Women’s Political Participation

Global Initiatives

NDI offers several global initiatives that connect and support women politicians and activists around the world.

iKNOW Politics

The International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics) was created by NDI and its partners, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, to encourage women’s participation and effectiveness in political life globally. A virtual forum in English, Spanish, French and Arabic, iKNOW Politics is an online portal to resources and expertise that provides opportunities for women to share their experiences, access information and build a supportive online community to promote women’s political participation. Since its inception in February of 2007, iKNOW Politics, the first network of its kind, has averaged 1.5 million hits a month, and serves elected women officials, candidates, decision-makers, political leaders and civic groups, as well as academics, students and practitioners worldwide.

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Win With Women Global Initiative

Because the meaningful inclusion of women is integral to vibrant democratic development and strong political parties, NDI and its chairman, Madeleine K. Albright, launched the Win with Women Global Initiative to promote strategies for increasing women's political leadership worldwide. The anchor of this initiative is the Global Action Plan, 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; the Global Action Plan was created in 2003 and has since been translated into more than a dozen languages. Activists and dozens of political parties, civic organizations and intergovernmental institutions have signed onto the plan, and many are using it to improve women’s access to political leadership.

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The Madeleine K. Albright Grant

The Women's League of Burma accepts their award from Madeleine K. Albright

As part of its commitment to promoting the equitable participation of women in politics and government, NDI established the Madeleine K. Albright Grant in 2005 as a means of acknowledging and supporting small or developing grassroots organizations around the world that have effectively worked to promote women’s participation in politics. With support from the Mel and Bren Simon Foundation, NDI selects the recipient from a competitive pool of applicants who submit proposals to receive $25,000 to support specific initiatives that further promote women’s role in political life or civic life. Past recipients include the Women’s Political Caucus of Indonesia, the Mostar Women Citizen’s Initiative of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone.

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For more information about these programs, use our contact form or dial our main telephone number: 1-202-728-5500.

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The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.