Gender and Elections

OVERVIEW

Women often face barriers to their effective participation in the electoral process as voters, candidates, journalists, electoral administrators or civil society representatives, among other capacities. Their participation rights are frequently undermined by cultural expectations and social norms, exclusion from male-dominated decision-making platforms, lack of financial resources, restricted access to information and knowledge, discrimination and widespread violence. Throughout the electoral cycle, a wide range of stakeholders can commit to promote gender equality and women’s participation in their respective action fields, including political parties, electoral management bodies (EMBs), civil society, election observers, the media, international electoral assistance providers and many others. This topic area analyzes obstacles to women’s political participation, as well as strategies implemented by relevant stakeholders to promote gender equality throughout the electoral process.  

Despite lack of data in many areas, evidence shows that women are under-represented at all levels in politics and decision-making. Women’s participation in national parliaments has increased across the globe in the last years, going from 13.8 percent in 2000 to 24.3 percent in 2019.[1] In spite of this progress, there is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality in political representation and effective participation of all men and women in the electoral process. 

Legal and policy frameworks set the game rules and affect gender equality and women’s participation in elections. The choice of the electoral system has an important impact on this matter. Also, the adoption of Temporary Special Measures (TSM), including quotas, has shown to be a critical factor in increasing women’s representation in elected bodies. 

Although political parties’ traditionally male-dominated structures and power models often create barriers for women, they can also be instrumental in facilitating their political advancement, integrating their voices in the political process and ensuring them a place in decision-making. Political parties can mainstream gender within their internal organization and in their work by developing gender-sensitive legal and policy frameworks, ensuring gender-balanced candidate recruitment and supporting women politicians in their campaigns. 

EMBs can consider a wide range of entry points to enhance women’s participation and promote gender equality within their internal organization. Some of these strategies include collecting sex-disaggregated data, including gender equality provisions in their planning and internal policies, creating gender units or committees, seeking a balanced representation of men and women among electoral staff, and organizing capacity building initiatives, among others. Furthermore, in their external strategy, EMBs and other relevant stakeholders can make efforts to promote gender equality and women’s participation at different stages of the electoral cycle that comprise voter registration, candidate nomination, voter outreach, electoral operations and procedures during Election Day and dispute resolution mechanisms.

Both international and domestic election observation can integrate a gender-sensitive approach, looking into barriers that hinder women’s participation in elections. This gender perspective can be either mainstreamed through comprehensive election observation, or put into practice through specific observation efforts targeting women’s participation. A gender-balanced composition of observation teams is key to promote the principle of equality. Also, integrating the issue of women’s participation in the reporting process, including final reports and recommendations, can contribute to improve their participation in a constructive manner. 

Mass media often present negative and minimizing images of women, contributing to their exclusion from the political sphere. Media monitoring initiatives can help identify bias against women in the media and assess the quality and plurality of the election coverage. Capacity building and training for journalists and media professionals can also improve their skills on gender-sensitive reporting. Moreover, integrating gender equality provisions in codes of conduct for media in elections can contribute to avoiding harmful stereotypes against women and integrate their voices in the public debate. 

Another major obstacle to the realization of women’s political and electoral rights is Violence Against Women in Elections (VAWE). It comprises several types of violence, including harassment, intimidation, psychological abuse, sexual violence and physical attacks, directed to women with different roles in the electoral process, such as voters, candidates, party supporters, observers, electoral administrators or public officials, among others. Electoral stakeholders can use a wide range of strategies to prevent and mitigate VAWE throughout the electoral cycle, including mapping and measuring VAWE, integrating this component into election observation and violence monitoring, fostering legal and policy reform, making specific electoral arrangements, working with political parties and raising public awareness on this issue.

Despite existing threats to the enjoyment of the rights to peaceful assembly and association and the current global trend of shrinking civic space, civil society groups around the world continue to claim for gender equality in politics and more inclusive electoral processes. In many countries, the advocacy efforts of women’s associations have contributed to positive social change, by increasing women’s participation. Efforts to promote gender equality should also involve men and engage male allies in the construction of inclusive democratic systems.

During the post-electoral period, parliamentarians can play an important role in the promotion of gender equality and women’s participation, by adopting relevant legislation, conducting effective oversight of government policies and strengthening parliamentary structures to promote equality and women’s rights.

In addition, this topic area includes documents, strategies and examples from electoral stakeholders who are also addressing gender equality in the electoral process from a non-binary perspective, in order to advance the realization of political rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. The different sections of the topic area will include an analysis of the barriers affecting the electoral participation of LGBTI as well as strategies put in practice by a wide range of stakeholders, including EMBs, to promote political inclusion.

CONTEXT

The principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”[1] is at the heart of democratic systems, which have been shaped, historically, by institutions, social movements and people claiming for human rights. Gender equality advocates have led and continue to lead a battle in favor of social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights, under the belief that “women’s rights are human rights”[2]. The women’s suffrage movement moved forward the human rights agenda with the struggle for the right of women to vote. In 2015, Saudi Arabia allowed women to vote for the first time, joining the majority of countries worldwide, where it is common that national constitutions and legal frameworks enshrine the right to vote of men and women in terms of equality. Most countries also recognize women’s right to stand for election, their right to express opinions or their right to association and peaceful assembly and, therefore, women should supposedly be free and able to contribute to the political and public life. However, formal recognition of women’s political rights is far from translating into an effective participation of women in practice. 

Globally, women only represent 6.6 percent of heads of state, 5.2 percent of heads of government[3], 24.3 percent of parliamentarians[4], and the proportion of women elected to local government is unknown.[5] Despite formal recognition of their political rights, available data shows that women continue to be excluded from the political and democratic process and that decision-making continues to be male-dominated. 

Some of the barriers that women currently face when entering the political arena include, among others, widespread violence, gender blind legal frameworks, lack of formal and political education, existing practices within political parties that lead to women’s exclusion, gender biased media coverage of the electoral process and restricted access to campaign funding. The male dominance of the political and public space is ultimately the result of deeply entrenched cultural expectations on the roles that women and men should play in society. In patriarchal systems, men tend to have predominant roles in political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control over property, and hold power over most decisions in life, while women are excluded from the decision-making process and relegated to caregiving roles.

Women have historically suffered and continue to suffer from discrimination and violence in public and private life. However, in the last century traditional gender roles started to be questioned by women’s movements that claimed for equal rights. In the long run, they contributed to positive social change and were central in the construction of more inclusive and democratic societies. Despite persisting inequalities and uneven advances, women’s rights found a place in the political agenda and mentalities all over the world started to experience a deep shift.

The adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1979 was a historical landmark that allowed the specific recognition of women’s human rights, including political rights. Another turning point was the Fourth World Conference on Women, where governments joined forces to commit to gender equality and to “ensure the full implementation of the human rights of women and of the girl child […].” The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action established the target of gender balance in decision-making and recognized that “women’s empowerment and their full participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society, including participation in the decision-making process and access to power, are fundamental for the achievement of equality, development and peace.”

Although women remain underrepresented in decision-making positions, progress has been made in recent decades as debates emerged over how descriptive or numeric representation in parliaments and decision-making institutions can translate into substantive representation in a way that women’s interests and claims are reflected on legislation and decisions adopted by the elected body. The critical mass theory provides insight on this matter, arguing that certain levels of representation are required for women’s voices to be heard. On the other hand, research has shown that “critical acts” in terms of women’s substantive representation are possible even without reaching critical mass representation.[6]

Political and electoral participation of women is not only restricted to representation in decision-making institutions, since women can also exercise their participation rights during elections in different capacities, including as voters, candidates, elected officials, electoral administrators, observers and civil society representatives, among others. A comprehensive approach to women’s political participation needs to take into account all stages of the electoral cycle, comprising the pre-electoral, the electoral and the post-electoral periods. All throughout the process, the engagement of various stakeholders, from EMBs to political parties, the media, or civil society, is key to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the long run. 

In the last years, there has been a shift from women’s issues to the broader notion of gender equality, and the perspective has evolved from women only to both women and men as beneficiaries of equal rights. More and more men are slowly but steadily starting to get engaged in the search for equality, challenging traditional notions of patriarchal masculinities and promoting a deep positive transformation of social attitudes and norms. Through the global commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, which are underpinned by gender equality and women’s empowerment as a key to development, men are increasingly championing for gender equality.

Understandings of gender beyond the binary logic have also started to emerge, taking into account the rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity. LGBTI persons often suffer from discrimination and violence and their participation rights are undermined. At least 75 countries have criminalized same-sex relations[7] and hate crimes against this community are on the rise across the globe. In spite of these barriers, the effective participation of LGBTI persons remains an important aspect in the construction of truly democratic systems, based on the principle that no one should be left behind. The efforts made by numerous EMBs around the globe to promote the political inclusion of these communities are based on the conviction that inclusive electoral processes require the participation of all citizens, as well as the respect of their human rights. 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Around the world, a wide range of strategies is used to promote gender equality and women’s participation in the electoral process. Despite the variety of approaches, there is a need for general principles that guide this kind of interventions. The following guiding principles aim at orienting programs and policies to enhance effective, meaningful and equal participation of all genders in politics and elections.

• Human rights-based approach: The human rights-based approach helps identify inequalities, discrimination and unbalanced power relations in the electoral process. Based on human rights principles, this approach emphasizes the participation of all actors in the decision-making process, with a particular focus on under-represented groups. Strategies promoting gender equality and women’s participation in the electoral process seek to fulfill the civil and political rights of all people, regardless their gender identity, helping them overcome barriers and leveling the playing field in politics.
• Inclusion: Recognizing the value of diversity is key to ensure that electoral processes are genuinely democratic and leave no one behind. All relevant stakeholders should be able to fully participate in elections without discrimination or violence, regardless their gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, age, disability status and religion, among other conditions.
• Participation: Through a number of participation mechanisms, men and women are empowered to play an essential role in their own development and also in their communities. Constructive participation strategies in the electoral process comprise a wide range of activities, including voting, standing as a candidate, expressing opinions, supporting political parties and candidates, serving as a polling officer, protesting peacefully and observing the election, among others.
• Transparency: Strategies promoting gender equality and women’s participation in elections should be clear and open, and the process needs to be understandable for all parts involved. Stakeholders should take responsibility for their actions and be held accountable.
• Impartiality: Acknowledging the political nature of the electoral process, actors promoting gender equality and women’s participation should not take sides in favor of political parties and contestants. When pursuing the goal of gender equality, they should be able to work with men and women from all ideological backgrounds and party lines, treating them equally and fairly, without giving advantage to any tendency. This guiding principle may present the exception of stakeholders with a strictly political nature, such as political parties, contestants and activists.
• Integrity: The behavior of actors seeking to promote gender equality and women’s participation in elections should reflect high ethical standards. When they abide by the principles of transparency, accountability, fairness and impartiality, the credibility of gender work is often strengthened and trust among partners and the public tends to increase.
• Effective collaboration: Stakeholders working to promote inclusive electoral processes need to join forces and ensure an effective and sincere collaboration, in order to avoid gaps and overlapping in gender equality programming.
• Do no harm: When advocating for gender equality in the electoral process, stakeholders need to be aware of existing social and conflict dynamics, in a way that their actions do not end up harming involved stakeholders or undermining their rights in any way. This is of the outmost importance when working with LGBTI communities in highly hostile environments.

These guiding principles are not exhaustive; they are a starting point, and can be strengthened, expanded and applied to different experiences and realities when promoting gender equality and women’s political participation.

KEY CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS ON GENDER AND ELECTIONS

Key concepts about gender and gender equality

This topic area uses the following terminology:

• 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.[1] 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.[2]
• 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 or they identify themselves as female or male. It implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration.[3]
• Gender mainstreaming is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policy or programs, 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.[4]
• Gender-sensitive takes into consideration the diversity of various groups of women and men, their specific activities and challenges.[5]
• Gender-specific or gender-targeted interventions seek to tackle specific areas where women are unrepresented or disadvantaged, including through the adoption of TSM, and are part of a comprehensive gender mainstreaming approach.[6]
• LGBTI stands for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex”. This acronym is generally used to refer to persons with diverse gender identity or sexual orientation, or groups advocating for their human rights. However, there is a wide range of expressions often used to refer to these communities, including LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning) or LGBT+ (the plus is inclusive of other groups, such as asexual, intersex, queer, questioning, etc.), among others. When referring to specific cases or examples, this topic area reproduces their own terminology, using the term referred by the source. LGBTI groups are not homogeneous and gather people with different interests and needs.
• 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.[7]

 

Women’s roles in the electoral process

Electoral participation can take multiple forms that contribute to the realization of civil and political rights. Voters and candidates exercise, respectively, their right to vote (active suffrage) and their right to stand for election (passive suffrage). Members of EMBs exercise their right to have access to public service in their country. Journalists and media professionals exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression and contribute to fulfill the right of all citizens and the general public to access election-related information. Domestic observers, election mediators, voter education agents, and other civil society representatives exercise their right to participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country.

Gender inequality and discrimination in society and in politics have a negative impact on women’s participation in elections. In various roles as voters, candidates, journalists, civil society representatives and electoral administrators, women frequently face social, physical, psychological, economic and cultural obstacles that hinder the full exercise of their participation rights and they often suffer from discrimination and violence.

Barriers to women’s effective participation in the electoral process

Throughout the electoral cycle, women can face numerous barriers to their effective participation and the fulfillment of their electoral rights. Although this is not an exhaustive list, some of the obstacles that women in different capacities may encounter during the electoral process can be found below:[1]

As candidates, political party members and political activists:

• Traditional gender roles, gender-based stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes and norms.
• The male-dominated model of politics that tends to undermine the value of women’s contributions and their participation.
• Lack of party support and exclusion from decision-making party structures.
• Gender blind legal framework.
• Unfavorable electoral systems and lack of TSM.
• Lack of campaign funds.
• Lack of financial resources to be considered as meaningful members of political parties.
• Lack of formal or political education and limited access to information.
• Lack of political experience.
• The dual burden and a disproportionate share of domestic work.
• Lack of media coverage and gender-based stereotypes and bias in the media.
• In countries where candidates are responsible for deploying their own party monitors during Election Day, lack of party monitors safeguarding the interests of women’s candidatures.
• The perception of politics as “dirty”.
• Violence from within and outside the party.

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Sex-disaggregated data and statistics on electoral participation show that women are generally under-represented in decision-making institutions at all levels. These data are key to understand the obstacles that women face when exercising their political rights. However, sex-disaggregated data is often unavailable, especially at the global level. With the exception of women’s representation in national parliaments (SDG indicator 5.5.1a) with well-established statistics through the Inter-Parliamentary Union database[1], data on women’s electoral participation is very limited, with no global base line data for women candidates, women in local government, women in leadership positions or senior staff in EMBs, women in voter lists and women’s voter turnout currently available.

Women’s representation in parliaments

According to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, women’s representation in national parliaments has increased substantially in the last decades, going from 13.8 percent in 2000 to 24.3 percent in 2019. Among regional averages, Nordic countries are the ones with the highest proportion of women in parliament, with 42.5 percent in both houses combined. They are followed by the Americas (30.6 percent), Europe - OSCE member countries including Nordic countries (28.6 percent), Europe - OSCE member countries excluding Nordic countries (27.2 percent), Sub-Saharan Africa (23.9 percent), Asia (19.9 percent), Arab States (19 percent) and the Pacific (16.3 percent). The countries with the highest presence of women in lower houses of parliament include Rwanda (61.3 percent), Cuba (53.2 percent) and Bolivia (53.1 percent). In all other countries women parliamentarians account for less than half of their respective lower houses of parliament.[1]

Updated statistics on women’s representation in national parliaments can be found in the Inter-Parliamentary Union database.

Women’s representation in national government

As depicted below, the Women in Politics 2019 Map[1], created by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women, shows weak representation of women in the highest position of State, with only 10 women as heads of state or government worldwide, accounting for 6.6 percent of all heads of state and 5.2 percent of all heads of government.

Regarding women’s participation in government cabinets, there are only nine countries where women hold at least half of ministerial portfolios, including Spain (64.7 percent), Nicaragua (55.6 percent), Sweden (54.5 percent), Albania (53.3 percent), Colombia (52.9 percent), Costa Rica (51.9 percent), Rwanda (51.9 percent), Canada (50 percent) and France (50 percent). The most common portfolios held by women ministers mainly comprise social affairs, family/children/youth/elderly/disabled and environment/natural resources/energy, among others.[2]

As regards women’s presence in public administration, there is no comprehensive global baseline, but available data suggests that they are under-represented overall in top levels of public administration. According to a study carried out by UNDP in 2014[3], levels of representation for women in public administration are highly variable, ranging from 75 percent in Ukraine to 12 percent in India and other countries. Although in many countries women represent at least 30 percent of public administration, they cannot be usually found in high-level positions or across all sectors uniformly.

 

Women’s participation in local government

Gathering global data on women’s representation in local government is a challenging process, partly because decentralization processes are different in each country and, considering the wide diversity of governance structures at the subnational level, there is not a common understanding of what level of government constitutes local government. Until recently, a standardized system to collect information on women in local governments has been missing. However, UN Women has developed the methodology and is currently collecting data to measure the global proportion of seats held by women in local government as the custodian agency for SDG indicator 5.5.1b to monitor progress towards achieving SDG target 5.5, “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.”[1]

Women’s participation as voters and electors

In most countries, the voter registration process is a key stage to ensure the right to vote of all citizens, since being registered in the voter list is commonly considered as an eligibility criterion for voters. Making sure that women electors are well represented in the registration process can contribute to foster their participation. Although sex-disaggregated data on the composition of the voter list can help detect gaps and irregularities in voter registration, this sort of data are often unavailable. According to a research survey assessing gender equality in 35 EMBs, carried out by UN Women and UNDP between 2011 and 2012, only 50 percent of surveyed EMBs reported voter registration data by sex.[1]

Sex-disaggregated voter turnout data provides a clear indicator of women’s participation in the electoral process. In most countries, sex-disaggregated voter turnout statistics officially reported by election authorities are not available, partly because vote secrecy makes it hard for EMBs to collect such data. Although some countries, such as Australia, India or Costa Rica, do collect this sort of data, most EMBs do not assume this task.[2] According to UNDP and UN Women’s 2011-2012 survey, only 30 percent of surveyed EMBs reported gender-disaggregated data for voter turnouts.[3]

Women’s participation in electoral administration

Women’s fair representation among electoral administrators is also essential for the fulfillment of their participation rights, particularly the right to have access to public service in their country. However, there is no global baseline data on women’s representation in leadership positions or senior staff of EMBs. In the 2011-2012 EMB survey, 34 percent of countries said that they maintain a database for electoral staff disaggregated by gender.[1]

Discrimination in the electoral process on grounds of gender identity and sexual orientation and barriers to the effective participation of LGBTI persons

International human rights standards recognize the right of all citizens to participate in public life without discrimination, regardless their sexual orientation and gender identity. In spite of this, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people around the world often face numerous barriers that restrict the full exercise of their rights, including their political rights.

