<< BACK Women's Participation: Political Party Assistance Countries Overview Philippines: Political Caucus of Women Leaders in Mindanao (2005-current) Emerging from NDI’s Strengthening Women Political Leaders in Southeast Asia, the newly-established Political Caucus of Women Leaders in Mindanao is the first of its kind in the Philippines, a significant feat given that most of the country’s politics is focused in and on Manila. The initiative, established by the primary 20 participants of NDI’s 2005 and 2006 program to enhance women’s political leadership skills, was focused on supporting more high quality women to run for political office in Mindanao in the May 2007 elections. Targeting both the national and local levels of office, this group is working to raise the number of women elected around the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The Caucus hopes to address widespread corruption in elections by running candidates with integrity on a platform of improving communities through transparent, effective governance. NDI is working with the fledgling caucus to provide technical assistance and training, as well as in support of the Caucus as it seeks funding to support its activities for the long term. Kosovo: Supporting Women's Caucuses (2005-2006) In July 2005, the Institute helped women legislators of the Assembly of Kosovo to establish a women’s caucus, the Informal Group of Women Parliamentarians (IGWP). This multi-party caucus provides a forum for women legislators to discuss issues of particular concern to Kosovar women; to formulate common positions on proposed legislation; and to develop new legislative initiatives. At the IGWP’s inaugural public event in July 2005, NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright offered words of encouragement, commending IGWP’s work to increase women’s representation in parliament and political parties, especially within party leadership positions. With NDI’s continued assistance, the IGWP has taken substantial steps towards becoming an effective and sustainable caucus, including formulating a viable organization structure; creating standard operating procedures; defining their long-term goals; and developing a strategic plan. In spring 2006, NDI assisted the women’s caucus in successfully advocating for an office in the Assembly of Kosovo, as well as to obtain funding for an office assistant for one year from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). NDI has also worked to create links between the IGWP and various other European women’s organizations. Nigeria: Forming and Building Capacity for a Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (2004-2005) For several years, NDI has worked to mobilize women in the Nigerian National Assembly. In May 2004, all 26 female Members agreed to form the Women’s Legislative Caucus and began discussions about conducting a strategic thinking seminar and skill building workshops. The Senate President and the Speaker – as well as many male Members - attended the caucus launching and committed to a budget line item for the caucus in the next National Assembly budget. The Women’s Caucus now meets bi-weekly to discuss issues such as women’s welfare, ways to increase political participation of Nigerian women and specific pieces of legislation, such as the Violence Against Women Bill. With NDI support, the newly formed Nigerian Women Legislative Caucus held a strategic thinking seminar in Kaduna in October 2005. The goal of the seminar was to encourage caucus members to discuss and strategize on their legislative agenda; determine the structure of and steps needed to institutionalize the caucus; and mobilize resources (human and financial). The Members also discussed the types of capacity building that they would need to make them more effective and influential legislators. Algeria: Win With Women Forum (2003-2004) Under the leadership of NDI Chairman Madeleine Albright, NDI convened an international working group in Washington, DC, the “Win with Women: Strengthen Political Parties” Global Forum. The group, comprising high-level women political party leaders, met to develop a “Global Action Plan” to promote political party reforms that will advance women’s leadership. Forum participants identified how best to challenge the mechanisms within political parties that marginalize and exclude women from the political process. Following the forum, NDI brought together 38 women activists from eight different political parties for a one-day workshop entitled “Win with Women: Strengthen Algerian Political Parties.” This workshop offered the opportunity to evaluate the current state of women’s political participation in Algeria via a discussion with women politicians; to explain the Win with Women initiative and Global Action Plan, and how they might be used as tools to promote increased women’s political participation; and to develop concrete short-, medium- and long-term measures that could be undertaken by Algerian political parties to increase the participation of women as voters, activists, leaders and elected officials. As a result of this workshop, a smaller group of women formed a working group that developed a series of recommendations for increasing women’s political participation in the country. These recommendations, which included adopting political party and electoral laws to establish a 35% quota for women and to provide ongoing training to women activists, were sent to party leaders, the Minister of Women’s and Family Affairs and the Prime Minister. Indonesia: Networking Women Activists across Party Lines (2003) Since 2000 NDI has supported the development of the Indonesian Women's Political Caucus (Kaukus Perempuan Politik Indonesia, KPPI), a multi-partisan organization committed to strengthening and increasing women's representation in Indonesian public life by developing women's political skills, advocating and defending women's political rights, socializing gender equality, and developing women's work networks to facilitate collective action. NDI has provided training assistance to the Women's Caucus through strategic planning and organizational capacity building workshops. With