Women’s Political Participation

Strengthening Women’s Political Party Leadership

In advance of the 2006 transitional elections in Mauritania, NDI supported a steering committee of women leaders from political parties and civil society whose successful lobbying led to the adoption of a quota mandating that 20 percent of all candidates be women. NDI also worked with the committee to develop a broad media campaign that included the production of a documentary, TV and radio spots, and print ads to raise awareness of women candidates. Mauritania emerged from these elections with the second-highest proportion of women representatives in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Because enhancing the capacity of women to represent their parties and serve the public as elected officials allows women to participate in and more effectively influence legislation and policy-making, NDI implemented a program to enhance the training available to women inside political parties in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. After conducting an assessment to identify the challenges women activists in political parties face in competing for leadership positions, NDI facilitated further discussion at a regional conference followed by a workshop for core trainers to address those challenges. NDI then supported each of these core trainers to deliver follow-up trainings and activities tailored to specific political needs and interests of political women leaders in their home countries. In the 18 months following the conference, more than 3,200 women in political parties in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao were trained by the core trainers in political leadership skills.

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Building the political and leadership skills of women

After many years of working successfully to advance women’s political participation, NDI is strategically placed to offer targeted, high-level training to build and sharpen practical campaign and political skills needed by aspiring and accomplished women political leaders around the globe.

In partnership with the Simon Bolivar Andean University, NDI launched its Women’s Leadership Institute with 35 Bolivian women representing a variety of political parties, citizen groups, labor unions and NGOs. For six weeks, Bolivian experts used interactive training techniques on such topics as strategic planning, conflict resolution and negotiation, advocacy, and Internet communication technologies. The participants then put the training into practice in a month-long program in which they applied their newly-acquired skills within their respective organizations.

NDI often provides support to women through regional training academies such as the Maghreb Regional Campaign Academy held in Marrakech, Morocco. Nearly 60 women from Algeria, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Qatar and Tunisia gathered to develop a regional network and to receive pointers from campaign experts and experienced women political leaders such as U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif.

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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.