Discriminatory laws and practices, violence, lack of information, and social prejudice and stereotypes often hinder LGBTI persons from participating in elections and democracy. In a wider context, UNDP’s 2018 report “Sexual and Gender Minorities and the Sustainable Development Goals” gives account of the complex landscape of social and political exclusion of sexual and gender minorities, analyzing existing obstacles to their political participation, including “familial and social disapproval, threats of violence, challenges in finding and maintaining employment, poor access to health services, bullying and other ostracization in schools […], challenges finding secure and private housing and challenges in establishing and building relationships and a network of supportive friends.”[1]

The Williams Institute’s Global Acceptance Index, a ranking of the social acceptance of LGBT people and rights in 141 countries, shows that “average levels of acceptance for LGBT people and rights have increased globally since 1980, though acceptance has become more polarized, increasing in the most accepting countries and decreasing in the least.” According to this index, for the period 2009 to 2013, the countries with the highest acceptance were Iceland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Andorra, whereas the countries with the lowest acceptance included Azerbaijan, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Egypt. [2]

Criminalization of same-sex consensual relationships is a major obstacle for LGBTI persons. At least 75 countries have laws that criminalize private and consensual same-sex relationships, and at least in five countries conviction may lead to death penalty. Furthermore, criminalization tends to feed homophobic and transphobic violence and discrimination.[3] In hostile environments, human rights of LGBTI persons are often jeopardized and they can hardly take part in the electoral process.

LGBTI rights groups and other civil society organizations have played a major role in promoting human rights for this community, including participation rights. Other relevant stakeholders, such as EMBs, political parties, parliaments, international electoral assistance providers and election observers, have also contributed to these efforts, with actions leading to an increased inclusion of this social group in democratic life and elections.

Lack of data makes it difficult to understand to what extent the LGBTI community is represented in national parliaments. The LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning) Representation & Rights Research Initiative at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been collecting relevant data that brings some light to this issue. The program conducts research on the links between representation and political rights of LGBTQ people, gathering data on political representation of LGBTQ officials serving in government and collecting domestic legislation that relates to the rights of this community.[4] This initiative’s database makes possible to track the political participation of LGBTI persons over time, with statistics on elected members of parliament (MPs) and the existence of related laws across the globe. Among analyzed countries, the program’s research could identify in 2013 a total of “95 MPs holding office in 20 countries (73 gay men, 17 lesbians, four bisexual and one transgender MPs). The largest number was 24 in the British House of Commons”.[5]

Transgender people usually face specific barriers when exercising their right to vote in practice. Voter registration and identification seem to be two particular areas of concern for this group, because their actual gender identity does not always match the one in their official identity documents. In some countries, EMBs have adopted special procedures to promote their participation, paying particular attention to the voter registration process and their identification during Election Day.[6]

Intersectionality, crosscutting identities and multiple discrimination

Personal identities are complex and multi-faceted. In addition to their gender characteristics, men and women can identify themselves in relation to their age, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, disability status or religion, among many other dimensions. Just like men, women normally have various crosscutting identities that intersect and in some cases they are exposed to double or multiple discrimination. Specific groups of women that are especially vulnerable to discrimination and violence might find additional barriers to fully exercise their political rights and participate in the electoral process.

For more information on this topic, please see the ACE Project consolidated reply on “Strategies to include multiply marginalized groups in elections.”

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Legal and policy frameworks define the rules of the game and directly affect gender equality and women’s participation throughout the electoral process. International human rights instruments enshrine women’s right to participate in politics and elections. National constitutions and domestic legislations have an important impact on women’s participation and representation. The choice of the electoral system is also a key aspect of the legal framework, with concrete implications regarding the election of women. The adoption of TSM, including quotas, can contribute to level the playing field and can be a critical factor in increasing women’s representation in elected bodies.

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Women’s political participation and gender equality in elections can be promoted through both international commitments and domestic legal provisions. International human rights instruments contain commitments and obligations adopted by the States to promote women’s participation in elections. Domestic legal frameworks, including constitutions, electoral laws and relevant legislation, EMB’s regulations and codes of conduct, also affect greatly women’s electoral participation and political representation.

International human rights instruments on women’s participation and gender equality in the electoral process

Women’s full participation in political and electoral processes originates in the principles of non-discrimination and equal enjoyment of political rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)[1] adopted in 1948, the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (CPRW, 1952)[2] and other regional conventions that explicitly state that the enjoyment of such rights shall be without distinction of any kind, including sex or gender. A number of international human rights instruments include provisions that recognize women’s political rights, in light of the principles of non-discrimination and equal enjoyment of rights.

Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, 1966)[3] enshrines the rights of all citizens to “take part in the conduct of public affairs” and “to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the electors.”

While the ICCPR establishes that no discrimination on the basis of sex is permitted in the exercise of the rights to vote and to participate in public life, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979)[4] goes beyond this approach, by placing a positive obligation on States parties to take all appropriate measures to end that discrimination, as stipulated in Article 7:

“States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right:

(a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies;

(b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government; 

(c) To participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country.”

Furthermore, Article 4 of the CEDAW encourages the use of temporary special measures (TSMs) to accelerate the achievement of de facto equality, in light of Article 7 of the Convention.

Women’s right to participate fully in all facets of public life has continued to be a cornerstone of UN resolutions and declarations. From the UN Economic and Social Council Resolution (E/RES/1990/15), to the “Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action” (1995)[5], the Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000)[6], the “Commission on the Status of Women Agreed Conclusions 2006”[7] and the General Assembly Resolution 66/130 on Women and political participation (2011)[8], governments have consistently been urged to implement measures to substantially increase the number of women in elective and appointive public offices and functions at all levels, with a view to achieving equal representation of women and men, if necessary through positive action, in government and public administration positions.

Sustainable Development Goal 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, seeks to “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life” (target 5.5.). Its indicators include the “proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments and local governments” (5.5.1.) and the “proportion of women in managerial positions” (5.5.2). Also, Sustainable Development Goal 16, “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”, cannot be achieved without ensuring equal opportunities for men and women to participate in politics and elections.[9]

Participation rights, like all human rights, are for all people, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. A number of declarations underline the importance of guaranteeing the full enjoyment of human rights for LGBTI persons, including the Yogyakarta Principles (2007)[10] and the Declaration of Montreal (2006)[11]. Principle 25 of the Yogyakarta Principles recognizes the right of all citizens “to take part in the conduct of public affairs, including the right to stand for elected office, to participate in the formulation of policies affecting their welfare, and to have equal access to all levels of public service […], without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

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Domestic legal frameworks establish the rules of the game in the electoral process. Constitutions, electoral laws and other relevant legislation, peace agreements in post-conflict settings, EMBs’ regulations and codes of conduct have a great impact on women’s political participation and representation. The United Nations 2005 publication “Women and elections: Guide to promoting the participation of women in elections” gives account of the impact of legal frameworks on the participation of women in practice.[1]

For more information on this issue, please see the ACE Project topic area on Legal Framework.

Peace agreements

“In post-conflict countries, the peace agreement may stipulate conditions for elections. If so, it is important that the agreement be crafted and implemented with a gender perspective that ensures the protection of and respect for the human rights of women as they relate to the electoral system, as specified in United Nations Security Council resolution 1325” on Women, Peace and Security (2000).[1]

Constitutions

In many countries, the constitution explicitly guarantees equal human rights for men and women, including civil, political and electoral rights. “If a constitution does not specifically include such language, this may ultimately prove to be a serious impediment to women’s participation.”[1] National constitutions can also establish quotas for women and other TSM.

 

Electoral laws

“The election law should be clear, comprehensive and transparent. It should ensure that no element of the electoral process disadvantages women either directly or indirectly. For example, election laws requiring candidates to post large monetary deposits can work against women. Literacy or education requirements may give men an unfair advantage over women. Laws creating too few polling stations can lead to long lines and discourage voting by women with small children. In contrast, gender-sensitive election laws can create an environment in which these and other problems may be avoided, and may even include special positive measures to ensure that women are elected to office. It is important to ensure conformity between the election law and any other national laws on non-discrimination or the equality of women and men.”[1]

 

Political party laws

“Campaign finance laws can assist or disadvantage women, depending on their provisions.”[1] Limiting campaign budgets by law can contribute to reducing inequalities among contestants and enhancing women’s access to the political process. Also, political and campaign finance legislation can establish TSM as an incentive to ensure increased public funding to political parties that present more women in their candidate lists, or as a sanction for parties with a low representation of women among their candidates.

 

Political and campaign finance legislation

“Campaign finance laws can assist or disadvantage women, depending on their provisions.”[1] Limiting campaign budgets by law can contribute to reducing inequalities among contestants and enhancing women’s access to the political process. Also, political and campaign finance legislation can establish TSM as an incentive to ensure increased public funding to political parties that present more women in their candidate lists, or as a sanction for parties with a low representation of women among their candidates.

 

EMB’s regulations and procedures

“Election laws often authorize election management bodies to issue legally binding regulations, consistent with the law, on voter registration, campaigning, voting, vote counting, complaint procedures and other issues. These regulations are extremely important. If not carefully drafted, the regulations, like the law itself, may indirectly disadvantage women. When election management bodies are sensitive to gender considerations, regulations that facilitate women’s participation may be issued.”[1]

 

 

 

Political party internal rules and regulations

In different countries, some political parties voluntarily adopt rules and regulations to promote gender equality and women’s participation within their internal structure and organization. These can include the commitment to ensure women’s presence in the candidate list and internal decision-making structures, among others.

Codes of conduct

In many countries, codes of conduct regulate the behavior of various stakeholders during the electoral process, including political parties, the media, election observers and traditional leaders, among others. They can contribute to set the ground rules for a conducive and peaceful electoral environment.

Gender equality laws and legislation addressing violence against women in politics and elections

Gender equality laws around the world contribute to counter discrimination against women and to guarantee equal and fair treatment of men and women, so that they can fully exercise their human rights. These laws can contribute to eliminate discriminatory practices and procedures that could otherwise undermine women’s right to participate in the electoral process.

“Some countries have introduced legislation to address the issue of violence against women in elections and in politics (VAWE/P). A national law in Bolivia and a protocol in Mexico define violations and sanctions. These laws recognize that VAWE/P has an aggravated impact of harming both the victim and undermining electoral integrity and democracy more broadly. Campaign hate speech and incitement to violence laws also exist in other countries and may address forms of VAWE/P. Draft laws on VAWE/P have been presented but not passed in Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras and Peru.”[1]

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There is a wide variety of electoral systems around the world, which respond to different needs in terms of historical relevance, representation, governance and stability. All electoral systems have their own value, and each of them has advantages and disadvantages in terms of representation and governability, as well as concrete implications regarding the election of women. Although all electoral systems can contribute to the functioning of democracy, they are not gender neutral, since they have a great impact on women’s political representation.

For more information on this topic, please see related content of the ACE Project, including:

·      The topic area on Electoral Systems.

·      More specifically, the section on “Representation of Women” in the topic area Electoral Systems.

Key concepts about electoral systems and types

An electoral system is defined as “the manner in which votes are translated into seats. Three key elements of any electoral system are:

• District size: the number of representatives elected in one electoral district;
• Electoral formula: by which the winner of a seat is chosen; and
• Ballot structure: which determines whether the voter votes for a candidate or a party, and whether the voter makes a single choice or expresses a series of preferences.[1]

There are three main electoral system families, classified according to how they translate votes into seats (plurality/majority, mixed and proportional systems) and a fourth family, into which individual systems that do not fit in the three main families are grouped. There are 12 individual electoral systems identified within these main families.[2]

• Plurality/majority systems are based on the principle that the candidate or party with a plurality of votes (i.e., more than any other) or a majority of votes (i.e., 50 per cent plus one—an absolute majority) is declared the winner. Such a system may use single-member districts (e.g., FPTP, alternative vote or the two-round system) or multi-member districts (e.g., block vote or party block vote).[1]
• Proportional representation (PR) is the electoral system family based on the principle of translating the overall votes of a party or grouping into a corresponding proportion of seats in an elected body. For example, a party that wins 30 per cent of the votes will receive approximately 30 per cent of the seats. All PR systems require the use of multi-member districts. There are two major types of PR systems: list PR and single transferable vote (STV).[2] 
• In a mixed system, voters’ choices are used to elect representatives using two different systems: one PR and one plurality/majority. There are two kinds of mixed systems: parallel systems and mixed-member proportional systems. As women’s representation on average is higher in PR systems than in plurality/majority systems, strategically designing a mixed system (for instance, electing half of the members of parliament through a PR system and the other half using a plurality/majority system) can be an effective way to increase women’s representation.[3] 
• Three types of individual electoral systems—single non-transferable vote (SNTV), limited vote (LV) and Borda count (BC)—form part of a fourth electoral system family, in which the SNTV system is a multi-member-district system in which voters can cast one vote for one candidate. LV is similar to the SNTV system, but voters have more than one vote (but less than the total number of candidates, as in the block vote system).”[4]

 

Electoral formula

Countries applying proportional representation systems tend to have a higher proportion of women in their parliaments than those with majority or plurality systems. This is due to the fact that in proportional systems the electoral formula normally leads to more parties represented in the legislature and fewer wasted seats, which offers parties greater incentives to present more plural and diverse lists of candidates, probably including more women among them.[1] In spite of this tendency that often favors a higher number of women in proportional representation systems, it is also possible to have a relatively high representation of women elected in majority systems, as shown by the case of the United Kingdom, with 32 percent of women in the lower chamber of parliament. Other relevant cases are Ethiopia (38.8 percent) and Grenada (46.7 percent), which are both majority systems without gender quotas and have a high representation of women in parliament.[2]

District size

Generally, large district size tends to favor women’s representation. This is due to the fact that in systems with large district size in multi-member constituencies, men and women do not need “to compete for a single post in the nomination process within a party. Parties are thus less concerned about a potential male bias among voters, which often leads them to nominate a male candidate over a female one in single-member districts, often referring to him as the most broadly acceptable candidate.”[1]

Ballot structure

Closed lists, especially when used in conjunction with candidate quotas for women, tend to produce better results than open lists in terms of women’s representation. In systems with closed lists voters vote for a party and cannot alter the sequence in which candidates will be elected, whereas in open lists systems voters can directly select individual candidates. Considering this, it is commonly believed that in countries where public acceptance of women politicians is low, open lists could lead voters to select more men candidates and avoid women candidatures, while in closed lists systems voters would not be able to alter the sequence of elected candidates proposed by the party.[1] Despite this tendency that often favors women’s representation in systems with closed lists, some countries show that it is also possible to have a high number of women elected with open lists. This is the case of Ecuador, with 38 percent of women elected in its parliament’s single chamber.[2]

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TSM can contribute to level the playing field in the electoral process, addressing inequalities and promoting women’s effective participation. They comprise a wide range of measures, including gender quotas and gender-targeted public funding for political parties, among others.

Key concepts about Temporary Special Measures

TSM are “policies adopted and implemented to increase women’s access to political participation and decision-making in order to overcome structural barriers that women face in male-dominated electoral politics […]. CEDAW’s general recommendation No. 25 (2004) states that “States parties are obliged to adopt and implement TSM […] if such measures can be shown to be necessary and appropriate in order to accelerate the achievement of the overall, or a specific goal of, women's de facto or substantive equality” (paragraph 24). CEDAW’s general recommendation No. 25[1] provides some basic clarifications on the nature of TSMs:

• Broad scope: TSMs “should aim to accelerate the equal participation of women indicating that TSMs apply to many areas beyond the electoral or even political sphere”.
• Temporary character: TSMs “must be discontinued when their desired results have been achieved and sustained for a period of time” (paragraph 20). State parties therefore should "clearly distinguish" between TSMs and other social policies implemented to improve the situation of women (paragraph 26).
• Diversity of measures: “The term "measures" encompasses a wide variety of legislative, executive, administrative and other regulatory instruments, policies and practices, such as outreach or support programmes; allocation and/or reallocation of resources; preferential treatment; targeted recruitment, hiring and promotion; numerical goals connected with time frames; and quota systems.” (paragraph 22).
• Context-specificity: “The choice of a particular "measure" will depend on the context (...) and on the specific goal it aims to achieve” (paragraph 22). TSMs should be designed, explained, evaluated and reported upon according to the special context setting concrete targets (e.g. paragraphs 28, 33, 36). There is no "one-size fits all" approach to TSMs.”[1]

 

 

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“The terms "temporary special measures" and "quotas" have sometimes been used interchangeably. Quota mechanisms are actually only one type of TSM related to a country's electoral system or candidate selection processes that are intended to guarantee or promote the representation of women or other underrepresented groups in an elected body.”[1]

The three main types of gender quotas are as follows:

• Legislated candidate quotas;
• Legislated reserved seats;
• Voluntary political party quotas.

Relevant parts of this section are based on the 2013 “Atlas of Gender Quotas”, jointly published by International IDEA, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Stockholm University.[2]

For more information on this topic, please see related content of the ACE Project, including:

• The section “Voluntary Party Candidate Quotas” in the topic area Parties and Candidates.
• The section “Legislated Quotas” in the topic area Parties and Candidates.
• The consolidated reply on “Experiences with reserved seats or constituencies for women in parliamentary elections.”
• The consolidated reply on “Gender quotas in Africa.”
• The consolidated reply on “Abrogation of quotas for women”.