NDI's provision of practical assistance, KPPI now has a functioning secretariat and eleven regional chapters. NDI and KPPI have worked together on initiatives to improve women's standing in political parties, lobby for important governmental reforms, and build the capacity of women activists to become successful candidates for public office and effective public leaders once in office. KPPI's most recent success is the recent endorsement of the Indonesian Parliament for political parties to nominate women candidates at a level of 30% for the 2004 elections. Yemen: Building Female Party Leadership (2003) Building on NDI's Women's Political Participation program which began in August 2001 to enhance the skills of newly elected local councilors, recent programs focused on strengthening the capacity of political parties' to reach out to women in the lead-up to the 2003 parliamentary elections. Women's branches of political parties were trained to expand their organizing and outreach capacity. NDI also trained women candidates and campaign managers in the basics of running a winning campaign. The Institute worked closely with the major political parties to discuss women's candidacies and to encourage outreach to their female members. Women are already preparing for the local council elections in 2006, when many of them plan to run either as party representatives or independent candidates. Croatia: Developing Party Support for Women's Leadership (2002) In 1999, NDI developed a Women in Politics training module in response to requests from women of various Croatian parties to increase the participation of women in the political process. Since then, NDI has held many training events on a range of topics including effective political leadership, platform development, message creation and delivery, lobbying, voter contact, and media relations. Participants in NDI's women's programs in Croatia have varied from elected officials at the national and local levels to party branch presidents and party activists. In 2000 NDI began collaborating with Croatian NGOs and the international community to form a working group of women in parliament, resulting in a forum for exchanging information and sharing program ideas, trainers, and approaches. Sierra Leone: Working with Political Parties to Increase Women's Candidacy (2002) A few months before the national elections, NDI co-hosted a conference which brought together women political aspirants, political party leaders, foreign ambassadors, and members of parliament from Ghana and Nigeria to discuss the participation of women in both the upcoming elections and in the new Parliament. The conference culminated in an extensive dialogue between 45 NDI-trained women candidates and 16 political party leaders on the selection of candidates and party candidate lists. It concluded with commitments by the parties to take affirmative action for women candidates. At least five parties made the commitment of having 30% women in parliament. Two parties committed to having 50% of women's representation. Ultimately, all 10 parties participating in the parliamentary elections included women on their electoral lists, and of the 165 women candidates, more than half were placed in the top eight "winnable" positions on their respective lists. Slovakia: Increasing Women's Political Participation (2002) To maximize turn-out among women and increase the umber of women in political party structures, NDI conducted a "Women in Politics" program in 2002. NDI trained more than 225 women candidates and key campaign workers in voter outreach, message development, presentation skills, issue development, time management, and support networks. Two graduates NDI's training went on to become MPs, one was elected to the Bratislava city council and another successfully managed the campaign for the SDKU candidate for mayor in Presov and the four-party coalition for the local council. The Institute also conducted focus groups on the attitudes of women in select regions of Slovakia, and shared the results with over 200 politicians, campaign staff, and parliamentary candidates. Political parties used the results to better market their women candidates to the public, and to develop campaign messages directed at women. Senegal: Sensitizing Political Parties to the Participation of Women in Politics (2001) In late 2001, NDI held an open forum for party leaders on the necessary role and participation of women in the democratic process. Participants focused on how to increase the number of female candidates in the upcoming local government elections scheduled for May 2002. A declaration, agreed to by the 14 participating political parties, included measures to overcome obstacles to women's participation and to promote their involvement in party activities. It urged political parties to reserve at least 30 percent of the places on their candidate lists for women. The result was that political parties nominated 82 percent of the 2,097 women aspirants trained by NDI for local government elections. Morocco: Empowering Women in Political Parties (2000) From July 11-15, 2000, NDI conducted a series of workshops and consultations as part of its political party program on strategic communications, focusing in particular on how to target women voters and ensure that women's concerns are represented in party platforms and legislative programs. Approximately 200 participants from nine political parties and five NGOs attended the NDI workshop and consultations, conducted in three cities in Morocco. Stephanie Foster, former Director of Women's Outreach for the 1996 Presidential Campaign of Clinton-Gore and Chief of Staff to two leading Senators, brought her considerable experience to serve as speaker and trainer at NDI's workshop. The activities addressed party communications and the importance of a clearly defined message, as well as a concrete four-step strategy to increase women's participation in the political process based on research, communication, credibility and commitment. Ms. Foster focused on the universality of effective campaigning, whether in the United States or Morocco, and participants were able to see