This glossary includes terms and words relevant to the field of gender and elections. 

A 

Autonomy: The concept of autonomy refers to people’s capacity to make free and informed decisions about their lives, enabling them to be and act in accordance with their own aspirations and desires, given a historical context that makes those possible. Women’s autonomy is often conceptualized as having three dimensions: 

1. Physical autonomy (the freedom to make decisions regarding sexuality, reproduction and the right to live a life free from violence);

2. Economic autonomy (right to work and earn one’s own income, distribution of paid and unpaid work between women and men); and 

3. Autonomy in decision-making (women’s participation in all branches of government, signing of CEDAW optional protocol, positioning of national machineries for advancement of women).[1]  

B  

Biphobia is an irrational fear, hatred or aversion towards bisexual people.[2] 

D

Decision-making and participation: Women’s participation in public life, specifically in the realm of public decision-making, is a key measure of the empowerment of women and a strategy for bringing about gender equality. The Beijing Platform for Action has two related strategic objectives:  Take measures to ensure women's equal access to and full participation in power structures and decision-making (G.1) and Increase women's capacity to participate in decision-making and leadership (G.2). Women's equal participation in decision-making is not only a demand for simple justice or democracy but can also be seen as a necessary condition for women's interests to be taken into account. Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women's perspective at all levels of decision-making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved. 

It is important to recognize that decision-making refers to many different areas of public life, including but not limited to decision-making positions in Governments, legislative bodies, and political parties. It is also necessary to seek equal representation of women and men in decision-making positions in the areas of art, culture, sports, the media, education, religion and the law, as well as employer organizations and trade unions, transnational and national corporations, banks, academic and scientific institutions, and regional and international organizations, including those in the United Nations system.[3] 

Discrimination against girls and women means directly or indirectly treating girls and women differently from boys and men in a way which prevents them from enjoying their rights. Discrimination can be direct or indirect. Direct discrimination against girls and women is generally easier to recognize as the discrimination is quite obvious. For example, in some countries, women cannot legally own property; they are forbidden by law to take certain jobs; or the customs of a community may not permit girls to go for higher education. Indirect discrimination against girls and women can be difficult to recognize. It refers to situations that may appear to be unbiased but result in unequal treatment of girls and women. For example, a job for a police officer may have minimum height and weight criteria which women may find difficult to fulfill. As a result, women may be unable to become police officers.[4] 

E 

Electoral management body (EMB) are the structures and individuals responsible for carrying out the many activities involved in the planning and administering of elections. While a single body may be primarily responsible for most of these activities, it is also common for electoral administration tasks to be distributed across multiple bodies. In some contexts, different line ministries perform electoral administration functions such as voter registration and media regulation.[5] 

Empowerment of women and girls concerns their gaining power and control over their own lives. It involves awareness-raising, building self-confidence, expansion of choices, increased access to and control over resources and actions to transform the structures and institutions which reinforce and perpetuate gender discrimination and inequality. This implies that to be empowered they must not only have equal capabilities (such as education and health) and equal access to resources and opportunities (such as land and employment), but they must also have the agency to use these rights, capabilities, resources and opportunities to make strategic choices and decisions (such as is provided through leadership opportunities and participation in political institutions). 

In addition, UNESCO explains, “No one can empower another: only the individual can empower herself or himself to make choices or to speak out. However, institutions including international cooperation agencies can support processes that can nurture self-empowerment of individuals or groups”. 

Inputs to promote the empowerment of women should facilitate women’s articulation of their needs and priorities and a more active role in promoting these interests and needs. Empowerment of women cannot be achieved in a vacuum; men must be brought along in the process of change. Empowerment should not be seen as a zero-sum game where gains for women automatically imply losses for men. Increasing women’s power in empowerment strategies does not refer to power over, or controlling forms of power, but rather to alternative forms of power: power to; power with and power from within which focus on utilizing individual and collective strengths to work towards common goals without coercion or domination.[6]  

G

Gender can be understood as “the roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society at a given time considers appropriate for men and women.” These realities are socially constructed and learned through socialization. They are context and time specific and are subject to change.[7] Although traditional forms of gender identity are based on the binary categorization of men and women, gender realities are diverse and fluid, constantly evolving, and the binary logic might restrict freedom and possibilities of human beings, especially for transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming people. 