Legislated candidate quotas

"Legislated candidate quotas, provided through constitutions and/or electoral/party laws, require that a minimum number of candidates are women (or of the under-represented sex). This type of quota is usually a binding form of candidate quota for all parties that intend to contest parliamentary seats. Legislated candidate quotas give the state the opportunity to enforce sanctions to compel political parties to abide by the adopted standard. [According to 2013 data], around the world, 60 countries and territories use legislated candidate quotas for the composition of lower and/or upper houses of parliament, and/or sub-national councils. The ranking order and placement of female candidates in winnable seats in closed list PR electoral systems greatly influences the effectiveness of legislated candidate quotas in ensuring the election of female candidates. [According to data extracted from the 2013 research], 12 countries and territories with legislated candidate quotas require a strict alternation between female and male candidates on candidate lists for at least one level/house within the legislature (known as zipper or zebra systems), 12 require a ranking order such as ‘one woman in every three candidates’ or a standard close to this level, while the remaining countries have either a very weak ranking requirement such as ‘one in every five candidates to be a woman’ or have no ranking order requirements at all. Quota rules that include strict alternation or a condition such as ‘one woman in every three candidates’ require parties to field a large number of female candidates across their entire list—not just place them at the bottom. However, such a rule is only effective if the candidate lists are closed/blocked.[1]

[Based on 2013 data,] of the 60 countries and territories that have legislated candidate quotas, 34 countries (57 per cent) stipulate sanctions for non-compliance in the form of rejecting the entire list or refusing to register the section/candidates on the list that conflict with the provisions of the law; only eight countries (13 per cent) provide for a financial sanction.”[2]

 

Legislated reserved seats

“While legislated and voluntary candidate quotas regulate the minimum number of women or candidates of an under-represented sex to be included on candidate lists, reserved seats stipulate the number of women or representatives of an under-represented sex to be elected to legislative bodies. Reserved seats are the least-used quota type globally, but they are increasingly used in Africa and South-East Asia. To date, 36 countries and territories have adopted the system of reserved seats using three main methods for lower and/or upper houses and/or sub-national level councils:[1] 

• A special nation-wide tier for female candidates only: this method takes a number of different forms, for example: (1) the election of a set number of women from districts designed for electing female parliamentarians only (in Rwanda, where women are elected in 24 provinces through a specially designated electoral college); (2) a separate tier of female MPs directly elected in single-member districts (in Uganda); and (3) a separate tier reserved for women to be elected from a special all-women national lists (such as the 60 reserved seats for women in Morocco elected through a women-only list PR system/closed list and in Mauritania, which elects 20 women through a women-only nationwide list).[1] 
• Rotational quotas: this method ensures that these districts will return only female candidates. It is used at the sub-national level in India by rotating reserved wards from one electoral cycle to another, in order to avoid eliminating male candidates from the contest in a given district/ward for a long period of time.”[2]
• Alternate thresholds: “ […] systems establish two thresholds for being elected: one based on greatest absolute number of votes, the other based on greatest percentage of votes within a subset of candidates (in this case, women). Under this approach, all candidates (male and female) compete together in a single race and the candidate with the greatest number of votes wins the seat. Subsequently, an additional number of reserved seats are filled by those women candidates who received the highest proportion of votes without winning a majority/plurality in their district. This is sometimes referred to as the “best loser” system.”[3]

 

Voluntary political party quotas

“Voluntary party quotas have been increasingly popular among left and centre-left parties such as Green, Socialist and Social Democratic parties […] in many countries in Europe. In Sweden, many political parties introduced voluntary party quotas in the form of a ‘neither sex should be represented by less than 40 per cent’ rule in 1970s and 1980s, as a result of which the number of women MPs reached 39 per cent in the 1988 elections. It was only after the 1991 elections (when women’s numbers in parliament dropped to 34 per cent) that women in various parties demanded stricter measures, such as alternating between male and female candidates across candidate lists, in order to secure true parity among elected representatives. Voluntary party quotas contributed to significant advances in the representation of women in national parliaments in countries as diverse as Australia, Germany, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, South Africa and the United Kingdom. […] In about 37 countries and territories one or more parties use voluntary party quotas.[1] 

Any political party can introduce gender quotas for their own lists for public elections. One or two parties can be forerunners for other parties in a country. In many countries, gender quotas were first introduced by individual political parties, and were later adopted by parliaments with binding quota regulations for all political parties.[2] 

Voluntary party quotas applied to candidate lists should be complemented by ranking- order provisions in order to ensure that women are included in leading positions of the candidate lists and evenly distributed across the entire list of candidates.[3] 

Voluntary quotas are likely to be respected and properly implemented in parties with clear rules, a bureaucratic culture and standardized practices […]. Hence, highly institutionalized parties may provide a more conducive environment for adopting and implementing voluntary party quotas.”[4]

Quota provisions to fit the electoral system

“Electoral systems and party structures have important implications for how easy it is to apply gender quotas or the difficulties that advocates may encounter when lobbying for their adoption. […] [It is a commonly believed that] candidate quotas (both legislated and voluntary) are easier to implement in PR systems with large districts than in single-member districts, in which decisions on which candidate (only one candidate per party) to field in each district are much more heavily debated, and parties tend to favour male candidates due to gender-based stereotypes and powerful male incumbents. However, majority/plurality electoral systems based on single-member or multi-member districts have also been successfully combined with candidate quotas, for example in the UK, where the Labour Party has instituted a voluntary system of all-women shortlists (AWS) for selecting candidates nominated in certain districts for parliamentary elections. […] Other examples of legislated candidate quotas matched with plurality/majority systems include Senegal, which uses a parallel electoral system in which parties are required to field an equal number of male and female candidates in multi-member districts. Uganda has an additional tier of women-only districts where women are elected directly, and India has districts/wards reserved for women at the sub-national level, where women are directly elected.”[1] 

Gabrielle Bardall and Skye Christensen’s 2014 research on “Gender Quotas in Single-Member District Electoral Systems” refutes the myth of the incompatibility of quotas in single-member districts (SMD), drawing on case examples from different regional contexts, and investigates effective strategies to implement quotas in SMDs.[2] 

International IDEA published in 2007 “Designing for Equality: Best-fit, medium-fit and non-favourable combinations of electoral systems and gender quotas”, which “offers an overview of the various electoral systems and combinations with electoral quotas, by illustrating which outcomes can be expected when a certain quota is applied under a certain electoral system.”[3] The table below, extracted from this International IDEA publication, summarizes possible combinations of types of quotas for women with electoral systems.

 

Ranking order rules and placement mandates in quota rules

“In all electoral systems (and with legislated as well as voluntary candidate quotas), the quota provisions should include rules about the gendered rank order. Fair vertical placement of the female and male candidates on the electoral list (PR systems with closed party lists) and/or a horizontal distribution of both sexes in winnable seats is essential if women are to have a real chance of being elected. Rank-order rules are adopted to prevent quota rules (for instance a general rule of 30 or 50 per cent female candidates) from becoming merely symbolic, with only a few women getting elected because political parties have placed most of the female candidates at the bottom of the lists or in unwinnable constituencies. Many quota systems today combine rules about the total number of women and men on the candidate lists with specific rules concerning the gender composition of the top candidates […].[1] 

Examples of vertical rank-order rules for the distribution of female and male candidates are: 

• Zebra or zipper systems: alternating female and male candidates throughout the lists (e.g., Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Lesotho, Libya, Nicaragua, Senegal, Tunisia and Zimbabwe); alternation is used by many Green parties as well Social Democratic parties; 

• A requirement that the top two candidates are not of the same sex (e.g., Belgium); 

• 40:60 ratio for every five posts on the list (e.g., Spain); and 

• One out of every group of three candidates must be a woman (e.g., Albania, Argentina, Indonesia, Serbia, Timor-Leste).” [1]


 

Gender-targeted public funding for political parties

International IDEA published in 2018 “Gender-targeted Public Funding for Political Parties: A comparative analysis.” According to this study, “gender-targeted public funding either means that the amount of public funding a political party receives is connected to the level of gender equality among the candidates it puts up for election (or manages to get elected), or that a certain proportion of the public funding a party receives is earmarked for gender-related activities”, such as training for women members of the party. The main goals of gender-targeted public funding include to increase women’s representation in elected bodies and to empower women in political parties. Gender-targeted public funding can be an effective instrument to promote women’s participation, especially in systems where “the share of total party income received from public sources is high”, like it is the case in Albania, where 90 percent of the parties’ budgets comes from public funding.[1]  

Example: In Georgia, “an additional 30 percent in funding will be awarded to parties that have 3 women for every 10 candidates.”[2]

Example: In Moldova, “parties with 40 percent women candidates receive additional 10 percent public funding, plus an unspecified multiple for each woman elected.”[3]

Example: In Albania, “30 percent of candidates must be women in all elections. Failure to comply is punishable by fines, which are taken from each party’s respective public funding.”[4] 

Example: In France, “if the gender difference among candidates is larger than 2 percent, the public funding is reduced by 1.5 times this difference.”[5]  

Example: In Panama, “at least 10% of the public funding is devoted to civic and political education activities. 2.5% shall be channeled solely to support women’s training activities.”[6]

Example: In Mexico, “each party must devote 2% of its annual regular public funding to the training, promotion and development of women’s leadership.”[7]  

In a 2018 iKNOW Politics e-discussion on “Funding for Women Candidates”, participants made the following recommendations to enhance women’s participation through funding mechanisms. 

• “Limiting campaign budgets to reduce the fundraising races; 
• Ensuring transparency in campaign financing to limit the use of illegal money and networks/companies; 
• Strengthening the mandate and operating budget of the EMB to properly monitor campaign spending and hold political parties to account; 
• Provide interest free loans to women candidates; 
• Deduct taxes from donors financing women candidates’ campaigns; 
• Introducing financial incentives for political to increase women’s political participation.”[1]

 

 

The shift from quotas to parity democracy

Several countries have adopted legislation to ensure a more equalitarian representation of men and women in democratic institutions, under the paradigm of parity, especially in Latin America. The principle of parity goes beyond the approach of gender quotas and other TSM. Unlike TSM, parity measures are not seen as temporary, but permanent, and aim to rethink the distribution of political power in terms of gender balance in the pursuit of substantive democracy. In these countries, parity is considered as a further and essential step in the construction of genuinely democratic societies, where women, who represent approximately half of the population, should be able to participate fully in the social and public life under equal conditions as men, and should also be entitled to half of the decision-making positions in the political sphere.[1]  

Although parity democracy had already been a claim of women’s groups, the concept was later defended in the Athens Declaration, adopted in the framework of the first European Summit of Women in Power in 1992, according to which “equality [of women and men] requires parity in the representation and administration of Nations.” The declaration contains several arguments in favor of an equal representation of men and women in the decision-making process: quality of democracy, good use of human resources, satisfying the needs and interests of women and improving the policy making process.[2] 

The Latin American region has been particularly active in the promotion of parity democracy, with several countries recognizing parity mechanisms in their respective legal frameworks for elections, including Bolivia (2008), Costa Rica (2009), Ecuador (2008), Mexico (2014), Nicaragua (2012) and Argentina (2017).[3] The proportion of women MPs in the lower or single chambers of these countries following the last elections is among the highest worldwide and represents, respectively, 53.1 percent, 45.6 percent, 38 percent, 48.2 percent, 45.7 percent and 38.9 percent.[4] In the case of Argentina, the law foreseeing parity mechanisms has not yet been applied in legislative elections. 

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In its 2012 resolution on Women and Political Participation, the UN General Assembly urged all State parties to “strongly encourage political parties to remove all barriers that directly or indirectly discriminate against the participation of women, to develop their capacity to analyze issues from a gender perspective, and to adopt policies to promote the ability of women to participate fully at all levels of decision-making within those political parties.”[1]

By competing in the electoral process to win political power, political parties play a major role in representative democracy. They function as gatekeepers of women’s political participation, acting as intermediaries that articulate citizens’ views through political programs and agendas, and allowing the access of politicians to representative roles as elected members of democratic institutions. Although political parties’ traditionally male-dominated structures and power models often create barriers for women, they can also be instrumental in facilitating their political advancement, integrating their voices in the political process and ensuring they have a place in decision-making.

Literature suggests that highly institutionalized political parties, those in the left or center-left political spectrum and parties with a well-coordinated internal organization of women tend to be more responsive to gender-related demands, but these parties - though generally better than their counterparts – often fall short of parity or equality.[2] In practice, however, most parties of all persuasions have taken steps to advance women’s political participation across the globe.

Political parties can mainstream gender within their internal organization by developing and implementing gender-sensitive legal and policy frameworks that foster women’s inclusion and representation within the party structures and decision-making platforms. Candidate recruitment is also a key stage that allows political parties to promote fair representation, by including women in winnable positions on their candidate lists. Furthermore, political parties can provide women candidates with support for funding and campaigning, with the objective of increasing their chances of getting elected. During Election Day, political parties can conduct gender-sensitive monitoring of electoral procedures, assessing discrimination against women candidates and voters.[3] Lastly, they can also play a role in promoting the inclusion of LGBTI persons in the political process and enhancing the electoral participation of this community.

One of the key publications on this topic is the UNDP and NDI’s 2012 “Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Guidebook to Promote Women’s Political Participation”[4], which offers a general overview about what political parties can do to advance women’s participation in politics. With the purpose of illustrating strategies used by political parties in different countries, examples of good practice can be found in this section, mainly based on the UNDP and NDI’s guidebook. The following graphic resource, extracted from UNDP and NDI’s guidebook, summarizes entry points for promoting women’s participation in political parties.

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Male-dominated power structures and traditional masculine models of exercising power often create obstacles to women’s participation, excluding them from the political process inside and outside political parties. However, in a number of countries, political parties have adopted strategies and concrete measures to create a supportive party environment for women and enhance their participation within their internal structures and decision-making processes. Political parties can develop internal policies and legal frameworks to ensure that women’s voices are heard and that they are fairly represented at all levels within the party. They can adopt measures to promote women’s representation in decision-making, such as internal quotas for women in governing boards and other elected bodies. Women’s wings can also play an important role in integrating women’s voices and interests in internal decision-making, giving visibility to the issue of gender equality and serving as platforms to foster female leadership. Moreover, political parties can mainstream gender equality in policy development, by supporting public policies that advance human rights for women.[1]

Gender-sensitive legal frameworks and policies in political parties

Official documents and statements of political parties often set normative and policy frameworks for gender equality, as they provide a vision of the party and set the rules of conduct. Political parties frequently include provisions on women’s participation and gender equality in governing documents and other internal legal regulations.[1] A research carried out by International IDEA and the Inter-American Development Bank in 2011 revealed that 70 percent of political parties in Latin America referred to gender equality and non-discrimination in party documents, while the remaining 30 percent failed to mention these principles.[2] According to another 2013 study by International IDEA on political parties’ commitments in 33 African countries, 27 percent of analyzed parties had included gender equality commitments in their constitutions and 58 percent in their party manifestos, although there was a significant gap between these written commitments and specific measures to implement them.[3]

According to International IDEA’s 2016 “Framework for Developing Gender Policies for Political Parties”, gender policies can help political parties identify gender-based inequalities; provide clear direction and policy measures to promote gender equality in politics; integrate this issue into their strategic planning; establish specific objectives, measurable targets and implementation strategies; and develop accountability mechanisms for compliance with these goals. This framework sets a model to “assist political parties and gender equality advocates in their efforts to develop comprehensive policies to advance gender equality within political parties.”[4] It offers a reflection on key principles that should guide internal gender policies for political parties, which comprise substantive equality as opposed to mere formal equality; use of special measures to promote women’s participation; consideration of marginalized groups among women; reconciliation of personal and professional life; and collection of gender-disaggregated data and statistics within the party. The document also outlines a number of specific objectives that could be included in internal gender policies, such as improving women’s participation at all levels in party governance; ensuring adequate levels of power and resources for women’s groups within the party; improving women candidates’ access to financial resources and media campaigns; increasing the pool of women candidates; mainstreaming gender equality into the party’s training strategy; and integrating gender in policy positions to advance the rights of men and women. [5]

Although it is essential to institute these frameworks and policies – and many parties have –, they often lag behind in actual implementation of the policies. While developing appropriate policies and frameworks within political parties is an important step towards gender equality, it is also crucial to actually implement them.

Example: In Sierra Leone, a number of political parties have adopted internal gender policies. Through its gender policy, the All People’s Congress (APC) commits to promoting women’s participation in its internal executive structures and elected bodies. The People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) gender policy sets the goal of ensuring women’s representation within the party at all levels, as well as inclusive decision-making processes. The Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) gender policy aims to increase women’s representation at all levels of the party’s internal structure and also in the legislature and local councils. One of the objectives of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gender policy is to promote gender sensitive policies within and outside the party, in order to achieve a more balanced representation of men and women, in light of the ICCPR and NDA’s party Constitution.[6]

Example: In El Salvador, the Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN) included in its ethics code and mission statement a clause on political equality for women. Within this party, the traditionally significant presence of women among its members and leaders, as well as the active role of the Women’s Secretariat, has allowed to develop a strong institutional commitment with gender equality and women’s participation, which also translates into inclusive internal rules.[7]

Example: In Costa Rica, the Citizens’ Action Party (PAC) addressed gender equality in its statutes and regulations, and established a Prosecutor’s Office on Gender Equality mandated to monitor, report and advise on the implementation of the regulations. This party is particularly committed to the principle of gender equality and ensures a gender-balanced composition of all its internal structures, leadership positions and candidate lists.[8]

Example: In Kenya, Article 91 of the 2010 Constitution sets the requirement for political parties to “respect the right of all persons to participate in the political process, including minorities and marginalized groups.” Furthermore, Section 7 of the Political Parties Act requires governing bodies of political parties to reflect gender balance with no more than two thirds of their members being of the same gender. All registered political parties in Kenya have complied with these legal provisions, adapting their party by-laws and internal regulations accordingly. For instance, the 2010 party Constitution of the National Alliance included among its core values and principles to promote equal participation and inclusivity of all people in governance, equality before the law and equity in resource allocation. The Orange Democratic Movement Party commits, in its 2007 Constitution, to support women’s emancipation, fight sexism and make sure that women’s voices are heard and that they are fairly represented in internal organs at all levels. The Constitution and manifesto of the Wiper Democratic Movement includes the commitment to promote freedom to participate in political decision-making through recognition of equality before the law and equal opportunities for all, including women and youth. The United Republican Party commits to promote full participation of women, youth, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups through affirmative action and mainstreaming, while reserving a number of position for women in its governing body. The United Democratic Forum Party, in its 2013 Constitution, pledges to protect and defend the rights of all Kenyan citizens, especially women, children, youth, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups.[9]

Gender audits and gender action plans in political parties

Internal gender audits and action plans can also help institutionalize gender equality in political party structures, processes and practices, according to the OSCE/ODIHR’s “Handbook on Promoting Women’s Participation in Political Parties”. Gender audits assess party procedures, activities and culture from a gender perspective and help identify discriminatory practices that hinder women from advancing their political careers. Within the framework of gender audits, the party’s statutes, policies, strategy and platform, as well as internal rules of procedure, both formal and informal, are analyzed. On the basis of gaps identified by these self-assessment activities, political parties can develop comprehensive action plans to foster women’s participation. [1]