how Moroccan political parties can emulate the success of the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign in attracting female voters through developing concrete, contrasting, consistent and convincing messages. Croatia: Women in Political Parties (1999) In an effort to increase the participation of women in the political process in Croatia, and in response to several requests from women of various opposition parties, NDI developed a two-part "Women in Politics" training module This module includes components on confidence building, effective leadership techniques, lobbying, targeting women voters, and message development. In May and June, NDI conducted both parts of the training for the Social Democratic Party Women's Forum. After NDI completed its work with the SDP Women's Forum, participants were able to work one-on-one with the SDP Vice President to determine the number of women qualified to be placed on the party list for the upcoming parliamentary elections. NDI plans to offer this training to other opposition parties which have relatively organized women's forums that have demonstrated the capacity and motivation to absorb and apply the training quickly. Georgia: Networking Among Women Leaders (1999) In 1999, NDI hosted a roundtable with political parties, NGOs and businesses to discuss methods for increasing women's involvement in political parties and the political process in Georgia. At NDI's suggestion, the major political parties all designated an individual to conduct outreach to women voters and to promote women's advancement within the parties. The 1999 roundtable led to the creation of the Georgian Women's Network, a coalition of NGOs, political activists and businesswomen interested in promoting issues of interest to women and women's participation in political life. Following the roundtable, NDI civic and party trainers met with members of the Network to help them design and publicize a questionnaire for the parties clarifying their positions on issues relating to women's political and economic status. The Georgian Women's Network announced the distribution of the questionnaire to all parties at a press conference in September, and informed the public of the parties' responses at a second press conference two weeks before the elections. NDI has continued to consult this year with the Georgian Women's Network on organizational and programmatic strategy. Argentina: Strategizing with Women Leaders (1996) Argentina has a law requiring political parties to place women on their electoral lists in such a way that 30 percent would be elected to the national legislature. Since 1993, NDI has supported the efforts of various women's organizations to prepare women to assume leadership roles in this environment. As a follow on to NDI's 1993 and 1994 programs on women and political leadership, NDI sent Amy Conroy, former executive director of the Women's Campaign Fund, to Argentina in March 1996 to discuss issues regarding women's political participation. NDI coordinated program activities with the Foundation for Women in Equality (MEI) in Buenos Aires and the Institute of Women's Training Research and Participation (IFIM) in Mendoza. In Buenos Aires, women civic and political leaders met with the NDI team to exchange information on developing long-term strategies to access leadership positions. The Argentine officials shared their experiences on negotiating within their political parties and obtaining positions of influence. Conroy provided comparative information on strategic planning and coalition building with a long-term perspective. In Mendoza, NDI worked with local women leaders to assist them in defining the steps to create a strategy for political advancement. In a seminar "Women and Political Leadership" the participants held group discussions about concrete methods to become more effective in politics and to gain powerful positions in their political parties and in elected office. Participants agreed that the ideas presented by the NDI expert would prove valuable in increasing the effectiveness of their future political work. Croatia: Analyzing Women's Roles in Elections (1995) In December 1995, NDI hosted a roundtable discussion entitled, "Women in Politics - The Case of the 1995 Croatian Parliamentary Election." During this discussion, the participants analyzed the role of women in the 1995 Croatian Parliamentary Election and examined the position of women within Croatian political parties. Fifty-three women from political parties, the parliament, academia, nongovernmental organizations and the media participated in this thoughtful and constructive debate. For many of the participants, it was the first time they were brought together for a common discussion. The long-term goal of this roundtable was to work toward getting more women elected in Croatia. Malawi: Women and the Political Party Agenda (1994) In January 1994, NDI sponsored an all-parties conference to address issues related to the draft constitution. Women met separately during the conference to identify the most important issues facing women. Approximately 30 politically active women from across the political spectrum brainstormed on issues and debated priorities. The five priority issues identified included educational equality, political participation, economic equality, legal rights and HIV/AIDS prevention. Women then went back to their respective political parties and advocated for inclusion of these concerns in the constitution and party platforms. Subsequently, the women presented these five points to their fellow delegates at the conference and all seven political parties endorsed these concerns. In May 1994, on the day before multiparty elections, Malawi's parliament adopted a provisional constitution which included a provision for a senate with seats reserved for women. In response to a perceived need to allow all segments of society to comment on the constitution, a one-year review period was established in which women played an active role. Contact Information For further information on Women's Participation, please contact: Kristin Haffert, Program Manager Send Email Updated August 2007 << BACK