NDI’s Submission to the CEDAW Committee on Equal and Inclusive Representation of Women in Decision-making Systems

Drawing on its pioneering work on Violence against Women in Politics (VAW-P) and #NotTheCost campaign, NDI submitted inputs to the UN Committee overseeing compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to ensure States tackle violence against women in elections and politics, including tech-facilitated abuse as foundational barriers to their participation in public and political realms. The submission will inform the UN Committee’s day of discussion on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems on February 22, 2023. The discussion will result in a general recommendation on the topic to “provide guidance to States parties to the Convention on the measures they should adopt to ensure full compliance with their obligations to respect, protect and fulfill women’s human right to equal and inclusive representation in decision-making systems.”

In addition, to highlighting VAW-P, the submission highlights promising interventions to accelerate the pace of women’s representation in political life, with a focus on state agencies, election bodies, and political parties; and spotlights the need to focus on tackling harmful gender norms and political masculinities that reinforce women’s exclusion and male elites’ hold over power, political systems and structures.