Measures to promote women’s participation in decision-making

Globally, women are under-represented in leadership positions within political parties, even though they represent between 40 and 50 percent of political party membership worldwide, according to 2012 data. Factors hindering women from advancing their political careers can include discriminatory attitudes of political party members, exclusion from masculinized internal power structures and information networks, limited financial resources and lack of reconciliation of professional and family life, among other issues. Aiming to increase the internal participation of women, political parties around the world have adopted multifold strategies, including quotas at all levels, especially in governing boards, executive committees and other decision-making platforms.[1]

Example: In Botswana, the constitutions of the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and Botswana National Front (BNF) contain provisions for a 30 percent quota for women in their central committees, and regional and local structures.[2]

Example: Cambodia’s Sam Rainsy Party and Australia’s Labor Party adopted internal quotas to ensure women’s representation in some or all of their governing boards.[3]

Example: In Morocco, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) has internal quotas for each local branch, which has helped foster women’s inclusion at all levels of the party.[4]

Example: In Mexico, the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) was one of the first parties to adopt a 20 percent internal quota in 1990, which was later raised to 30 per cent. It was followed by the National Action Party (PAN), which adopted an internal party quota for women on governing boards and in the executive committee.[5]

Example: In India, the Bhatariya Janata Party (BJP) amended its constitution in 2008 to reserve 33 percent of the party’s leadership positions for women and make the chief of the national women’s branch a member of the party’s central election committee.[6]

Example: In Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) adopted a 33 percent quota for party officials in 1996. If this quota is not met, internal elections must be repeated.[7]

Example: In South Africa, the constitution of the African National Congress (ANC) states that the party will implement a program of affirmative action to ensure full representation of women in decision-making structures, including a quota of at least 50 percent of women in all elected bodies.[8]

Example: In the United States of America, the Democratic Party adopted rules for the participation of women as delegates at national nomination conventions. As a result of internal lobbying and support of party leaders, the party’s charter requires an equal number of women and men among nominating convention delegates.[9]

Women’s wings in political parties

In many countries, political parties have established women’s wings or branches to advance their political participation. Among other functions, these platforms can advocate within the party on issues of particular concern for women constituents and women party members; influence the party’s policy positions; promote women’s leadership at all levels within the party; lobby for and oversee gender policies; and mobilize women voters and support for the party and its candidates during elections.[1]

The relation of women’s wings to the party’s power structure varies on each case and is frequently addressed in the wing’s by-laws and party regulations. In some cases, women’s wings are represented in party leadership structures and decision-making platforms, such as executive committees and party conventions. Also, a certain degree of autonomy from party leadership can be desirable, to make sure women’s wings are free to raise issues that may be controversial at the beginning or that may make male leadership feel uncomfortable.[2] Women’s wings require adequate funding and resources to be effective, as well as a well-established membership base. Consequently, adopting efficient fundraising and recruitment strategies can contribute significantly to their success.[3]

Example: In Cambodia, Sam Rainsy Party’s (SRP) women’s wing lobbied for the adoption of internal quotas for women in governing boards, provided training for women candidates and conducted civic education and voter outreach.[4]

Example: In Mexico, the women’s wing of the National Action Party (PAN) became an effective platform for promoting women’s leadership positions. Its members advocated for increasing the pool of women candidates during elections. Also, draft policy documents are often reviewed from a gender-perspective by the women’s branch of the party.[5]

Example: In Serbia, the G17 Plus’ women’s wing is recognized as a formal structure of the party. It has advocated for increasing the number of women candidates and placing them in winnable positions of the candidate list. It has also sought funding for trainings for women candidates and activists.[6]

Example: In the United Kingdom, the women’s wing of the Conservative Party, known as the Conservative Women’s Organisation (CWO), hosts annual fundraising dinners and solicits donations from party supporters. Because of its effective fundraising strategy, it is fully self-funded. The CWO seeks to “help the Conservative Party capture the women’s vote” by campaigning around issues that are of particular concern to women voters.[7]

Example: Ireland’s Labour Party requires all women party members to join the women’s wing. This can help create a unified voice that allows the wing to speak from a stronger position. On the other hand, as a result of its membership policy, the wing has members who might not necessarily be interested or involved in advancing women’s participation and leadership.[8]

Gender mainstreaming in policy development

Political parties can integrate the issues of gender equality and women’s rights in their policy positions. Including women’s concerns into the party platform and disseminating these party positions can sometimes help political parties win the support of women voters and improve their electoral outcomes.[1]

Example: In Sierra Leone, a number of political parties included gender equality provisions in their manifestos in the lead-up to the 2007 general elections. The APC 2007 Manifesto “includes a section on women’s empowerment, with the objective of strengthening women’s groups, supporting women’s and girls’ education and empowering and working with appropriate authorities to implement laws and policies to eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against women.” The PMDC Manifesto includes the commitment to achieve gender parity through gender mainstreaming and the reform of discriminatory laws. The objectives of SLPP Manifesto for the period 2007-2012 include to work for gender equality, equity and empowerment and the promotion of women’s rights, through gender mainstreaming, legal frameworks combatting gender violence, increased women’s participation in decision-making and constitutional amendments to adopt affirmative action for women in legislative elections, among other measures. The NDA Manifesto focused especially on women’s education, and proposed to extend free education with primary and secondary schooling for girls in the whole country, responding to special education needs too.[2]

Example: In Canada, the Liberal Party disseminated a series of Pink Books, explaining the party’s position on priority issues for women.[3]

Example: In India, BJP women party members attracted the votes of women by introducing a policy to put 10.000 rupees in the saving account of all girls born in the state of Madir Pradesh to be used for their education once they reached 18 years of age.[4]

Example: In Peru, the Christian People’s Party (PPC) initiated a process to review the women and equal opportunities chapter of its government plan. With support from the International Republican Institute (IRI), the party sought public input through public hearings and meetings with specialized organizations.[5]

Candidate recruitment and women’s participation

The process of candidate recruitment is key to promote the access of women to representative roles and it is articulated through different stages. Eligible candidates include all those fulfilling legal requirements to run for elected office. The pool narrows when it comes to aspirants, who would actually consider putting themselves forward as possible candidates. The following stage in candidate recruitment, the process of nomination, is the most crucial for getting women into office.[1] Male-dominated leadership structures often hinder the nomination of female candidates, resulting in weak representation of women, since nominations usually happen through back door dealings and through networks that women do not have access to. Also, ensuring a gender-balanced composition of the committees responsible for selecting the party’s candidates can be instrumental to increasing women’s candidatures, since male-dominated selection committees tend to result in practice in lower levels of women’s participation in the electoral contest. When there is “weak internal organization, lack of internal democracy or unclear internal rules of recruitment, decisions tend to be made by a limited number of elite members, typically men”. Nomination processes should be transparent and formalized, which usually leads to stronger internal democracy and greater fairness in representation.[2] 

The following graphic resource, extracted  from UNDP and NDI’s 2012 publication “Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Guidebook to Promote Women’s Political Participation”, describes the main stages in candidate recruitment.

Temporary special measures can help political parties address de facto inequalities between men and women and ensure certain levels of representation for female candidates. Political parties can adopt voluntary quotas, seeking a target for women’s representation among candidates. According to 2013 data extracted from the Atlas of Electoral Gender Quotas, in around 37 countries or territories, one or more parties have adopted this type of affirmative action measure. Voluntary party quotas are increasingly popular among left or center-left parties in Europe, such as Green, Socialist and Social Democrat parties, although they are widely used in many countries by all sort of political parties regardless of their ideological background. Voluntary quotas have contributed to increase women’s political representation in countries such as Sweden, Germany, Australia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, South Africa and the United Kingdom, among many others.[3] 

Example: In the Seychelles, the Seychelles National Party (SNP) adopted in 2009 a policy of advancing gender equality in political participation, through a 33 percent quota for women in the Executive Committee, in leadership positions at district level and also on the candidate list to the National Assembly.[4] 

Example: In Burkina Faso, the Congress for Democracy Party (CDP) adopted a 25 percent quota for women in party lists for the 2007 parliamentary elections.[5] 

Example: In Luxembourg, the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) aims for a target of 33 percent women in their candidate lists.[6] 

Example: In South Africa, the ANC adopted a 30 percent quota in candidate lists since 2003, which was raised to 50 percent women candidates for the 2009 elections.[7] 

Example: In Spain, the Socialist Party adopted a policy that 40 percent of all candidates should be women.[8] 

Example: In Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, political parties present women candidates in winnable constituencies or safe seats to increase the number of elected women.[9] 

Funding and campaign support for women candidates

Lack of funding seems to be one of the most important factors hindering women from running for office. Women candidates often need to raise funds for running their campaigns, with little or no support from political parties, both in the process of winning the nomination and in the electoral campaign. In some countries, political parties have adopted voluntary measures to level the field for women candidates, such as reducing or waiving nomination fees, fundraising initiatives, in-kind contributions and subsidies covering travel costs, campaign materials or childcare expenses. [1] International IDEA’s 2014 publication “Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns: A Handbook on Political Finance” offers a general overview of political finance mechanism from a compared perspective. Chapter 9 of this research, on “Women in Politics: Financing for Gender Equality”, written by Jullie Ballington a Muriel Kahane, gives account of a number of barriers that women face to finance their electoral campaigns, as well as legal framework provisions and concrete political finance mechanisms to promote their participation.

In several countries, international electoral assistance projects have supported political parties and other stakeholders in fighting gender inequalities in political and campaign finance. A 2007 study carried out by UNDP, “Electoral Financing to Advance Women’s Political Participation: A Guide for UNDP Support”, identifies entry points to enhance women’s access to electoral finance and basic guidelines for program design in this field.[2]  

Example: In the United States of America, the main political parties have launched political action committees (PACs) as partisan networks to fundraise for women candidates. This is the main goal of the Democratic EMILY’s List and the Republican WISH List. These platforms can channel large amounts of money to candidates, which is important in candidate-centered systems where both nomination and campaigning require substantial funding. Through both initiatives, women candidates have benefited from contributions from individuals and the private sector. EMILY’s List (Early Money is Like Yeast) was created in 1985 to support Democratic women candidates running for office by helping them raise funds through donation bundling. The WISH List was created in 1992 to support Republican women candidates.[3] 

Example: In Japan, the non-partisan organization Women in New World International Network (WINWIN) raises funds to support first-time women candidates running for office, mainly at the national level. This initiative has drawn inspiration from the experience of the EMILY’s List in the United States of America.[4] 

Example: In Canada, the Liberal Party established the Judy LaMarsh Fund to raise money for women candidates and help them get elected to parliament, through fundraising events, direct mailing and the Internet. The Liberal Party also provides subsidies for women candidates, including childcare expenses and travel costs.[5]

Example: In Ghana, a statement made after a multi-party meeting in 2011 proposed to directly allocate 10 percent of public funds to political parties for women candidates and reduce significantly the fees for women candidates.[6]

Example: In Cambodia, the SRP provides women candidates with basic materials for their campaign, including clothing and a bicycle.[7]

Strengthening capacities of women candidates

In many countries, political parties have supported women candidates in their electoral campaigns to increase their chances of getting elected. Training and mentoring initiatives for women candidates are popular measures to enhance their skills in campaigning, fundraising, media management and public speaking, among other issues. Allocating adequate resources and funding for these activities is key to their effectiveness and sustainability. For this reason, some political parties have created special funds for training initiatives addressed to women candidates.[1] 

Example: In Australia, the Labor Party established a mentoring program for first-time candidates, who are paired with more experienced politicians, through its own EMILY’s List.[2]

Example: In the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party launched the initiative Women2Win, which played an active role in recruiting new women members and providing them with training and mentoring.[3]

Example: In El Salvador, women activists from different parties have joined together to form a multi-party institute that provides training to women. Participants can replicate the training for other party members, enhancing their value to their parties.[4]

Example: In Mexico, the PAN organizes seminars and workshops for women candidates, addressing various topics such as motivation, teamwork and attitude. These workshops were mainly addressed to women interested in campaigning or willing to become campaign coordinators.[5]

Political parties’ electoral monitoring from a gender perspective

Political parties often play a watchdog role during the electoral period and are responsible for monitoring procedures and operations of the voting process, checking for irregularities, such as vote buying, intimidation of voters, ballot fraud and poor organization. Political parties recruit and train party agents, and they can seek to make sure that women are well represented in this process. Also, checklists used by party monitors can include gender-focused questions to assess existing barriers to women’s participation as voters and candidates.[1]

Political parties promoting LGBTI participation

Political parties can enhance participation of LGBTI persons in politics and decision-making processes through a number of inclusion strategies. Some of these mechanisms concern the party’s internal structure, such as including reference to LGBTI rights in internal rules and procedures, or creating LGBTI wings inside the party’s structure to represent the voice and interests of this community.

Political parties can also promote LGBTI participation in their external strategies at different stages of the electoral cycle. Some of the measures adopted by political parties in different countries include placing LGBTI candidates in winnable positions at the candidates’ list, including reference to LGBTI rights in electoral manifestos, or less frequently, establishing quotas for LGBTI candidates.

Another strategy to enhance political inclusion is to create LGBTI parties that focus primarily on the needs and priorities of this group, such as in the case of Ang Ladlad in the Philippines. The creation of LGBTI parties is quite infrequent and not always successful in terms of electoral wins, but it can help raise awareness on the human rights of this group. 

Example: In the Philippines, the LGBT political party Ang Ladlad was created to primarily represent the voice of this community. Although the party has had a poor electoral performance so far, it has contributed to place LGBTI rights in the public debate. In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the party in the case Ang Ladlad vs. Commission on Elections, granting its registration as a party-list organization after the Commission had refused it on moral grounds.[1]

Example: In different countries, some political parties have adopted voluntary quotas for LGBTI persons in their candidate list. This is the case of the People’s Democratic Party in Turkey, which adopted a 50 percent quota for women and a 10 percent quota for LGBT candidates in the 2015 legislative elections.[2] In Australia, the Queensland Labor Party also adopted affirmative action measures for LGBTI candidates, with a minimum quota of 5 percent in winnable seats, as established in its 2017 Rules Book.[3]

Example: In the United Kingdom, major political parties have established LGBTI wings to give voice to this community within the party’s internal structure, promote human rights and fight discrimination, inside and outside the party. LGBT+ Conservatives[4], LGBT Labour[5] and LGBT+ Liberal Democrats[6] represent, respectively, the interests of this social group within the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats.

Example: In Spain, most political parties addressed LGBTI rights in their manifestos for the 2016 general elections. Political parties with manifestos referencing LGBTI issues obtained 98 percent of seats in Congress. There were specific mentions in the manifestos of the People’s Party[7], the Socialist Party[8], Unidos Podemos[9], Ciudadanos[10], Republican Left of Catalonia[11], Democratic Convergence of Catalonia and Canarian Coalition[12]. A common proposal in most of these party manifestos is the fight against discrimination and violence on basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, through legislative efforts or action plans.

Example: Following the 2016 United Kingdom’s general election, its Parliament reached the highest number of openly LGBTI representatives worldwide, with 45 MPs who declare themselves gay, lesbian or bisexual, which accounts for 7 percent of the House of Commons. The major parties’ commitment to inclusive representation allowed for the placement of LGBTI candidates in winnable positions. The largest proportion corresponded to the Scottish National Party with 7 elected members (representing 20 percent of the seats obtained by the party), followed by the Labour Party, with 19 openly LGBTI representatives (7 percent of obtained seats), and the Conservative Party, with 19 members (6 percent of gained seats).[13]

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Through their work, EMBs can enhance women’s participation both internally and externally. Inclusive electoral management requires political will and commitment to put in place strategies to promote gender equality both within the internal organization of EMBs and throughout the electoral cycle. This section deals with the internal aspects of gender mainstreaming and their implications for the work of EMBs. 

EMBs can consider a wide range of entry points to enhance women’s participation and promote gender equality within their internal organization. Collecting and disseminating sex-disaggregated data and statistics can allow them to identify inequalities between men and women, especially regarding their registration and effective participation as voters, their presence as candidates and their representation among staff at all levels. In a number of countries, EMBs include gender equality provisions in their mission and vision statements, guiding principles and strategic and operational plans, and have developed internal gender policies. The commitment to gender equality can also be reflected in the institutional structure of EMBs, with the establishment of gender units or committees and the appointment of gender focal points. Human resources systems can seek a balanced representation of men and women among electoral staff and in leadership positions, and can establish institutional mechanisms to ensure equal opportunities in their career development. Besides, EMBs can ensure gender equality in the workplace by facilitating work-life balance and fighting harassment and discrimination. Lastly, EMBs can launch capacity building initiatives addressing gender equality and include this component in training plans for electoral staff.[1]

One of the key publications on this topic is the UNDP and UN Women’s 2016 “Inclusive Electoral Processes: A Guide for Electoral Management Bodies on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation”, [2] which offers a general overview about what can be done to mainstream gender from the perspective of electoral management. With the purpose of illustrating strategies used by EMBs in different countries, examples of good practice can be found in this section, mostly selected from UNDP and UN Women’s 2016 guide. The following graphic resource, extracted from UNDP and UN Women’s guide, summarizes entry points for promoting women’s participation through the work of EMBs.

 

Sex-disaggregated data and statistics

Collecting and disseminating sex-disaggregated data is a key task for inclusive election management, since it allows EMBs to assess gender balance in the electoral process and to better plan their strategies and policies. However, data on the gender composition of registered voters, voters who actually casted their votes on Election Day, registered candidates and electoral staff at all levels is not always available. Data gathering design and processes should consider the gender dimension from the beginning, including a “sex” or “gender” category as one of the data fields and recording it at the time of data collection, since revising large amounts of data at a later stage would most likely increase associated costs. Through training initiatives, EMBs can strengthen the capacities of staff and election officials to collect sex-disaggregated data.[1]

Example: In Burundi, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) developed a tool for collecting and analyzing sex-disaggregated data, with support from UN Women. EMB staff was trained on the use of this tool during a BRIDGE workshop in 2014.[2]

Example: In Ethiopia, the post-election evaluation of the 2010 general election assessed the level of women’s participation as voters, electoral officers, observers and candidates, including sex-disaggregated data in all these areas.[3]

Example: In Liberia, the National Elections Commission’s (NEC) datacenter generates sex-disaggregated data, which becomes available on the NEC website. It is currently available for the 2011-2017 voter registration process. On Election Day, polling staff complete a sex-disaggregated form that is later delivered to the tabulation center together with the results, which guarantees availability of sex-disaggregated data on the voter turnout right after Election Day.[4]

Example: In Canada, Elections Canada (EC) maintains the National Register of Electors, a permanent, continually updated database of Canadians who are qualified to vote in federal elections and referendums. It contains the name, address, gender and date of birth of each elector and is used to create voter lists at the beginning of federal elections and referendums. Although the register is not public, it allows EC to provide sex-disaggregated data on turnout after each election. Data for the 2011 and 2015 general elections is currently available online.[5]

Example: In Nepal, gender-disaggregated data is available for voter turnout and the voter registration process, which is conducted under three categories: “male”, “female” and “third gender”. During the 2017 national-level elections 15.42 million Nepali voters casted their vote, from which 7.77 million were men and 7.65 million were women. At the time, there were 167 third gender voters registered in the voter list.[6]

For more information on this topic, please see related content of the ACE Project, including:

• The consolidated reply on “Voter turnout by gender.”
• The consolidated reply on “Demographic voter information collected by EMBs.”