Gender balance refers to the participation of an approximately equal number of women and men within an activity or organization. Examples are representation in committees, decision-making structures or staffing levels between women and men.[8] 

Gender-based violence refers to violence directed against a person because of his or her gender and expectations of his or her role in a society or culture.[9]  

Gender diversity: Gender diversity is a term that recognizes that many peoples' preferences and self-expression fall outside commonly understood gender norms.[10] 

Gender equality means equal opportunities, rights and responsibilities for women and men, girls and boys. Equality does not mean that women and men are the same but that women’s and men’s opportunities, rights and responsibilities do not depend on whether they are born female or male. It implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration.[11]  

Gender expression is the way in which we express our gender through actions and appearance. Gender expression can be any combination of masculine, feminine and androgynous. For a lot of people, their gender expression goes along with the ideas that our societies deem to be appropriate for their gender. For other people it does not. People whose gender expression does not fit into society’s norms and expectations, such as men perceived as ‘feminine’ and women perceived as ‘masculine’ often face harsh sanctions, including physical, sexual and psychological violence and bullying. A person’s gender expression is not always linked to the person’s biological sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.[12] 

Gender identity reflects a deeply felt and experienced sense of one’s own gender. Everyone has a gender identity, which is part of their overall identity. A person’s gender identity is typically aligned with the sex assigned to them at birth. Transgender (sometimes shortened to “trans”) is an umbrella term used to describe people with a wide range of identities – including transsexual people, cross-dressers (sometimes referred to as “transvestites”), people who identify as third gender, and others whose appearance and characteristics are seen as gender atypical and whose sense of their own gender is different to the sex that they were assigned at birth. Trans women identify as women but were classified as males when they were born. Trans men identify as men but were classified female when they were born. Cisgender is a term used to describe people whose sense of their own gender is aligned with the sex that they were assigned at birth. Gender identity is distinct from sexual orientation and sex characteristics.[13]  

Gender mainstreaming is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policy or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. Gender mainstreaming in EMBs ensures that women’s and men’s concerns, needs and experiences are taken fully into account in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all activities. Through this process, the EMB seeks to reduce the gaps in development opportunities between women and men and work towards equality between them as an integral part of the organization’s strategy, policies and operations, and the focus of continued efforts to achieve excellence. The term ‘gender integration’ is also used in some contexts.[14] 

Gender-sensitive takes into consideration the diversity of various groups of women and men, their specific activities and challenges.[15] 

Gender-specific or gender-targeted interventions seek to tackle specific areas where women are unrepresented or disadvantaged, including through the adoption of temporary special measures, and are part of a comprehensive gender mainstreaming approach.[16] 

Glass ceiling: The term “glass ceiling” is a metaphor that has often been used to describe invisible barriers (“glass”) through which women can see elite positions, for example in government or the private sector, but cannot reach them (coming up against the invisible “ceiling”). These barriers prevent large numbers of women and ethnic minorities from obtaining and securing the most powerful, prestigious, and highest-paying jobs in the workforce.[17] 

H

Homophobia is an irrational fear of, hatred or aversion towards lesbian, gay or bisexual people.[18]

I 

Intersex people are born with physical or biological sex characteristics, such as sexual anatomy, reproductive organs, hormonal patterns and/or chromosomal patterns, which do not fit the typical definitions of male or female. These characteristics may be apparent at birth or emerge later in life, often at puberty. Intersex people can have any sexual orientation and gender identity.[19]

L 

LGBT/LGBTI: LGBT stands for “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender”; “LGBTI” for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex”. While these terms have increasing resonance, different cultures use different terms to describe people who have same-sex relationships or who exhibit non-binary gender identities (such as hijra, meti, lala, skesana, motsoalle, mithli, kuchu, kawein, travesty, muxé, fa’afafine, fakaleiti, hamjensgara and two-spirit).[20] 

M

Masculinity: A gender perspective, or way of analyzing the impact of gender on people's opportunities, social roles and interactions, allows us to see that there is pressure on men and boys to perform and conform to specific roles. Thus, the term masculinity refers to the social meaning of manhood, which is constructed and defined socially, historically and politically, rather than being biologically driven. There are many socially constructed definitions for being a man and these can change over time and from place to place. The term relates to perceived notions and ideals about how men should or are expected to behave in a given setting. Masculinities are not just about men; women perform and produce the meaning and practices of the masculine as well.[21] 

