gender-based Violence, Misinformation, Disinformation, and Hoaxes to Support Women's Leadership in Politics” the workshop was held in South Tangerang, Banten Province. The 16 participants -- young digital activists from various provinces and backgrounds – learned about this form of violence, gender representation disparities, and online violence against women politicians, as well as the important role of young people in addressing these problems.
The largest group of potential voters in the recent elections were the 8 million aged 17-30; they make up more than 31 per cent of total voters. The young generation, especially Gen Z (those in their teens to early 20s) born in the digital age, can play a crucial role in preventing and combating online gender-based violence, misinformation, and fake news or hoaxes.
Click here to read the full article published by UN Women Asia and the Pacific on 1 May 2024.
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The Women Deliver Emerging Leaders for Change Program is a two-year leadership program that supports passionate young activists with the resources, platforms, connections, and trainings necessary to amplify and achieve their advocacy goals. Women Deliver, with its strong commitment to both gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), has a strong history of equitable youth engagement and co-leadership.
The Emerging Leaders Program is a focused, well-resourced, thematically-bound program that will co-create each Emerging Leader’s advocacy journey with them. It is the result of us:
- Taking stock of a decade’s worth of lessons learned
- Reflecting on our own transformation as an organization
- Conducting numerous consultations with youth and partners in the field
Women Deliver will work with each Emerging Leader on developing their journey with flexible funding, support, trainings, and resources.
Who Is Eligible for the Program?
1. Young people (aged 15-29) of any gender and sexual identity who:
2. Live and work in Burundi 🇧🇮, Ethiopia 🇪🇹, Kenya 🇰🇪, Rwanda 🇷🇼, Tanzania 🇹🇿, or Uganda 🇺🇬
3. Advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and/or gender equality, particularly focusing on advocacy that affects adolescent girls within their communities. Preference will be given for those interested or experienced in our focus issue areas: universal health coverage, the climate crisis, and countering the anti-rights movement.
Apply here before the 30 May 2024, at 11:59 pm (23:59) EAT.
Image by Women Deliver
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Joint initiatives have trained 668 women leaders and given visibility to women in the political debate. In the five elections conducted in 2023, 33 per cent of the candidates were women, and 23.5 per cent of them were elected as congresswomen. This is the highest-ever percentage of women in the Paraguayan Parliament, having increased by 57 per cent from the last election in 2018.
Read here the full article published by International IDEA on 23 April 2024.
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Several Indonesian thinktanks have unofficially assessed that female representation in Indonesia’s national parliament (DPR) for the term 2024-2029 would stand at about 19.65 per cent. If this proves correct, the proportion of women legislators in the new government will be lower than in previous years. During the 2019-2024 term, women’s representation in the DPR was at 20.9 per cent, surpassing 17.32 per cent after the 2014 elections, whereas during Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s presidency (2004 and 2009 elections), women legislators accounted for only 11.1 and 17.86 per cent of legislators, respectively.
While improvements in Indonesia’s electoral system and the internal structures of political parties are needed to provide more opportunities for women to participate in politics, the cultural attitudes of young voters (17-40 years old) towards gender roles and female political leadership are also crucial. As the most significant demographic of voters in the recent elections, at 56 per cent of the electorate, Indonesia’s youth wield significant influence. Examining their current attitudes toward gender equality is essential for envisioning the future of women’s political participation and leadership.
Read here the full article published by Fulcrum on 24 April 2024.
Photo by Fulcrum
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Recent research has revealed some stark findings that young women are put off entering parliament and working in politics.
Despite the fact that the Australian government has achieved gender parity (although not across the entire parliament), and there have been well publicised reforms to the parliamentary workplace as a long-needed response to a disgraceful history of documented abuse, the research shows that that young women are reluctant to be a member of parliament.
The interviews conducted with young women and men regarding their ambitions are insightful. The published research illuminates the extent to which gender stereotypes and the performance of politics in public spaces have the result of dissuading young women from even contemplating participation in politics and political discussions, let alone pursuing a path to become a politician.
As a millennial who has recently been elected to the House of Representatives, there is much that I relate to in both the apprehensions of young women entering politics as well as my own experience in politics. I joined the Australian Labor Party around 20 years ago. It is an uncomfortable reality that I found it hard to participate: Young Labor seemed very male-centric, I frequently felt like I didn’t fit in. I remember volunteering on a campaign and being called in urgently to the office one day to fix up mistakes made by the paid campaign staff, who were all young men.
Read here the full article published by the Women’s Agenda on 19 April 2024.
Image by Women's Agenda
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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