Gender assessments of the electoral process

EMBs often conduct gender assessments or mapping exercises to identify unequal opportunities for men and women in the electoral process. These gender-based analyses can be conducted at different stages of the electoral process, and can help EMBs articulate their positions on gender equality and develop gender internal policies.[1] 

The post-electoral period offers EMBs a window of opportunity to reflect on the election process, analyze strengths and vulnerabilities of their internal gender equality policies and collect lessons learned. The impact of elections on men and women, as well as their respective levels of participation, is often analyzed through post-election evaluation exercises conducted by EMBs. Some of the aspects that can be considered in post-electoral evaluations include the proportion of women among newly elected authorities, candidates, electoral staff and polling officers, as well as sex-disaggregated turnout rates. Also, post-electoral legislative reviews can help assess barriers to women’s participation within the law, identify areas of improvement in the domestic legal framework and make recommendations for legal reform to foster women’s participation.[2]

Example: In Sierra Leone, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and UNDP conducted a gender assessment following the March 2018 presidential, parliamentary and local elections. This assessment examined women’s electoral participation as voters, candidates, political party members, electoral administrators and observers. The report contained recommendations to increase women’s participation, which were addressed to the government, the National Electoral Commission, the Political Parties Registration Commission, the police and international partners.[3]

Example: The Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) carried out a gender mapping in the field of elections in 2010, with support from UNDP and IFES. This mapping analyzed the legal and institutional framework, identifying obstacles to women’s electoral participation and their working conditions within the ECN. The mapping methodology was based on interviews and group discussions with a wide range of electoral stakeholders. The Commission committed to follow the recommendations of the study, including establishing gender focal points, implementing capacity-building programs for staff, adopting a
 gender policy in 2013 and an Action Plan for its implementation. In 2014, 
it also created a Gender Unit.[4]

Example: Through its 2011 strategic plan, the Moldovan Central Electoral Commission (CEC) committed to mainstream gender equality throughout its work. A reference group was created to supervise a gender audit of the electoral process, comprised of Commission members, staff, civil society and UNDP partners. The audit made recommendations to promote gender equality through CEC policies and procedures and legal reform.[5]

Example: The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) conducted a gender audit of the electoral process in 2015, with support from UN Women. Its findings informed the development of a Gender Strategy in 2016.[6]

Example: In Pakistan, the Electoral Commission conducted a post-election review in 2013 that led to concrete recommendations for legislative reforms to the complaint and dispute management system related to the disenfranchisement of women voters.[7]

Example: In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a post-election analysis is made after every election that includes a gender equality perspective, including statistics on the number of women candidates, elected candidates and voter turnout.[8]

Example: In Canada, various post-election reports include a gender equality perspective related to voter turnout rates, reasons for not voting and women’s participation as candidates.[9]

Example: In Afghanistan, the 2010 post-election review conducted by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) identified at least three areas for potential legislative change to enhance women’s representation, including tightening the language that provides for the gender quota; reconsidering the regulations which require public servants to resign before they nominate as a candidate for election; and making some allowances for women candidates in accepting in-kind support from international donors for campaign expenses.[10]

Gender internal policies and strategic planning in EMBs

In a number of countries, EMBs have included gender provisions in their mission and vision statements, guiding principles and internal organization goals. In a UNDP survey completed between 2011 and 2012, analyzing gender equality in 35 EMBs, 23 percent of surveyed EMBs included gender-related objectives in their strategic and operational plans.[1] 

According to International IDEA’s 2016 Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for EMBs[2], these policies can contribute to “make gender equality visible and an integral aspect in the designing, planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting on internal operations, systems and processes of an EMB”. They contribute to establishing institutional mechanisms for EMBs to address inequality between men and women and barriers to their participation in elections. The main goals of these policies often include building awareness and internal capacities of EMBs to promote gender equality; integrating the gender approach in the planning, management and internal systems of EMBs; and ensuring gender balance in human resources systems, recruitment processes and career development plans.

In certain countries, EMBs have adopted internal protocols and policies to promote specifically the participation of transgender voters, with a particular focus on the voter registration process and identification procedures during Election Day.

Example: In Costa Rica, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has an Internal Policy for Gender Equality and its action plan is an integral part of the institution’s annual work plan. The latter establishes specific responsibilities and resources to achieve the goals of the gender internal policy and its action plan.[3]

Example: In Nepal, the ECN adopted a Gender and Social Inclusion Policy in 2013 and a two-year Action Plan for its implementation. In 2015, the ECN adopted a Gender and Inclusion Strategy for the period 2015-2020, as well as an Action Plan for the implementation of this Strategy from 2015 to 2018.[4]

Example: The Election Commission of Pakistan’s Strategic Plan for the period 2010-2014 emphasized the need for gender mainstreaming and included among its strategic goals the participation of women and other marginalized groups: “to formulate laws and strictly implement them to ensure that marginalized groups including women, minorities and persons with disabilities are able to participate in the political and electoral processes.”[5]

Example: In Sierra Leone, the NEC developed a gender policy in 2014, which was used to mainstream gender into electoral management, although it was never formally adopted. In 2018, the NEC adopted a new gender policy for the period going from 2019 to 2024, based on the 2014 draft and a gender assessment conducted after the March 2018 elections. The main objective of the gender policy is to improve women’s participation in politics and elections as voters, candidates, observers and employees of the NEC. It aims at operationalizing NEC’s commitments in promoting gender equality, identifying barriers to women’s participation in the NEC’s operations and services, increasing the proportion of women employed by the NEC and establishing a long-term framework to mainstream gender equality in the NEC’s work.[6]

Example: In Liberia, the National Elections Commission (NEC) has a gender mainstreaming policy that was approved by the Board of Commissioners in 2017 along with an implementation plan containing various strategies.[7]

Example: In Mexico, the National Electoral Institute (Instituto Nacional Electoral) adopted in 2017 a Protocol to ensure the right to vote for trans people without discrimination.[8] This legal instrument, known as the Trans Protocol, establishes guidelines aiming at promoting the effective participation of trans people as voters during Election Day, including transgender, transsexual and transvestite persons. It is addressed to all stakeholders involved in electoral operations and procedures, including electoral staff, election observers, political parties’ representatives, polling staff and citizens in general, and it is applicable to all sorts of elections and citizen participation mechanisms. The document was developed through consultation mechanisms with trans people and LGBTI associations. The specific goals of this protocol include the following:

• “Adopt concrete measures to guarantee that all trans citizens have valid voting credentials and are correctly registered in the voters’ list […].
• Integrate inclusion measures in the Electoral Training and Assistance Strategy […] to guarantee equal treatment and no discrimination in the exercise of the right to vote of trans people during Election Day.
• Provide information and suggestions that contribute to the sensitization and capacity building of electoral staff, political parties, independent candidates and citizens acting as polling officers […].
• Contribute to eliminate all sorts of barriers that restrict in practice the right to vote of trans people, including those of normative, attitudinal, procedural, material and communicational nature.
• Inform through an outreach campaign that trans people can update their data and photography on the Federal Registry of Electors.”

The following graphic resource describes the main aspects of the INE’s Trans Protocol, notably concrete measures to ensure that transgender persons can cast their vote effectively on Election Day, the proper registration of related incidents, a training strategy to inform electoral staff and polling station members about the implications of the Protocol, and an outreach campaign to inform transgender voters and the general public on these improvements.

For more information on this topic, please see the ACE Project consolidated reply “EMBs with gender policies.”

 

Integrating the gender approach into the institutional structure of EMBs: gender units and focal points

EMBs around the world have made efforts to institutionalize their commitment to the principle of equality between men and women, by creating platforms and dedicating specific resources to gender mainstreaming. In some countries, EMBs have appointed a focal point or a network of focal points with the task of following-up on the gender-related work of different units in the institution and offering guidance. According to UNDP’s 2012 EMB survey, 29 percent of the 35 surveyed EMBs had appointed a focal point at the time of the research.[1] Another way to institutionalize gender mainstreaming within EMBs is to create a specific unit or committee dedicated to enhancing women’s participation and promoting equality in the electoral process. EMBs can include both men and women as gender focal points and electoral staff of gender units.[2]

Example: In Afghanistan, a Gender Unit was created in 2009 “to increase women’s political participation through long-term change at the Election Commission including through capacity-building, gender mainstreaming and making the Commission a female-friendly institution.” The Gender Unit advises and supports all other departments “in order to ensure that women are included in every way as political actors and as staff.”[3]

Example: In Costa Rica, the TSE appointed the Gender Commission in 2000, composed of electoral staff and chaired by a woman magistrate or electoral judge. It played a key role in developing an internal policy for gender equality.[4]

Example: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the seven members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) was appointed as a gender focal point, with the task of supporting the creation of a Gender Unit. The Gender Unit is composed of two women, a coordinator and an assistant. Its main goal is to promote gender mainstreaming within the electoral body. It is also responsible for overseeing the implementation of the CENI’s gender policies at the national and local levels.[5]

Example: In Iraq, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) had a gender unit in 2011, with representation from all the departments and chaired by a female commissioner. The unit received support from a United Nations adviser.[6] 

Example: In Paraguay, the Electoral Tribunal established a special Gender Equality Unit in 2009, with the mandate to gather sex-disaggregated data, analyze the electoral process from a gender perspective, coordinate with political parties on strategies to enhance women’s participation and collaborate with national and international institutions.[7]

Example: In Guatemala, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) created the Department for the Political Promotion of Women and the Department for Social Inclusion in 2013, through the Agreement no. 38-2013. The first is part of the Civic, Political and Electoral Training and Capacity Building Institute (Instituto de Formación y Capacitación Cívico-Política y Electoral), and aims to advancing the political participation of women, especially through civic and voter education activities. The mandate of the Department for Social Inclusion comprises developing capacity building initiatives for the LGBTI community, among other under-represented groups.[8]

 

Gender balance in EMBs: board and staff

A balanced representation of men and women in EMB’s Boards and Secretariats is key to promote inclusive election management.

Boards in EMBs are responsible for policy decision-making. Women should be included in their composition to ensure fair representation and inclusive election management. The selection or appointment process varies depending on the country. In some cases, EMBs adopt TSM, including gender quotas, to ensure women’s representation in the Board.[1]

As the policy implementation arm of EMBs, Secretariats should ensure a gender-balanced composition of electoral staff at all levels, including temporary polling staff. Depending on the model of EMB, the staff of the Secretariat can range from temporary civil service appointments to career professionals in election administration. Whereas in governmental EMBs the Secretariat staff is generally composed of public servants appointed by the executive, in independent EMBs the Secretariat staff is frequently appointed according to their own recruitment procedures and employment conditions. When there is a male prevalence among electoral staff, it is important that EMBs commit to improve women’s representation. EMBs can take measures to promote women’s inclusion in recruitment processes and ensure they are offered same career development opportunities as men. Some of the strategies EMBs can adopt to promote equal employment opportunities include adopting official policies on this matter, inviting applications from women in the job description, disseminating job advertisements among women’s networks and establishing gender-balanced selection panels, among others.[2]

Example: In Bolivia, the legal framework establishes the composition of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). It is composed of seven members, of whom at least two must be of indigenous origin and at least three must be women.[3]

Example: In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the election law states that the “composition of an election commission shall in general reflect the equal representation of both genders”. According to the interpretation of this legal provision, each gender must comprise at least 40 percent of the total number of members of the Election Commission. Furthermore, the Gender Equality Law forbids any discrimination on gender grounds in recruitment, employment and employment benefits, including in the EMB. According to the election law “efforts shall be made to ensure that the number of members of the sex that is less represented within the Municipal Election Commission and Polling Station Committee reaches a minimum of 40 percent of the total number of members.”[4]

Example: In Iraq, the electoral law requires that the Board of Commissioners, composed of nine persons, include at least two women.[5]

Example: In Kyrgyzstan, the election law requires that membership of the Central Election Commission has no more than 70 percent of the same sex.[6]

Example: In Kenya, the law establishing the Electoral Commission states that not more than two thirds of employees may be of the same gender.[7]

Example: In Cameroon, priority is given to women in the recruitment process for the position of presiding officers in voting centers.[8]

Example: In Ethiopia, although there is no regulation on this matter, there is a strong practice of assigning at least two female electoral officers out of five in each of the voting centers.[9]

Example: In Nepal, the Election Commission’s guidelines state that at least half of voter registration enumerators, voter education volunteers and community mobilizers should be women. Each voting center must have a woman to mark the fingers of voters and another woman to manage the women’s line.[10]

Example: In Pakistan, women are appointed as presiding officers in all female polling stations and also in some 
of the mixed polling stations. The Government of Pakistan prescribed a 10 percent quota for women at entry level, which applies to full-time staff in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).[11]

Example: In Canada, Elections Canada is required by law to analyze its workforce to identify gaps in gender representation. This analysis is assessed by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which then provides recommendations for EC to develop the necessary corrective measures through an employment equity plan. Failure to ensure gender representation in the workforce opens organizations under federal jurisdiction to fines of up to 10,000 CAD for a single violation, or up to 50,000 CAD for repeated or continued violations. EC attained gender parity in its workforce, with 56 percent of its staff being women. Women in executive positions account for 50 percent. These numbers date from April 2018.[12]

For more information on this topic, please see related content of the ACE Project, including:

•  The section on “Procedures for Recruitment of EMB staff” in the topic area Electoral Management.
• The consolidated reply on “Looking for a directory of women election commissioners and chief electoral officers

 

Gender-sensitive culture in the workplace

In many countries, EMBs adopt strategies to create a gender-sensitive culture among electoral staff and ensure a respectful workplace environment, free from violence and discrimination, with equal opportunities for men and women. EMBs often require considerable efforts from their staff, especially during the electoral period, where overtime hours and charged work schedules are frequent. Gender-sensitive EMBs can put in place policies that consider the impact of this on their staff, especially on women with families, and promote the reconciliation of their personal and professional lives. Measures to foster work-life balance can include recruiting extra staff or making shift-work arrangements instead of overtime, creating on-site childcare facilities or providing staff with childcare vouchers, breastfeeding arrangements, as well as special leaves for men and women responding to personal emergencies. Another way to promote a gender-sensitive workplace is fighting against discrimination and harassment within the organization, through laws and regulations and through professional development training courses. In the EMB survey, 23 percent of the 35 analyzed EMBs reported that they had a policy against sexual harassment.[1]

Example: In Costa Rica, the institutional gender policy recommends harmonizing family and work responsibilities of electoral staff, considering situations involving domestic violence, single parents, and care of elderly, sick, disabled and juvenile age group.[2]

Example: In Georgia, the gender policy foresees the provision of a flexible working day for mothers of young children. Election administration employees are granted benefits during their pregnancy, childbirth, newborn adoption and childcare. The CEC maintains a staff database, with information on the number of mothers with small children under the age of 11. This helps prioritize needs and adapt the support for families with small children.[3]

Example: In Romania, the EMB has flexible working arrangements for mothers with small children, including extra time for breastfeeding.[4]

Example: In Timor-Leste, training for electoral staff during the 2009 local elections and 2012 national elections addressed specific measures for pregnant women, and women with children, as well as family-friendly arrangements.[5]

Gender training for electoral staff

Gender aware EMBs require staff that is committed to equality between men and women and with capacities to implement gender-mainstreaming strategies in election management. Training initiatives can contribute to both sensitize and strengthen the capacities of electoral staff in the field of gender equality. EMBs can use a wide range of training strategies. Some of them make it compulsory for all staff to receive gender training. UNDP’s 2012 EMB survey shows that 11 percent out of the 35 analyzed EMBs make gender training mandatory for all staff at all levels. Also, gender content can be mainstreamed in all trainings, since there are gender implications in all stages of the electoral process and electoral staff should be able to deal with this issue in their daily work. Strengthening the capacities of staff with specific responsibilities, such as gender focal points and polling officers, can help them perform their responsibilities related to gender mainstreaming. EMBs can also offer women staff training and mentoring opportunities to help them advance their professional careers. The EMB survey showed that 59 percent of analyzed EMBs have a policy of equal opportunities for men and women in career development and training, and in 20 percent of the cases there were mentoring schemes for female staff.[1] 

In some countries, EMBs address the issue of LGBTI participation in training activities and sensitization sessions for electoral staff and polling officers in order to avoid discriminatory attitudes and practices, often with a particular focus on identification procedures for transgender voters during Election Day.

Example: In the lead-up to the 2010 Afghan elections, the Gender Unit organized gender awareness training for female staff, gender focal points and commissioners, addressing attitudes, skills and knowledge. Furthermore, the Independent Election Commission’s (IEC) female staff hold regular meetings to discuss needs and challenges in the workplace, including presentations on specific topics related to elections or gender to strengthen their capacities. The meetings’ recommendations are shared with senior management.[2]

Example: In Mexico, the Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) launched in 2010 the initiative “Gender Equality, Political Rights and Electoral Justice in Mexico: Towards Strengthening the Exercise of Women’s Human Rights”, in partnership with UNDP, UN Women and the Secretariat for External Relations of the Government of Mexico. This project included training for judges at the Tribunal to help them integrate a gender approach into their work. According to TEPJF staff, this training contributed to the adoption of key legislative initiatives and progressive sentences, addressing the implementation of quotas, among other issues.[3]

Example: The BRIDGE (Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections) module on gender and elections offers a comprehensive five-day course on women’s participation in the electoral process. Up to 2017, a total of 187 BRIDGE workshops on gender and elections have been organized around the world.[4]

Example: In Ghana, UNDP offered training for the Gender and Disability Desk Office of the Electoral Commission in 2009, aiming to facilitate its work of promoting full participation of women and other under-represented groups in the electoral process.[5]

Example: In Liberia, UNDP gender experts collaborated with the EMB 
to support capacity development of electoral staff, which resulted in the creation of a Gender Coordinator’s Office within the National Elections Commission (NEC).[6]

Example: In Mexico, the National Electoral Institute’s Protocol to ensure the right to vote for trans people, implemented for the first time in the 2018 federal elections, establishes that all trainings addressed to polling officers should integrate its content. In these elections, considered the biggest in the country’s history so far, around 1.4 million polling officers received training to sensitize them about the importance of trans people participation and inform them about the related procedures foreseen for Election Day.[7]

Example: During the 2014 presidential election in El Salvador, identification procedures for transgender voters during Election Day were discussed in trainings addressed to the decentralized branches of the Electoral Management Body, known as Juntas Electorales Departamentales (JED) and Juntas Electorales Municipales (JEM). Later on, ahead of the 2018 legislative and local elections in El Salvador, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal’s training strategy integrated LGBTI participation. Four people representing the LGBTI community, including two transgender women, were included in the Tribunal’s recruitment plan for electoral trainers.[8] Its handbook for polling officers also made reference to the participation of LGBTI persons. According to this handbook, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people should be able to exercise their right to vote in an environment free from discrimination.