Multiple discrimination: Concept used to describe the complexity of discrimination implicating more than one ground, also known as “additive,” “accumulative,” “compound,” “intersectional,” “complex bias” or “multi-dimensional inequalities.” Though the terminology may seem confusing, it tends to describe two situations: (1) situation where an individual is faced with more than one form of grounds-based discrimination (i.e. sex plus disability discrimination, or gender plus sexual orientation). In such circumstances, all women and all persons with disabilities (both male and female) are potentially subject to the discrimination. (2) Situation where discrimination affects only those who are members of more than one group (i.e. only women with disabilities and not men with disabilities), also known as intersectional discrimination.

Regarding discrimination against women, CEDAW General Recommendation no. 25 recognizes the following: “Certain groups of women, in addition to suffering from discrimination directed against them as women, may also suffer from multiple forms of discrimination based on additional grounds such as race, ethnic or religious identity, disability, age, class, caste or other factors. Such discrimination may affect these groups of women primarily, or to a different degree or in different ways than men. States parties may need to take specific temporary special measures to eliminate such multiple forms of discrimination against women and its compounded negative impact on them.”[22] 

P 

Patriarchy: This term refers to a traditional form of organizing society which often lies at the root of gender inequality. According to this kind of social system, men, or what is considered masculine, is accorded more importance than women, or what is considered feminine. Traditionally, societies have been organized in such a way that property, residence, and descent, as well as decision-making regarding most areas of life, have been the domain of men. This is often based on appeals to biological reasoning (women are more naturally suited to be caregivers, for example) and continues to underlie many kinds of gender discrimination.[23] 

Q

Quotas: Quota systems have been viewed as one of the most effective special measures or affirmative actions for increasing women’s political participation. There are now 77 countries with constitutional, electoral or political party quotas for women. In countries where women’s issues had always been relegated to the lowest priority, increases in the number of women in decision-making positions help move women’s agendas up to a higher priority level.[24]

S 

Sex (biological): The physical and biological characteristics that distinguish males and females.[25] 

Sex-disaggregated data are collected and tabulated separately for women and men. They allow for the measurement of differences between women and men on various social and economic dimensions.[26]  

Sexual orientation refers to a person’s physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction towards other people. Everyone has a sexual orientation, which is part of their identity. Gay men and lesbians are attracted to individuals of the same sex as themselves. Heterosexual people are attracted to individuals of a different sex from themselves. Bisexual (sometimes shortened to “bi”) people may be attracted to individuals of the same or different sex. Sexual orientation is not related to gender identity and sex characteristics.[27]

T 

Temporary Special Measures (TSMs) are specific targeted measures taken to accelerate the equal participation of women in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. Given the legal commitment of states to produce de facto or substantive equality of women with men in a timely manner, special measures may need to be adopted to enhance women’s electoral and political participation.[28] 

Transgender (sometimes shortened to “trans”) is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of identities whose appearance and characteristics are perceived as gender atypical —including transsexual people, cross-dressers (sometimes referred to as “transvestites”), and people who identify as third gender. Transwomen identify as women but were classified as males when they were born, transmen identify as men but were classified female when they were born, while other trans people don’t identify with the gender-binary at all. Some transgender people seek surgery or take hormones to bring their body into alignment with their gender identity; others do not.[29] 

Transphobia is an irrational fear, hatred or aversion towards transgender people.[30] 

V 

Violence against women is the manifestation of the historically unequal power relations between men and women in private and public life. It is characterized by the use and abuse of power and control over women, and it is a form of discrimination that seriously violates and impairs the enjoyment by women and girls of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, resolution 48/104 of December 20, 1993, defined VAW as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”[31] 

W

Women’s political participation refers to women’s ability to participate equally with men, at all levels, and in all aspects of political life and decision-making. Women’s participation and access to formal political power structures vary across countries. There is a steady upward trend in women’s political participation and representation in developed countries particularly in Nordic countries. Out of twelve countries where women representation in parliament is more than 33%, nine of them are ranked in the high human development category. However, the improvements in medium and low human development countries are not significant. The structural and functional constraints faced by women are shaped by social and political relations in a society. The common pattern of women’s political exclusion stem from (a) social and political discourses (b) political structures and institutions (c) the socio-cultural and functional constraints that put limits on women’s individual and collective agency.[32]