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Women in the News: NDI is expanding our weekly Women in the News report. Women in the News compiles articles related to women’s political participation from around the world, and If you would like to receive our weekly news updates, subscribe here.
Social Media Week Panel
As part of DC-wide “Social Media Week,” NDI hosted a panel of experts on Women, Technology and Democracy: The Next Frontier. Though tech plays an increasingly crucial role in democracy work, studies show women lag behind in access to and use of online and mobile communications technology. Wenchi Yu from the State Department, Layla Moughari of Women’s Learning Partnership and Angela Rastegar, a consultant on Intel’s newest report on women’s access to technology, joined NDI’s Susan Markham and Katrin Verclas to explore what we know about how women participate online, success stories of effective uses of tech in women’s political participation, and where we are still falling short.
GW Quota Event
Partnering with George Washington University’s Global Gender Program, NDI co-hosted a forum at the Elliot School to examine strategies of increasing the number of women in political office. The event featured a keynote address by leading academic Mona Lena Krook on "Electoral Quotas and Beyond" and a panel with Professor Jennie Burnet, Sara Mia Noguera from the Organization of American States, Susannah Wellford Shakow, the chair of Running Start, and NDI program manager Megan Doherty. The panel compared experiences in Rwanda, Libya, Latin America and the United States, and discussed the importance of quotas, election observation, and leadership training for middle and high school age girls.
APF Fellow
2013 NDI is happy to welcome Hodan Ahmed, the 2013 Andi Parhamovich Fellow. The Parhamovich Fellowship was established in 2008 to honor Andi Parhamovich, an NDI staff member who was killed in Iraq. Each year, the fellowship brings a young woman working to strengthen democracy and women’s political participation in her home country to Washington, DC. Hodan is a senior program officer on the NDI-Somalia team where she has been working since 2010. She will use her time in Washington to develop a project to strengthen the ability of Somali women to engage in political processes and effectively represent and advance the interests of women through capacity building, identifying shared concerns, forming coalitions and campaigning for common issues.
Web Stories
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Ukraine:
A poll released by NDI revealed that nearly half of all Ukrainians believe there are too few women in elected office. Support for women politicians was widespread among respondents, with both men and women saying they would be more likely to vote for a party that had some form of outreach to women voters and candidates and 8 in 10 favoring the equal distribution of resources, media time and position on party lists between male and female candidates. The poll also found that 71% of Ukrainian are supportive of the Equal Opportunities Parliamentary Caucus, established with support from NDI, and the public is overwhelmingly supportive of the caucus’ equal rights agenda.
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Mauritania:
Though few Mauritanians are able to have a say in their country’s political life, NDI’s partner organization,
The Advocacy Initiatives Group for Women’s Political Participation (Groupes des Initiatives de Plaidoyer pour la Participation Politique des Femmes, GI3PF) is committed to encouraging women’s participation in Mauritanian politics at the local and national levels. “We want women to find their place in political life and in elections,” said Lalla Aicha Sy, one of the group’s coordinators. By circulating a petition asking political parties to increase the number of women candidates on their lists and organizing panel discussions, GI3PF is raising citizens’ awareness about the importance of women’s representation.
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Mexico:
One of the greatest recent successes for Mexican women’s political participation is the enforcement of a federal electoral regulation ensuring 2% of party funding will be spent on women’s leadership. NDI worked to convene a coalition of party members, civil society activists and academics to push for this reform, and following the successful campaign partnered with the National Institute for Women to develop a toolkit, 2% and More Women in Politics: An Advocacy Experience to Share, with a detailed guide on how to organize an advocacy strategy. The guide included information on current legislation as well as advocacy techniques developed by the 2% coalition to help other groups implement similar reforms at the state and municipal level.
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Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone:
Prior to elections in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone last fall,
NDI held campaign schools for women candidates running for Parliament and local council seats. Candidate schools focused on identifying challenges and opportunities for women candidates, building support within parties and communities for favorable placement on candidate lists, creating winning messages, recruiting volunteers and supporters, managing a campaign and identifying potential supporters. They also served as an important platform for bringing women of different parties and backgrounds into one room where they can learn from each other and appreciate the benefits of working across party lines. Of the 15 women MPs elected in Burkina Faso, 10 had attended NDI trainings, as had 75 of 87 women local councillors in Sierra Leone.
About the Women's Political Participation Team at NDI
Strategies:
Through innovative programs that strengthen women’s political skills, emphasize how women are impacted by public policy, and improve the perception of women in political life, NDI has demonstrated its commitment to making democracy deliver, even in challenging environments. The Institute leverages its high-level political relationships to encourage leaders to understand and actively promote the benefits of gender- balanced politics. NDI focuses on training women as well as on the inclusion of a gender perspective in every NDI program. This dual approach has strengthened the Institute’s ability to build women’s skills and organize women across ethnic and political lines, as well as create the opportunity for women from diverse backgrounds to converge around shared goals to solve problems in ways that contribute to the development and well-being of their societies. To reach the widest range of women leaders and activists, NDI uses a broad spectrum of inventive and inclusive strategies and techniques that are uniquely adapted to best fit the local cultural and political contexts of the communities in which we work.
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