Example: In Ecuador, the National Electoral Council (Consejo Nacional Electoral) organized trainings in 2016 to sensitize electoral staff on the vote of transgender citizens and LGBTI participation, under the lead of its Transgender Project.[9]

Example: In the lead-up to the Guatemalan 2015 general elections, the Handbook for polling station members (Manual de Juntas Receptoras de Votos) developed by the TSE included a section on the vote of transgender people, in order to sensitize polling officers about inclusive identification procedures. This approach was further strengthened by the trainings provided to polling station members by the Civic, Political and Electoral Training and Capacity Building Institute (Instituto de Formación y Capacitación Cívica, Política y Electoral).[10]

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Around the world, EMBs and other relevant stakeholders make efforts to promote gender equality and women’s participation at different stages of the electoral process, including the pre-electoral, the electoral and the post-electoral periods. EMBs in different countries have put in practice a number of gender-targeted interventions to promote the registration of women voters, including women-only registration teams, mobile registration and outreach campaigns. During the candidate nomination and registration stage, a number of TSM can be adopted to promote women’s representation, such as instating legislated quotas in the candidate lists and using public funding measures as an incentive for compliance with certain levels of representation of women in the lists, among others. EMBs, civil society and international organizations can contribute to launch civic and voter campaigns to promote women’s participation, by targeting women specifically or mainstreaming gender in outreach messages addressed to the general population. In certain countries, women leaders and candidates have participated in capacity building initiatives to improve their performance during the campaign and help them reach better electoral results. During the voting process, EMBs can adopt specific measures to promote gender equality and women’s participation, such as placing polling stations in accessible locations, establishing inclusive identification procedures, putting in place gender segregated voting mechanisms, fighting family voting and ensuring vote secrecy. Dispute resolution mechanisms should be accessible and clear to women candidates, integrate women into their structures and avoid gender discrimination.[1] Furthermore, all throughout the electoral cycle, EMBs, civil society organizations and other stakeholders in different countries follow strategies to promote effective participation of LGBTI persons. 

One of the key publications on this topic is the UNDP and UN Women’s 2016 “Inclusive Electoral Processes: A Guide for Electoral Management Bodies on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation”, [2] which offers a general overview about what can be done to mainstream gender from the perspective of electoral management. With the purpose of illustrating strategies used by EMBs in different countries, examples of good practice can be found in this section, mostly selected from UNDP and UN Women’s 2016 guide.  

Throughout the electoral cycle, EMBs, political parties, civil society organizations, electoral assistance providers and other relevant stakeholders can take action to promote women’s participation and gender equality. The following graphic resource depicts the electoral cycle, a visual planning and training tool to assist development agencies, electoral assistance providers and electoral officials to understand the cyclical nature of the various challenges faced in electoral processes. The electoral cycle was developed by UNDP, International IDEA and the European Commission as a response to obstacles to the implementation of long-term assistance in the field of elections. For more information on this topic, please see related content of the ACE Project, including: 

• Section on the “Electoral Cycle.”
• Section on “The Electoral Cycle Approach” in the ACE Project Focus On about Electoral Assistance. 

Gender equality in voter registration

An accurate voter list is fundamental to electoral integrity because it ensures that all those who are eligible to vote are able to vote and that no individual votes more than once. There is a wide variety of voter registration systems. Voter registers are usually constructed either actively or passively and on a continuous or periodic basis.[1]

In active systems, it is the responsibility of the voter to complete the registration process. Voters are required to visit, in person, a place of registration in order to register or, during a subsequent exhibition period, to notify changes in name or address. Sometimes, a new register is created for each election and people have to register each time, often during specific registration ‘windows’ leading up to an election (periodic registration). In other countries, the register is continuously updated and voters may only need to register once and then update details as they change. Another variation on the active methodology is where registration teams may go door-to-door to conduct an enumeration in order to register people. In some countries, people can check and change their details on the Internet or by post.[2]

In passive systems, the EMB may create a voter register by extracting information from an existing list such as a civil registry, citizenship, national ID card database or residency lists. Other common sources of information for integrated voter registries include tax lists, immigration records, national defense rosters, driver’s license agencies, vital statistics databases, subnational electoral lists (region, state, provincial, territory level) and information provided directly by voters. In these cases, voters usually do not need to take any action in order to be on the voter register. In fact, they may only need to take action if they do not want to be on the register for any reason, by contacting the EMB directly or opting out in a designated check-box on related government forms. Where this method is used, a gender analysis of the way in which the citizenship or residency list is created can help ensure that women are not being disenfranchised at that point.[3]

As long as voter registers are transparent, accurate and inclusive, all different sorts of voter registration systems can function effectively. Any type of system will have advantages and disadvantages from a gender perspective and different implications on women’s participation. “[W]omen are more likely to be registered under State-initiated systems, in which the Government automatically registers all eligible citizens to vote, provided the State has the skills and resources to make such a system work effectively. In systems in which individual voters must register themselves, election management bodies should ensure that the need to register is well-publicized, that voter registration stations are easily accessible, and that procedures are quick and simple. Special attention should be devoted to registering displaced persons, most of whom are women.”[4] 

As described below, there are three mainstream requirements of the registration process that may adversely affect women’s registration: proof of identity, photography identification and in-person registration.[5]

1. Proof of identity  

When identity documents such as a citizenship certificate or passport are needed in order to register, women may have difficulties because they are often less likely to have the necessary identification papers or these papers may be held by a husband or father.[6]

Example: In Nepal, in early 2013, many women could not register to vote, as they did not hold necessary citizenship certificates. A directive was issued by the Election Commission of Nepal allowing women to register with a local-level official as an additional method of verification.[7] 

Example: In Egypt, UN Women and the Ministry of State for Administrative Development (MSAD), in collaboration with other partners, started in 2011 the Women’s Citizenship Initiative project. The “Your ID, Your Rights” campaign aimed to ensure women’s basic citizenship rights during the democratic transition in Egypt by issuing national ID cards for two million women living in rural or remote areas.[8] 

Example: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), in collaboration with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), UNDP and civil society organizations implemented, since October 2017, the nationwide initiative “Women’s National Identity Card (NIC) and Voter Registration Campaign”, to bridge the gap between men and women voters. Since the beginning of the campaign 4.3 million women obtained their NICs, in order to be able to vote.[9] 

2)      Photography identification

Including a photo on the voter card or requiring voters to show a form of photo identification is common in new democracies and this measure is often introduced to avoid fraudulent voting on behalf of other person. However, photography identification requirements might restrict the participation of specific groups of women voters.[10] 

For cultures where women wear the veil, the inclusion of a photo on the ID card can be a barrier to women’s participation in the election. If these issues are not addressed, then women may choose not to register because they are not comfortable with having a photo ID. One concern that may arise is the necessity of removing the veil in order to have the photo taken and again when identity is checked at the voting center. Where the use of photos for identification has already been adopted, there are approaches to implementation that may make it easier for women who wear the veil to participate, such as using women-only registration teams.[11]

Example: In Afghanistan, women are not required to have their photo on their voter registration cards. Instead, they may choose to have a fingerprint on their voter ID cards instead of a photo, although the fingerprint serves no visual identification purpose.[12]

Example: Australia and Great Britain do not require voters to display photo identification – or, consequently, reveal their face – when casting the ballot. While registering voters need to state the identification number displayed on their IDs (which normally contains a photo), there is no requirement to actually show the registration clerk the ID card. Tendered or provisional ballots may be used to address concerns of fraud in these cases.[13]

3) Registering in person 

Access to the registration process may be a widespread concern when considering women’s participation. Given that the most common method of registration is for voters to go to a registration office, the location of the office and the times at which it is open need to be considered in terms of easy access for all women. Also, in some contexts where individuals feel that the public act of voter registration puts them at personal risk because of the information required, some countries permit anonymous or confidential voter registration. This refers to the practice of placing certain individuals on the voters list in such a way that their names or other characteristics (e.g., addresses) do not appear in any published or circulated version of the voters list.[14]

Example: In Bosnia and Herzegovina, citizens with ID cards do not need to take action to register on the Central Voter Register. Active registration is only required for out-of-country voters.[15]

Example: In New Zealand, an application to be placed on the unpublished roll requires the following kinds of supporting documentation: a) Copy of protection order for domestic violence; b) copy of restraining order in force; c) 
Statutory declaration from police on the danger; and d) supportive letter from barrister, employer or justice of the peace.[16]

Example: In Canada, women temporarily residing in a women’s shelter may register to vote by special ballot without disclosing the address of the shelter. [17]

In addition to ensuring that the voter registration process does not affect women negatively, EMBs around the world have put in practice gender-targeted interventions for voter registration to facilitate women’s participation. These strategies may include women-only registration teams, mobile registration and awareness-raising campaigns for voters.[18]

•  Women-only registration teams                                                                                                      

In countries where the cultural norm is that women do not mix with men who are not family, registration of women should be conducted by women-only registration teams to maximize their participation. In a survey conducted by UNDP in 2011-2012, analyzing practices in 35 EMBs, only Afghanistan and Mozambique said that they had provided women-only registration teams, while only Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan provided separate queuing arrangements for men and women at registration stations or separate arrangements to reduce violence and/or facilitate women’s registration and safety.[19] 

Example: In Afghanistan, women are registered by teams of women staff. However, the EMB faced challenges in recruiting them due to the low number of literate women available for the task, which resulted from previous decades of girls not being sent to school.[20]

•  Mobile registration

Where mobile registration is made available, it is vital that voters are provided with information on the timetable and location of the registration in their area. In UNDP’s 2012 survey on EMBs, 34 percent of surveyed countries said that they had provided mobile registration stations in rural areas to combat distance. These stations are usually provided in regions and constituencies that are geographically vast and remote, where citizens need to travel long distances. Registration by mail is available in some countries and, although less frequent, Internet registration is possible in others.[21]

• Providing voters with information on how to register

Voters need information about how to register, where to register and when the registration center is open. Women may also need encouragement to register, in particular where cultural norms imply that elections are a male domain, where there is illiteracy or widespread political apathy. In the EMB survey, 63 percent of surveyed countries said that they had provided awareness-raising activities with NGOs or national women’s organizations to encourage women to register.[22]

Example: In Sudan, UNDP administered over US$1.2 million worth of small grants to 41 CSOs in 2009. The grantees were trained on voter education methodology for the registration process, including outreach to women.[23] 

Example: In South Sudan, UN Women, in partnership with the UNMIS Elections Team Gender Unit, supported training of trainers in all 79 counties of South Sudan around the registration process. “You must register” posters and a civic education guide were widely distributed.[24]

For more information on this topic, please see the ACE Project section on “Women and Voter Registration.”

Voter registration procedures can also restrict in practice the participation of transgender voters, considering that their gender identity does not always match the one in their official identity documents. “Since identity documents are a pre-requisite to effective enjoyment of many human rights, including electoral rights, transgender persons who are unable to obtain identity documentation that reflects their preferred gender are de facto disfranchised.”[25] Some EMBs around the world have put in practice specific measures to allow transgender voters to register according to the gender identity and/or social name of their preference, with the purpose of avoiding misgendering and misnaming during Election Day. These measures should be analyzed taking into account the larger framework of national legislation and policies on gender identity.

Example: In Brazil, the Superior Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral) has made efforts to promote the effective participation of transgender people in the electoral process. In view of the 2018 elections, the Tribunal decided to allow transgender voters to register with the gender identity and social name of their preference, as recognized in resolution TSE 23.562/2018, modifying resolution TSE 21.538/2003. The Tribunal established a one-month period, from 3 April to 9 May, for transgender voters to register their social names and to update their gender identity in the voters’ list, so that their voter cards can be printed accordingly. These measures were adopted to avoid misgendering and misnaming transgender voters in polling stations, making sure that they are treated with dignity during Election Day.[26] In words of the Superior Electoral Tribunal’s President, Luiz Fux, “In light of the constitutional principles, and according to the interpretation that the Supreme Federal Court gave to these norms, it is inadmissible that the exercise of citizenship remains subject to any sort of preconception.”[27]

Example: During the 2017 Ecuadorian presidential election, transgender citizens could vote for the first time in consonance with their gender identity. Following the advocacy efforts of LGBTI groups, the Organic Law on Identity Management and Civil Data in Ecuador was adopted in 2016, allowing transgender citizens to modify their name (Article 78) and gender marker (Article 94) in the civil registry.[28] These modifications were later reflected in new ID cards that were issued for transgender citizens, as well as in the voters’ list. Ahead of the 2017 presidential elections, 271 Ecuadorian citizens changed their gender marker in the civil registry, were provided with new ID cards and were included in the voters’ list, of which 227 casted their vote during the Election Day.[29]

Ecuador has gender-segregated polling stations and in the past transgender and intersex voters were forced to line up according to their sex assigned at birth and not their current gender identity. This made many of them feel uncomfortable and suffer discrimination from other voters, polling staff and police officers. The 2016 legal developments contributed to put an end to this situation, allowing all citizens to vote according to their gender identity and their chosen names.[30]

Example: In Nepal, the 2007 Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in the case Pant vs. Nepal recognized full fundamental rights for gender and sexual minorities and established the category of “third gender”, in addition to “male” and “female”. The decision “enshrines the idea that gender recognition should be based on self-identification”, in line with the Yogyakarta Principles.[31]

Since 2010, in line with the court’s decision, the Election Commission of Nepal allowed voter registration under the third gender category, basing the whole registration process on self-identification, without requiring the registered gender to coincide with other identity documents.[32] This opened the door to the effective participation of transgender and intersex voters in the electoral process.

Example: In a 2011 landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Pakistan instructed the Election Commission to register transgender citizens as voters and requested the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to issue national identity cards for those who had not been registered yet. This enrollment process in the civil registry was based on self-identification, under five gender categories: male, female, male transgender/eunuch, female transgender/eunuch and khasa-e-mushkil/transgender/ third gender.

The Election Commission of Pakistan conducts the voter registration process based on self-identification, but voters can only choose three different gender identity options: male, female and transgender. Since polling stations are segregated for men and women in Pakistan, transgender voters need to express a preference for male or female gender identity. This is automatically applied considering NADRA’s civil registry data, so that citizens under the categories female and female transgender/eunuch vote in a set of polling stations and citizens who selected the categories male, male transgender/eunuch and khasa-e-mushkil/transgender/third gender vote in different polling stations.[33]

In the 2013 final voters’ list, only 680 registered voters declared themselves as transgender in the whole country. As of October 2017, only 1.456 transgender citizens were registered in the voters’ list, out of 97,02 million registered voters.[34] This low rate of registration for transgender voters shows that, despite recent legal developments in Pakistan, transgender citizens continue to face discrimination in practice.[35]

Example: In 2014, the Supreme Court of India’s ruling in the case National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India recognized full rights for all genders and created an additional gender category known as “third gender”, in addition to “male” or “female”, establishing that gender recognition should be based on self-identification.

Previous to the court’s decision, the Election Commission of India issued instructions in 2009 to allow voters with diverse gender identity to register under the category of “others”, instead of “male” or “female”.[36] Considering the low rates of enrollment for transgender voters, the Commission organized in 2018 awareness initiatives to promote their registration in the voters’ list in the State of Karnataka, where only 4.552 persons registered under the category “others”.[37] As of 2017, only 1.654 people in the State of Maharashtra were registered in the voters’ list under this same gender indicator, out of the 41.000 transgender people registered in the 2011 population census.[38] These low figures could be mainly explained by the violence and discrimination that the transgender community often faces, as well as the fact that some of its members might not feel comfortable with the “others” category and might prefer to use the “male” or “female” markers when registering in the voters’ list.

