Lack of political education and experience has been identified as a major obstacle to women’s participation in elections. In some contexts, the political participation of women at the local level allows them to gain experience and knowledge in this field before entering national politics. Strengthening the capacities of women leaders and candidates can contribute to improve their performance during the election campaign and increase their chances of getting elected. In different countries, EMBs, civil society and international organizations have organized specific cross-party training workshops for women leaders and candidates, to strengthen their capacities in the fields of leadership, gender equality, legal affairs, communication strategies, fundraising and campaign management, among other issues.

Example: In Timor Leste, UNDP has supported two women organizations, MOFFE and CAUCUS, to build the capacities of women members of youth wing of political parties to become future leaders. The partners organized a three-day training program addressed to women members of youth wings of political parties from 13 municipalities with the objective of enhancing their skills through transformative leadership development. The activity is financially supported by the governments of Korea and Japan and by KOICA.[1]

Example: In Madagascar, in the lead-up to the 2013 legislative election, UNDP organized a series of seven training workshops for women candidates, in partnership with the Independent National Commission for the Transition (CENI-T) and the Federation of Women in Politics in the Indian Ocean. A total of 140 women candidates participated in these workshops, which covered the topics of gender and elections, electoral legal framework and communication and media.[2]

Example: In Turkey, ahead of the local elections of March 2019, UN Women organized “local politics workshops” in four different cities, aiming to empower women candidates. After the workshop, participants made a joint statement calling for gender equality in politics and calling political parties to ensure women’s participation in the decision-making at all levels.[3]

Example: IFES developed the She Leads program to empower women through training with the skills and knowledge to participate and take on leadership roles in political and electoral processes. She Leads has trained over 2,600 women in four different countries and continues to expand. As a result, She Leads alumnae have developed formal and informal personal networks, increased their self-confidence and taken on leadership roles to advance women’s political participation.[4]

Example: In Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone, among other countries, NDI has organized training schools for women candidates to help them gain the skills they need to compete effectively. The schools focused on identifying challenges and opportunities for women in politics, building support among parties for favorable placement in candidate lists, managing a campaign and identifying potential supporters.[5]

Example: In Paraguay, the Gender Policy Unit of the Electoral Tribunal organized a training school for women leaders ahead of the 2018 elections, with the initial support of USAID, to strengthen their knowledge and leadership skills. The second edition of the training school was organized by the Electoral Tribunal in Asuncion during the second semester of 2018, in collaboration with International IDEA and with support from the European Union, and the third edition took place in the city of Encarnacion during the first semester of 2019, following a decentralized approach. This initiative has contributed to strengthen the institutionalization of the Gender Policy Unit and it is expected to continue in the months ahead.

Example: In Algeria, “to address the shortage of women willing to run for local office, the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government began in 2015 to train locally-elected women (municipal and provincial) on participatory democracy and their political roles and responsibilities. Supported by UNDP and UN Women, the initiative includes training by international experts and exchanges with former ministers and parliamentarians to enhance women’s substantive participation and their ability to promote gender equality. Nearly 800 elected women across twelve provinces received training in 2015 and 2016.”[6]

In some countries, LGBTI groups and other civil society organizations have supported LGBTI candidates, with the purpose of increasing their chances of being elected. An example of this support can be found in political action committees funding and endorsing LGBTI candidatures. Furthermore, strengthening leadership capacities within the LGBTI community can also facilitate the nomination of its leaders as candidates, and can help LGBTI candidates have an improved performance during the election campaign, making their winning more likely to happen. Capacity building is also in line with the Declaration of Montreal, which recommends “that international LGBT organizations expand their pools of candidates for leadership positions by offering training courses, information seminars and the like to new – female, male or transgender - activists from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe”.[7] 

Example: In the United States of America, the platform Equality PAC endorses and supports openly LGBT candidates running for federal office, members of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus seeking re-election and other committed candidates. Equality PAC was created by leaders of the Congressional Caucus in 2016.[8]

Example: In the United States of America, the non-partisan advocacy group Trans United Fund promotes political inclusion of transgender and gender nonconforming people, supports political leadership capacities of trans people and allies and endorses candidates committed to the community, providing them with campaign donations, visibility and volunteer support.[9] In 2017, the Fund supported a number of trans candidates running for office in local and state legislative elections across the country,[10] including Phillippe Cunningham and Andrea Jenkins, who were elected as Minneapolis City Council representatives, and Danica Roem, successfully elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.[11] By reason of the spike in the number of transgender candidates in local and state legislative elections, some media reports described 2017 as “the year of the trans candidate”.[12]

Example: The LGBTQ Victory Institute offers candidate and campaign trainings in the United States of America to present and future LGBTQ candidates, in order to provide them with tools to face electoral campaigns and enhance their skills in the fields of funding, communication and strategic planning.[13] Furthermore, in the framework of this organization’s international leadership program, a series of leadership trainings for LGBTI activists have been conducted around the world, through partnerships with local civil society groups. In the Dominican Republic, the Victory Institute and Diversidad Dominicana created the LGBTI Political Leadership School in 2016. In Colombia, the Institute and Caribe Afirmativo “have trained a total of 104 LGBTI leaders […] since 2012, 24 of whom ran for office and four of whom were elected.” In Honduras, over 35 leaders were trained, in collaboration with Somos CDC. In the Balkans, 19 leaders from all across the region received training from the Institute and the Serbian organization Labris. In South Africa, the Institute partnered with the organization Triangle Project in 2016 to enhance participation of LGBTI community members through training and capacity building.[14]

Example: In Ecuador, the civil society group Esquel organized four trainings for young LGBTI leaders in 2018, in the framework of the project “Por una democracia diversa”, with support from the Canadian Embassy. This initiative’s goal was to strengthen leadership capacities within the community and provide participants with tools and skills they could later use as potential candidates in the 2019 local election.[15] 

Example: The 4^th Meeting for LGBTI leaders in the Americas will be held in Bogota, Colombia, from 16 to 18 May 2019. The organizers of this initiative include Corporación Caribe Afirmativo (Colombia), the LGBTQ Victory Institute (United States of America), Diversidad Dominicana (Dominican Republic), PROMSEX (Peru) and Somos CDC (Honduras). This meeting, mainly addressed to LGBTI leaders, public officials and allies, aims to provide a space for dialogue, capacity building and experience sharing in the field of inclusive political participation. The specific objectives of this meeting include identifying best practices regarding the civic and political participation of LGBTI persons, building LGBTI leadership to foster social inclusion and equality, exploring ideas on how to promote dialogue with State institutions and strengthening allies in State institutions, civil society and the business sector.[16]