Summer 2010

News

U.S. Congress Looks to Women as Agents of Change [3]

Despite gains around the world, women continue to be vastly underrepresented in politics and excluded from decision-making in many places. In a June hearing before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, NDI President Kenneth Wollack and other experts testified [4] on concrete ways that women help democracy deliver to all citizens. They also stressed the role that the United States must play in promoting gender equality and empowering women politically and economically.

"Women's political participation results in tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizens' needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines and more sustainable peace," said Wollack. Read more» [3]

Afghanistan: Women Seek Major Role in Peacebuilding Efforts [5]

At a symposium organized by NDI in June, Afghan women leaders from around the country came together to ensure that women's interests were integrated into the nation's peace and reconciliation process. The women offered 13 recommendations [6] to the government, highlighting peace and stability as a top priority, but not at the expense of women's rights. The women demanded that they be represented in future peace negotiations and insisted on the precondition that peace cannot be negotiated at the cost of diminishing women's rights. Read more» [5]

Middle East: Young Women Gain Inspiration From Women Leaders in Wisconsin [7]

Participants in a Young Women Leaders Academy [8] (YWLA) attended a two-week retreat in Madison, Wisc., as part of a year-long program to inspire and empower young Middle Eastern women to pursue political careers. In Madison, they received advanced training and learned from women experienced in politics. The women attended events with U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, among others. The participants have since returned to their home countries to pursue projects ranging from starting their own advocacy campaigns to running for elected office. Read more» [7]

Mexico: Women and Men Work Together to Elect More Women to Office [9] [10]

In a country where women hold only 5 percent of municipal and state elected positions, over 300 men and women received training to improve women's chances of being elected to local office. The trainings were organized by NDI, in conjunction with the Fox Center and Mexico's three major political parties. Participants attended workshops on message development, targeting women and young voters, and recruiting and retaining campaign volunteers. Read more» [9]

Lebanon: Women Gain the Confidence, Skills and Network to Win Elections [11]

After recent municipal elections in Lebanon, the number of women holding local office more than doubled, from 201 to 530. The increase is particularly noteworthy because it came without the help of a quota law, a technique often used to ensure a specified number of seats for women. One factor in the women's success was the help provided by the Shariky program, a project, in partnership with NDI, that supports women candidates through training and mentoring. Shariky means participation in Arabic — in this case, women's participation — and works by recruiting potential candidates as well as building a strong network among elected women leaders and those seaking office. Read more» [11]

Burkina Faso: Coalition Boosts Effort to Implement Gender Quota Law [12]

Last year, the legislature in Burkina Faso passed a gender quota law requiring 30 percent of candidate lists to be women. Despite local and legislative elections being held in 2011 and 2012, respectively, there has been little progress on implementing the law, and questions remain on how it will be enforced. The Coalition for the Implementation of the Quota Law — a group NDI helped establish — held a forum that identified a number of challenges and agreed on recommendations for overcoming them. Read more» [12]

Georgia: Political Parties Agree to "Win With Women" [13]

Eleven Georgian political parties endorsed the Win with Women Global Action Plan [14], a tool created by NDI that provides practical recommendations to political parties on ways to increase the role of women within their ranks. Over 100 members of parliament, government officials and civil society leaders attended a conference on the benefits of including more women on candidate lists and in party leadership. The participants discussed strategies, such as creating a gender equality department within the party, to promote women leaders within the organization. Read more» [13]

New Resource on Gender Commissions and Caucuses [15]

One Size Does Not Fit All: Lessons Learned from Legislative Gender Commissions and Caucuses, a new publication by NDI and International IDEA, is now available in English [16] and Spanish [17]. The publication offers a comprehensive look at different models of gender commissions and caucuses employed throughout Latin America and provides information on global best practices on establishing and working with a gender commission or caucus. Read more» [15]

About Win With Women

The Win with Women Global Initiative is a complement to more than two decades of work by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) [18] in pursuit of an equitable, democratic society where women’s needs are meaningfully addressed. Some of its latest activities are presented here.

The Initiative is aimed at increasing women’s leadership in elected office, political parties and in civil society. It was launched in 2003 by NDI and its Chairman Madeleine K. Albright [19] to promote strategies for increasing women’s political leadership worldwide. The anchor of the Win with Women Global Initiative is the Global Action Plan [14], a document that outlines practical recommendations for political parties to broaden their appeal by addressing women’s role as voters, candidates, party activists and elected officials. Women and men from more than 100 countries are active supporters of the Initiative and Global Action Plan.

Get Involved

Visit the Win with Women Website [20]
Refer Colleagues to Win with Women [21]

Download the Global Action Plan [14]
Email the Win with Women Initiative [22]

[18]

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