Gender equality in candidate nomination and registration

Nomination procedures are those that establish the eligibility of candidates to be included on a ballot. In most countries, candidates register with an endorsement of a political party (or affiliation to a political party or grouping), especially under a list-proportional representation system, while some systems permit independent candidates.[1]

While the qualifications for nomination vary from country to country, consideration needs to be given to whether the rules directly or indirectly discriminate against women. For example, if the candidacy deposit is set too high, candidates from poorer sectors may be discouraged or prevented from registering. As women constitute the majority of poor in most countries, this requirement may indirectly disadvantage women candidates. Consideration also needs to be given to laws with quota provisions requiring that a certain proportion of nominated candidates should be women or from other under-represented groups, or laws mandating a reduction in public campaign finance allocations if a certain proportion of candidates are not women.[2]

More than 80 countries have legislated TSM in the form of gender quotas, which are aimed at increasing the number of elected women to decision-making bodies, notably parliaments. In many countries, the authority to monitor and enforce compliance with gender quotas rests with the body charged with candidate nominations, often the EMB. In some others, the judiciary is in charge of verifying compliance of candidate lists with gender quota requirements and, under certain circumstances, it can reject the list of candidates if parties do not comply with the rules. An interesting trend has emerged in Latin America with electoral tribunals robustly interpreting electoral quota legislation to ensure political parties’ compliance.[3]

Political finance reforms have been adopted in 27 countries with the explicit purpose of increasing female candidatures and addressing gender inequality through the system of public funding. These reforms mainly target the candidacies of women by political parties, where public funding is used as an incentive or penalty for compliance or non-compliance with certain levels of women’s representation and a portion of funds is either allocated or reduced in line with this representation targets. Where EMBs have responsibility for overseeing campaign finance, they are often also responsible for implementing these laws.[4]

Example: In Kyrgyzstan, as amended in 2011, the Electoral Law specifies a 30-percent quota for either sex on electoral lists (Code on Elections, Article 60 [3]). 
Lists that fail to meet the quota requirement will be rejected by the Electoral Commission (Code on Elections 2011, Article 61 [3]). No more than three positions can separate men and women (Code on Elections 2011, Article 60 [3]).[5]

Example: In Mexico, the Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF, Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación) has issued a number of sentences with a robust interpretation of the gender quota legal requirements, in order to ensure compliance in the candidate registration process. The TEPJF voted to reject the candidate lists of five different parties and 
two coalitions competing for seats in the 2012 elections if they did not correct their lists to meet the 40 percent quota. Before the Tribunal’s decision, women represented 28 percent of the candidates on the majority electoral list and 40.2 percent of the candidates on the proportional representation list. Following the 2012 decision, those percentages rose to 41.5 percent and 49.5 percent, respectively.[6]

In 2011, the TEPJF issued a sentence according to which incumbent and substitute candidates must be of the same gender. This ruling sought substantive equality, in order to avoid the political phenomenon known as “Las Juanitas”, by which political parties forced elected women to resign in favor of their male substitutes after the election, while apparently complying with formal requirements of the gender quota during candidate registration.[7]

In 2018, the TEPJF issued a sentence in favor of the complaint of the Colectivo por la Ciudadanía de las Mujeres, Colectivos Muxes y de la Diversidad Sexual against the agreement of the State Electoral Institute of Oaxaca that validated the registry of candidates who were supposedly transgender. The complaint made by women’s associations and LGBTI groups explained that a number of registered candidates pretended to be transgender to fit in the candidate list according to quota requirements. The sentence of the TEPJF canceled 15 out of the 17 impugned candidatures. It should be noted that the INE developed a protocol to promote the participation of trans voters in Mexico.[8]

Example: In Peru, the National Jury of Elections (Jurado Nacional de Elecciones) ruled (decision 721-2010-JNE, 26 July 2010) that the percentage of women on a party’s electoral
 list could be rounded up to the next integer. For example, if a party presents a list with 29.6 percent of women, it would be taken as 30 percent. The Tribunal also ruled (670-2010- JNE, 23 July 2010) that a party list will still be declared invalid if certain candidates decide to withdraw their candidacies even after the list 
is approved.[9]

Example: In Burkina Faso, lists of candidates must include at least 30 percent of either sex (Law on Quotas, Article 3). 
If a party reaches or exceeds the 30 percent quota, it will receive additional funding (Law on Quotas, Article 5 & 6). 
If a political party fails to meet the quota provision, its public funding for election campaigns will be cut by 50 percent. (Law on Quotas, Article 5 & 6).[10]

Example: In Ireland, according to the Electoral Act 1997 section 17,
 as amended by the Electoral (Political Funding) Act 2012 section 42, the political parties, after the 
implementation of the law in national elections, will lose 50 percent of their state funding, unless at least 30 percent of their candidates are women and at least 30 percent are men. After a period of seven years, the political parties should have a 40 percent gender quota in their candidate lists in order receive full state funding.[11]

Gender equality in civic and voter education

EMBs are often entrusted with outreach activities to explain the electoral process to the electorate from an impartial perspective, which include civic education, voter education and voter information campaigns. Their role is not to defend the policies, manifestos or platforms of the various political parties and independent candidates, but rather to educate the population on how to register, how to cast a ballot correctly and why it is important to participate in this democratic process, among other issues.[1] 

• Voter information provides basic facts enabling qualified citizens to vote, including the date, time and place of voting, the type of election, ID documents necessary to establish eligibility, registration requirements and how to vote.
• Voter education typically addresses voters’ motivation and preparedness to participate fully in elections. It deals with complex concepts, such as the link between the voting process and human rights; the role, responsibilities and rights of voters; secrecy of the ballot; the relation between elections and democracy; why each vote is important and how votes translate into seats.[1] 
• Civic education deals with broader concepts underpinning a democratic society, such as the respective roles and responsibilities of citizens, government, political and special interests, the mass media, and the business and non-profit sectors, as well as the significance of periodic and competitive elections. It should ideally be undertaken on an ongoing basis or over the long term.[2]

 

Supporting leaders and candidates during the electoral campaign

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]

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EMBs are required to take into account the specific challenges that women may confront in the voting process and to take specific measures to protect against them. To be credible, all registered voters need to have the opportunity to cast their vote in secret, free from intimidation, and to have their vote counted as part of the official electoral result.[1]

Polling stations location

There are several factors in the location of the voting center that may have an impact on women who want to vote. The distance that people need to travel, the availability of public transport near the voting center and the safety of the local area are important considerations. Women are more likely to vote if there is a voting center near the places that they frequent, such as the market, schools or clinics.[1]

Family and proxy voting

International commitments stipulate that all voters have the right to vote in secret, regardless of their gender. But, where there is a tradition of men casting votes “on behalf of” the family, then strong local law is needed to ensure that the EMB can act to protect women’s right to vote in secret. This could include targeted measures to protect against family voting and other violations of voter secrecy and free choice. A strong legislative and regulatory framework, including meaningful penalties for those who break the law, and a willingness of the police and the judiciary to prosecute, make it easier for the EMB and other bodies to enforce the law.[1]

In some countries, provision is made for male and female voters who cannot vote on the day of the election to cast an early vote and for voters who are out of the country to cast a vote abroad. In some places, these voters nominate another registered voter to be their proxy and to cast their vote on their behalf. Such measures are taken to allow as many people as possible to cast their vote in the election and are known as “proxy voting”. Proxy voting is legal in many countries and is viewed as a tool to legitimately protect the franchise of voters with limited mobility.[2]

A different phenomenon is “family voting” and/or enforced proxy voting, which is often confused with legal proxy voting. Family voting refers to the situation in which the heads of family (often extended family and often male heads of family) influence other family members in how they cast a vote. It is commonly practiced in jurisdictions that have a tradition of extended or customary family structures that allow the dominant member of the family to take important decisions or carry out important activities affecting the family. Family voting can be a serious violation, especially when it is malicious, i.e., when it is carried out with the intent of influencing or removing the freedom of choice of a voter. In these cases, family voting violates the central principle of voter secrecy.[3]

When family voting is a cultural norm, the EMB may need to consider if polling staff recruited from the local area could also be under cultural pressure to allow family voting or could be concerned as to adverse consequences for the women if they do not allow the family to control their vote. Following are actions that may be implemented in polling day management.[4]

•  Tightening the electoral code before the election or enacting clearly defined operational instructions to protect the secrecy of the vote, including prescribing specific measures for orderly operation of polling station, providing sufficient space and isolation booths in polling stations, only allowing one voter at a time in isolation booths and issuing ballot papers one at a time

• Prioritizing training of poll workers to comply with secrecy provisions. 
• Conducting targeted public outreach to educate voters on their right to secrecy, especially among vulnerable populations such as women and illiterate voters. 
• Promoting confidence and transparency by ensuring that, once a vote is cast, the EMB will protect voters’ secrecy and their choice will never be revealed.[1]

 

Gender segregated voting

Women-only voting centers or rooms may be useful, depending on the context. In some countries where family or enforced proxy voting is a problem, the use of female voting rooms may inhibit men from casting ballots on behalf of women. In cultures where women do not interact with men who are not relatives, having a separate space with women staff for the voting process increases access for women voters. When women wear a veil and/or gloves and their face is checked and fingerprints are inked as part of the identification process on voting day, having female staff and a room where there are only women present increases the accessibility of polling.[1]

Decisions about using women-only voting centers or rooms need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of such a choice. Possible disadvantages may include: the added cost and complication involved; whether segregated stations are effective; and whether women-only polling stations are subject to distinct types of fraud and/or violence. Some research has suggested they may create more vulnerability for women in some countries. In some contexts, women-only polling stations are unlikely to open at all on Election Day, thereby disenfranchising all women registered to vote at these locations, and robust protection measures may be needed. In the EMB survey, five of the 35 countries (14 percent) said that they had provided women-only polling teams and stations.[2]

In some places, voting centers may be mixed, but women and men are asked to stand in separate queues as they wait to vote. The primary objective of separate queues is to respond to security or cultural norms and to protect women from contact with men as prohibited by cultural or religious standards. Separate queues may be legally mandated within the electoral law, adopted systematically by the central EMB or implemented in an ad hoc manner at the discretion of the polling station president. In the EMB survey, eight of the 35 countries (23 percent) provided separate queuing arrangements for men and women at voting centers.[3]

Example: In Bahrain, there is a separate area in each voting center for women.[4]

Example: Chile uses separate voting places for men and women. In the few mixed voting centers, men and women place their ballot papers into separate boxes.[5] 

Example: Egypt uses separate voting centers in some areas. Separate queues may also be used at mixed centers.[6]

Example: Kuwait has segregated voting centers for men and women.[7]

Example: Pakistan uses either separate voting centers or separate voting rooms in combined voting centers. Voting centers designated for women are staffed by female personnel. Female polling security is also made available.[8]

Example: Lebanon, Yemen and Jordan use separate voting stations.[9]

For more information on this topic, please see related content of the ACE Project, including:

• The consolidated reply on “Best Practices in Gender-Segregated Voting.”
• The consolidated reply on “Systems with separate polling stations for men and women.”

Regulations on the vote of displaced people

It is estimated that three quarters of displaced people in conflict situations are women. After a natural disaster, at least half of the displaced people are likely to be women. Thus, the issue of refugees and internally displaced peoples are also important gender issues. The United Nations “Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement” include the right of the internally displaced to vote and to have access to the means necessary to exercise this right. Provisions for absentee voting are often central to ensuring that internally displaced people can vote, either for the area where they normally live or where they are currently living. For some large refugee populations, facilitating the provision of out-of-country voting can be a key element of a peace process and a condition of any political resolution.[1]

Example: In Bosnia and Herzegovina, to assist internally displaced peoples in the first post-conflict election, voters were not required to cast their ballot at a particular voting center and a countrywide final voter register was distributed to all voting centers.[2 

Example: In Kosovo, in the first post-conflict election, internally displaced peoples could choose to cast their vote in the municipality where they currently lived or in their original municipality.[3]

Example: In Sierra Leone, a special procedure was established for “transfer voting”, which allowed refugees and internally displaced peoples to register in one location and vote in another to accommodate the timing of the election relative to their movement from camps to resettlement.[4]

Special identification procedures

Voting identification is conducted at two stages of the electoral process: “first for registration to establish the right to vote, and afterwards, at the voting time, to allow a citizen to exercise their right to vote by verifying that the person satisfies all the requirements needed to vote.”[1] EMBs may make general arrangements or adopt special measures to ensure that all voters can be properly identified during Election Day, including specific groups of people that may face challenges during the identification process, including women wearing a veil and transgender voters.

Invasive identification procedures during Election Day may go against the religious beliefs of women wearing a veil and might make them feel their dignity has been harmed. In several countries, EMBs establish identification procedures to ensure that women wearing a veil can exercise their right to vote with dignity.

Example: In Palestine, where there are no separate polling stations for men and women, any women wearing a veil can unveil in front of any female polling officer to have her identify verified. If there are no female polling officers present, the staff can ask any women in the polling station to assist in the process.[2]

Example: In Australia, voters state their name and address, which is checked against the voters register. When registering, voters do need to state the identification number displayed on their ID (which normally contains a photo) but there is no requirement to actually show the registration clerk the ID card. This might raise concerns of people "stealing" the identity of another voter in order to prevent that voter to cast the ballot. Such matters are dealt with by a number of methods, for example by issuing tendered ballots.[3]

For more information on this topic, please see the ACE Project consolidated reply “Identification of voters wearing a veil.”

Identification procedures in polling stations during Election Day can also be an area of concern for transgender voters, considering that their actual gender identity does not always match the one in their official identity documents. In some countries, EMBs have adopted special procedures and practices to promote the participation of transgender and intersex voters in the electoral process, by ensuring an inclusive identification process. These measures should be analyzed taking into account the larger framework of national legislation and policies on gender identity.

Example: In Mexico, the National Electoral Institute’s (INE) Trans protocol includes provisions to ensure that transgender people can fully exercise their right to vote. “All trans citizens with voting credentials and registered in the voters’ list shall be able to cast their vote during the Election Day. In no case the lack of concordance between the gender expression of voters and their photography, or between the name and sex in the voting credentials, could be a legitimate cause to restrict or forbid the right to vote. […] If any of the stakeholders in the polling station oppose or reject the participation of trans people, it should be registered in the incident report form. […] A printed foldout should be available in all polling stations, showing the equality measures to promote the effective right to vote of trans people. If necessary, polling officers can make use of this printed foldout.”[4]

Example: In Canada, people whose appearance does not match their ID photo should be able to vote, as long as their name and address on the ID matches the one on their voter registration. Furthermore, it is not compulsory to show a photo ID or ID that includes sex indicators. There are other identification options available for voters, such as credit cards, school transcripts or utility bills, among others,[5] so that transgender people whose name does not match the one on the ID or who have not changed their gender marker can effectively participate and cast their vote. Also, if voters use two pieces of ID with different sex indicators, they can still vote, as long as their name and address matches their voter registration.[6] Transgender people who are worried about being misgendered or challenged publicly can decide to vote by mail or in advance at their returning office, instead of voting at their local polling station.

Example: In the 2014 presidential elections in El Salvador, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal manifested in an institutional statement that “All LGBTI persons, particularly the transgender population, has the right to exercise their vote, as long as their physical features are unambiguous in their ID photography, their socially assigned name coincides with their ID number and the voter list, their signature coincides with the one in their ID and they comply with the provisions contained in Article 196 of the Electoral Code, referring to the voting process”.[7] In the 2018 legislative and local elections, the training guide for polling officers states that “trans people should not be denied the right to vote when their ID photography does not match their physical appearance. It should be enough if polling officers verify their physical features and there is a correspondence between the name, number and signature in the ID with regards to the voter registration data”.[8]

 

Gender equality in dispute resolution mechanisms and judicial review of elections

EMBs or adjudicating bodies should ensure that female contestants understand the electoral dispute resolution mechanisms, through voter education campaigns or awareness sessions, and ensure women’s access to complaints and appeals, including informal or alternative justice mechanisms. Women should also be involved in the dispute resolution mechanism and gender discrimination should be avoided.[1]

Furthermore, in some countries the judiciary plays an important role in the oversight of the electoral process, as a guarantee that EMBs and other relevant stakeholders respect constitutional and legal provisions. This can have concrete implications in terms of gender equality and women’s participation, as shown in the case of Kenya.

Example: The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) establishes Conflict Management Committees to address electoral complaints and issues. Both at the national and district levels, Conflict Management Committees organize forums to hear complaints by women candidates and voters. They can impose penalties in case of violation of electoral rules.[2] 

Example: In Kenya, the 2010 Constitution recognized a 30 percent gender quota, giving the parliament until August 2015 to enact the necessary legislation to make this measure effective, a deadline that was extended by a year without any legislation being passed. In March 2017, the Supreme Court of Kenya ruled on the quota implementation, giving the parliament 60 days to pass a law guaranteeing the application of the constitutional provision, or face dissolution. This ruling was issued as a response to the petition of human rights groups to compel parliament to enact the law before a general election on August of the same year, arguing that the lack of compliance with the constitutional requirement of gender quota would entail a constitutional crisis. No law was passed after this ruling and some parliamentarians denounced the ruling as an attack to the independence of the parliament.[3] 

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International and domestic election observation organizations can integrate a gender approach through their members’ work, looking into barriers that hinder women’s participation in the electoral process and measures adopted by relevant stakeholders to overcome these obstacles. Gender can be mainstreamed in election observation either through comprehensive election observation, or through specific observation efforts targeting women’s participation in the electoral process. A gender-balanced composition of observation teams is key to promote the principle of equality in this field. Also, considering the issue of women’s participation in the observation reporting process, including final reports and recommendations, can contribute to improved political participation of women. Furthermore, election observation can address the participation of LGBTI persons and assess their access to the electoral process, identifying discriminatory legislation and practices on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and making recommendations to foster political inclusion.  

Developing a gender approach in international and domestic election observation

Election observation can contribute to democratic development through the collection of information on the electoral process, the assessment of its quality considering the domestic legal framework and international standards, and constructive recommendations to improve future elections. It can be instrumental in deterring fraud and malpractice by exposing those problems if they occur, as well as in increasing the credibility of the process by building trust among relevant stakeholders. Election observation consists of the:

“[…] Independent, systematic and comprehensive evaluation of legal frameworks, institutions, processes and the political environment related to elections; impartial, accurate and timely analysis of findings; the characterization of the findings based on the highest ethical standards for impartiality and accuracy; the offering of appropriate recommendations for obtaining genuine democratic elections; and advocating for improvements in legal frameworks for elections, their implementation through electoral related administration and removal of impediments to full citizen participation in electoral and political processes.”[1]

While credible domestic and international election observers share the common goal of contributing to democracy strengthening, there are some fundamental differences among them. Domestic observers usually have in-depth knowledge of their country and its political situation, and are often able to mobilize a greater number of volunteers, resulting in lower deployment costs and a wider reach. They are also better able to reach remote locations that international observers can hardly access. International observers, on the other hand, usually have well-established methodologies and comparative knowledge from elections in other countries. They also attract more attention from the media and national authorities, and in repressive contexts they normally have more freedom than domestic observers to report their findings without fear of retaliation.[2]

In the last decades, election observation has started to integrate a long-term perspective, as opposed to focusing exclusively on Election Day operations and procedures. There is an increasing consensus on the fact that election observation should not only consider the Election Day, but also other key stages of the electoral process, such as the legal framework, voter registration, the verification of results or election complaints, among others. Although there is no one-fit-all model, the structure of election observations missions can be articulated at different levels, according to each organization’s requirements and the needs assessment. First, the core team or group of experts might analyze available information, write reports and make recommendations for improvement. Second, long-term observers might be deployed to different areas of responsibility, in order to gather information on the electoral process across the country. Domestic and international election observation missions increasingly integrate long-term observers in their structure, allowing for a wider scope of observation that integrates different stages of the electoral cycle. Third, short-term observers can be deployed for a shorter period if required, to observe integrity of procedures and operations during Election Day.

Election observation efforts can also “improve the implementation of the human rights of women and help to enhance their participation in electoral processes. Comprehensive observation should include an assessment of how all elements of an election process affect women as well as men. Targeted observation efforts can focus specifically on aspects of women’s participation in elections.” [3] Although including a gender expert in the mission’s structure is considered as good practice in election observation, most missions mainstream gender issues into their work, in a way that all their members are responsible for assessing how elections affect men and women in their respective fields of action. In light of good practice, “election observation missions should:

•  Ensure gender balance in their composition;
• Address gender issues and evaluate elections from a gender perspective;
• Receive training on gender issues and on the electoral rights of women; […]
• Draw attention to critical points of the election process at which women might be disadvantaged, including through major electoral fraud in which men vote multiple times, allegedly on behalf of their families;
• When providing an overall assessment of an election, give full weight to the extent to which the women have been able to exercise their rights;
• Collect sex-disaggregated data on the election process;
• Make recommendations on electoral improvements that would lead to greater political participation by women.” [1]
• Collect data and information on incidents of violence against women in politics and elections.[2]

 

Regarding the content of their analysis, observers should assess the impact of the electoral process on women’s participation, mainstreaming gender throughout all areas of inquiry. As for the legal framework, observers should determine if there are constitutional or legal provisions enshrining the principles of equality for men and women, and whether any aspects of the election code and other election-related legislation or regulations could disadvantage women. Also, it is important to assess the effectiveness of gender quotas or other TSM if they exist. As regards electoral analysis, observers can study how the electoral system affects women’s participation, as well as the role of EMBs in ensuring the participation of women in elections, considering its representation among their staff and the impact of their decisions over women’s participation. When it comes to political analysis, observers can assess to what extent political parties include women in their structure, decision-making process and candidate lists. Concerning media analysis, observers can look into gender-based stereotypes in the coverage of the election process, as well as plurality in media coverage regarding male and female candidates and the topic of gender equality among programmatic issues.[3]

The Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation was commemorated at the United Nations in 2005. It is currently endorsed by 55 international organizations working for the improvement of international election observation. This declaration sets out the main principles that should guide the work of international election observers, including those of impartiality, independence, transparency, responsibility to inform and cooperation with other observers, among others. The declaration also points out the need to cover all stages of the electoral process through comprehensive, long-term observation. It recognizes “the importance of balanced gender diversity in the composition of participants and leadership of international election observation missions […]”, and includes among the functions of international election observation the analysis of “conditions relating to the right to vote and to be elected, including […] discrimination and other obstacles that hinder participation in electoral processes based on political or other opinion, gender, race, colour, ethnicity, language, religion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, such as physical disabilities”.[4]

International election observation organizations mainstream gender in different ways. Making sure that the mission’s composition is gender balanced, with a fair representation of men and women among observers, is generally considered good practice. Furthermore, recruiting a gender expert or mainstreaming gender issues in the work of all members of the mission can contribute to consolidate a comprehensive analysis of how elections affect men and women, and allows integrating these issues in the mission’s reports and recommendations. Clear guidelines on this matter can contribute positively to the integration of the gender component in the mission’s work.

Example: Election Observation Missions (EOM) launched by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) look at women’s participation in a comprehensive manner, analyzing how legal frameworks and media coverage affect men and women, as well as their roles as voters, candidates, elected representatives and members of political parties or EMBs. All OSCE/ODIHR EOM members should collect information on women’s participation while conducting the duties assigned to their position. When possible a gender analyst is deployed; otherwise a core team member can be appointed as gender focal point to coordinate the mission’s work on gender issues. The Handbook for Monitoring Women’s Participation in Elections provides a detailed description of the functions of all OSCE/ODIHR EOM members monitoring women’s participation, including those of the legal, political, election and media analysts, long-term and short-term observers, and an eventual gender analyst.[5]

Example: The European Union Election Observation Missions mainstream the issue of women’s participation in all the aspects of their work, and all their members have the responsibility to report on this matter. In some cases, the core team includes a gender analyst providing expertise in this field; otherwise, a core team member is assigned as gender focal point, liaising with other mission members to coordinate efforts. As regards the recruitment of observers, the selection of core team members should ensure nationality and gender balance. Where possible, there is also gender mix in teams of short-term and long-term observers. European Union EOMs should focus on concrete measures adopted by relevant stakeholders to enhance women’s participation and required further action. This should be reflected in the missions reporting, including recommendations in the final report.[6]

Example: The Organization of American States Electoral Observation Missions mainstream the gender approach through the work of core team members, regional coordinators and observers, whose functions are described in detail in the Manual for Incorporating a Gender Perspective into OAS Electoral Observation Missions. Some missions may integrate a gender specialist team too, responsible for coordinating efforts in this field and advising all other core team members. The manual develops a methodology to integrate the gender approach in different stages of the OAS EOM, including the initial phase, the deployment phase and the final phase of the mission. Relevant findings should be reflected in the mission’s preliminary statement and final report.[7]

For more information on this issue, please see the ACE Project topic area on International Election Observation.

In 2012, the Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations was commemorated at the United Nations. It has been endorsed by more than 160 nonpartisan organizations conducting election monitoring in more than 75 countries, as well as regional networks for election observation. The declaration recognizes a series of principles that should guide the efforts of citizen organizations in the field of election observation, such as impartiality, professionalism, independence and transparency, among others. It establishes the need to engage these organizations in observing and analyzing different aspects of the electoral process from a long-term perspective. The organizations endorsing the declaration commit to “foster the participation of all segments of the population, including indigenous peoples, national minorities, youth and the equal participation of women, as observers, monitors and leaders of their organizations”. The declaration also contains the commitment to “include findings and recommendations in their reports concerning the participation in election processes of women, youth, indigenous peoples, national minorities and other traditionally underrepresented portions of the population […], as well as concerning steps taken by authorities, electoral contestants and other actors to encourage full participation of such groups and/or to remove barriers to their participation, including those affecting voter registration, candidate selection and qualification, voting and receiving accurate and adequate information in minority languages in order to make informed electoral choices.”[8]

Domestic election observation can integrate a gender approach by promoting a gender-balanced composition of their members. Comprehensive election observation efforts can mainstream this issue through the team’s work, by collecting and analyzing relevant information on women’s participation and including these findings in recommendations and reports. Also, it is possible to conduct election observation initiatives with a specific scope, targeting women’s participation.

Example: In the 2014 legislative and presidential elections in Tunisia, civil society launched an election observation mission with a gender approach to assess women’s participation in the electoral process, with a focus on voter education, media coverage, Election Day procedures, and training and support for elected women, among other issues. This initiative was conducted by domestic civil groups, including the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights (Ligue Tunisienne de Défense des Droits de l’Homme), the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates) and the Association of Tunisian Women for Development Research (Association des Femmes Tunisiennes por la Recherche sur le Développement), in collaboration with Gender Concerns International. The mission deployed 10 international election observers and 100 domestic observers in polling centers across the country, especially in rural areas. The recommendations contained in its final report include strengthening registration campaigns for women voters, particularly in rural areas, publishing sex-disaggregated data and statistics, establishing effective procedures to ensure equity in media coverage for all candidates, as well as developing voter education and information programs specifically targeting young, illiterate or rural women. [9]

Example: In Nigeria, women’s rights groups and other civil society organizations received training on election observation from a gender perspective, in the lead-up to the 2015 general election. This one-day workshop was organized by UNDP, in the framework of the Democratic Governance for Development Project (phase II). Participants discussed methodologies for collecting gender-disaggregated data and information gathering and analysis from a gender perspective during election observation.[10] This training strategy allowed participants to strengthen their skills and improve their methodologies for election observation.

 

Promoting LGBTI participation through election observation

LGBTI persons often face numerous obstacles to fully exercise their participation rights in the electoral process. In different countries, election observation organizations, both domestic and international, have made efforts to identify barriers to the effective participation of this community, document discriminatory legislation and practices, and make recommendations to foster political inclusion. Furthermore, LGBTI persons can also participate in the electoral process as election observers.

Example: European Union Election Observation Missions occasionally address LGBTI participation in elections, including references to this issue in their preliminary statements and final reports. In Honduras, the 2017 Mission’s final report gave account of discrimination and violence against LGBT community members and of the existence of LGBT candidatures in the interim and PARLACEN elections. It also pointed out the case of a trans candidate who was not given the chance to change her name in the ballot paper, according to her actual gender identity.[1] The final report of the 2018 Mission in El Salvador dealt with LGBT candidatures, violence against the LGBT community and EMBs efforts to promote the vote of transgender people.[2]

Example: In Mexico, the National Electoral Institute (Instituto Nacional Electoral) established a protocol to enhance participation of transgender voters in the 2018 elections.[3] The civil society organizations Organización Fuerza Ciudadana A.C. and Espacio Progresista deployed domestic observers in polling stations during Election Day, to monitor and assess the implementation of the Trans Protocol. The transgender community also had the opportunity to participate in these election observation efforts, by becoming domestic observers themselves. Organización Fuerza Ciudadana A.C. benefits from the Support Fund for Electoral Observation, an initiative launched by UNDP and Mexico’s EMBs to enhance transparent and independent domestic observation of the electoral process.[4]

Example: In the second round of the 2015 Guatemalan presidential elections, Citizen Action (Acción Ciudadana) and the Multi-cultural Network of Trans Women (Red Multicultural de Mujeres Trans) deployed election observers in Guatemala City and other neighboring municipalities, to identify the obstacles that restrict transgender women’s participation in the process. Their report contains concrete recommendations to promote the effective electoral participation of this community.[5]

Example: In Pakistan, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) recruited 25 transgender persons as election observers for the 2018 Pakistani general elections, to monitor human rights violations, violence and discrimination against marginalized social groups in the electoral process.[6]

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Despite their potential to promote women’s political participation by stressing its key role in democracy, mass media often present gender-based stereotypes of women through negative and belittling images, contributing to their exclusion from the political sphere. This has an unfavorable impact on women politicians and candidates, who are often portrayed as weak leaders, with a focus on their physical appearance or family life, instead of their political views and proposals. Media monitoring initiatives can help identify bias against women in the media and assess the quality and plurality of election coverage. Capacity building and training for journalists and media professionals can also improve their skills on gender-sensitive reporting, supporting gender equality in the media coverage of elections. Furthermore, integrating gender equality provisions in codes of conduct for media in elections can contribute to avoid harmful stereotypes against women politicians and integrate their voices in the public debate. Social media have become a key communication platform in electoral contests. Social media offer women politicians an opportunity to gain visibility and express their political ideas before the electorate, but at the same time they often contribute to the reproduction of gender-based stereotypes and have perpetuated gender-based violence against women in politics and elections.

For more information on this topic, please see the ACE Project section on “Gender, Media and Elections” in the topic area Media and Elections.

Gender, media and elections: gender censorship and gender-based stereotypes

Gender inequalities in society often find an echo in the media, with stereotyped representations of men and women, as well as weak presence of women among the companies’ staff, especially in management positions. Recent research on women’s representation in media content, staffing and management shows worrying trends.

The Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media, published by the International Women’s Media Foundation in 2011, examined more than 500 media companies in 59 countries, showing that “men occup[ied] the vast majority of management jobs and news-gathering positions in most nations”. This research showed that men held 73 percent of top management jobs and 64 percent of reporter positions. Furthermore, the report identified glass ceilings for women in 20 out of 59 countries, more commonly in middle and senior management levels. Women reporters often suffer from discrimination and gender stereotypes within media houses and tend to have little influence on the content of the coverage. Editors with a final say on the content of the news tend to be mostly men and in some contexts reporters struggle to get approval to have their content on gender equality published.[1] 

Regarding women’s representation in media content, the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) showed that in 2015 women only accounted for “24% of the persons read, heard about or seen in newspaper, television or radio news”. Among the roles in which people were portrayed in the news, women rarely appeared as experts (19 percent of all experts), spokespersons (20 percent), subjects (26 percent) or eye witnesses (30 percent), and were also under-represented when sharing popular opinions (37 percent) and telling their personal experience (38 percent). Furthermore, the study showed that 16 percent of women appearing in the news were portrayed as victims.[2] The table below, extracted from this research, shows the main findings of the GMMP for the year 2015. 

Gender-sensitive monitoring of media covering the electoral process

Monitoring media coverage of elections allows identifying difference in treatment to male and female candidates and assessing the importance given to gender equality among all other programmatic issues discussed during the campaign. The following two studies, conducted by International IDEA and UN Women, offer methodological insights and case-specific analyses of media monitoring initiatives of election campaigns with a gender approach.

The media monitoring manual “Election Coverage from a Gender Perspective”, developed by International IDEA and UN Women in 2011, offers a methodological tool to monitor media coverage of the electoral process from a gender perspective. The objective of the study is “to quantify press coverage of election campaigns in Latin America using an analysis with a gender perspective that makes it possible to identify the differences and inequalities in such coverage or in the treatment accorded to men and women candidates, as well as the importance assigned to issues of gender equality in relation to others debated in the campaign.” The research methodology also allows the identification of bias in the information that favor or disfavor certain candidates, as well as gender stereotypes in the news. The quantitative nature of the analysis implies that it measures the space of the information related to the persons and issues that appear in a story. The manual gives some examples of media monitoring of elections from a gender perspective, including the cases of Peru and Uruguay.[1] 

The 2012 study “Unseeing Eyes: Media Coverage and Gender in Latin American Elections” [2], carried out by UN Women and International IDEA, presents the results of media monitoring analyses with a gender perspective during election campaigns in eight different Latin American countries, including Bolivia (2009), Chile (2010), Costa Rica (2010), Colombia (2010), Dominican Republic (2010), Peru (2011), Guatemala (2011) and Argentina (2011). The methodology was mainly quantitative, based on measuring space or time occupied by people or issues in the stories, with some qualitative features that allowed assessing the tone of the story, the journalism genre and graphical support. Media monitoring analyses were effectuated during 30 days prior to elections, considering a nation-wide sample of public and private media with high levels of audience and grating ideological plurality. 

The findings of this regional study show that gender equality was low-ranked among all programmatic issues discussed during the campaign, below 2 percent in most cases, with the exception of Chile, where this issue reached 5.1 percent. As regards the media treatment of candidatures, in seven out of eight countries, media coverage given to women candidates was below the proportion of candidatures occupied by women. In Guatemala, where 25 percent of all candidatures were hold by women, media coverage for women candidates reached only 12.8 percent; in Bolivia, where there was 47 percent of women candidates, their coverage was only 20.6 percent; in Argentina, 36 percent of all candidates were women and they received 18.9 percent of the media coverage; in Peru, women obtained 34 percent of all candidatures, receiving 25.7 percent of media coverage; in Costa Rica, 50 percent of candidates were women, receiving 38.3 percent of coverage; in Dominican Republic, 36 percent of all candidates were women, receiving 19.9 percent of coverage; in Colombia, women held 20 percent of all candidatures and received 18.3 percent of coverage. Only in Chile, the media coverage received by women candidates was higher than women’s representation among candidates, with 16 percent of women candidates who received 18 percent of media coverage. 

Example: During the 2006 legislative elections in Peru, a study conducted by International IDEA and the Civil Association Transparency (Asociación Civil Transparencia) showed that women candidates only obtained 19 percent of print media coverage, 22 percent of television coverage and 26 percent of radio coverage, in spite of accounting for 39 percent of candidatures to Congress. Among the programmatic issues, gender equality accounted for a very limited percentage of media coverage, with less than 2 percent in print media, television and radio.[3] 

Example: In the 2004 national elections in Uruguay, the Political Science Institute of the Republic’s University (Universidad de la República) conducted a media analysis, in partnership with the National Commission on Monitoring Women for Democracy, Equity and Citizenship. According to its findings, only 3.8 percent of political figures featured in the media were women, against 96.3 percent of men. During the 2009 general elections, a similar study was carried out by the same institute in collaboration with Daily Women (Cotidiano Mujer), revealing that women candidates only obtained 13.6 percent of appearances in campaign news, despite accounting for 22.6 percent of all candidatures. The category “gender and women’s interest” reached 3.5 percent of analyzed programmatic issues.[4] 

Example: In Tunisia, the Arab Working Group for Media Monitoring carried out media monitoring with a gender approach in the framework of the 2011 elections to the Constituent Assembly, in partnership with the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates) and other NGOs. The results of this analysis showed that women candidates only received 6.6 percent of coverage in the written press, 8 percent in radio and 10.9 percent in television.[5]

Gender trainings for journalists

Capacity building and training initiatives on media coverage of elections can contribute to promote gender equality, raising the awareness of journalists on their role as agents of change to build more equitable societies and “helping them move away from visions of reality that highlight men while failing to portray the presence and contributions of women in the different areas of social life”.[1] National civil society and authorities and international partners have often delivered trainings on gender, media and elections to promote gender-sensitive media coverage of the electoral process, fighting stereotypes, prejudice and bias against women.

Example: In the lead-up to the 2015 local elections in Timor Leste, Search for Common Ground organized a workshop on gender-sensitive reporting, in collaboration with the Association of Men against Violence and UN Women. A total of 20 radio journalists from across the country took part in this initiative. Participants committed themselves to interviewing community members after the training, including women candidates to the succo (village) elections.[2]

Example: In the 2013 electoral process in Madagascar, the Independent National Electoral Commission for the Transition (CENI-T) organized a series of three-day workshops for journalists, in partnership with UNDP, UNESCO, Médias en Action pour la Formation (MAF) and the National News Agency (ANTA). The main goal of this initiative was to “deepen the professional and ethical skills of journalists from the written press, radio and television”. A total of three workshops were held across the country, in the cities of Antsirabe, Mahajanga and Fianarantsoa. The training sessions covered the topics of media ethics, the role of media in the electoral process, conflict prevention and gender, media and elections.[3]

Example: In Jordan, the Jordan Media Institute organized in 2013 a five-day open forum with journalists and media professionals, in collaboration with UNESCO. Through open debates, participants discussed “topics such as a review of elections and democracy practices in Egypt and Lebanon in comparison with Jordan, Jordan election laws vis-a-vis international standards, elections from a gender-sensitive perspective, and guidelines to independent and professional elections coverage.”[4]

Example: In the lead-up to the 2018 local elections in Sri Lanka, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) organized a two-day training on principles of election reporting for 37 journalists from across the country. This workshop allowed participants to review the new legal framework for local elections, explore principles of election coverage and examine key aspects of gender-sensitive reporting.[5]

Example: The civil society organization Gender Links has conducted trainings on gender, media and elections across the Southern Africa Development Community, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania. This initiative aims at bridging the gaps between women politicians and the media, “bringing them together to deliberate on the gendered nature of elections coverage.”[6]

Gender-related provisions in codes of conduct for media in elections

Codes of conduct for media in elections provide journalists and media houses with key principles and guidelines for the coverage of the electoral process. In some cases, they include provisions on gender equality, requiring journalists and media professionals to abandon gender stereotypes and to promote gender-sensitive reporting, accounting for the needs and interests of both men and women.

Example: International IDEA’s proposed code of conduct on media and elections recognizes the role of media as a platform for voter education, establishing that “voter education shall include programmes in minority languages and programmes targeted for groups that traditionally may have been excluded from the political process, such as women and people with disabilities.” A similar provision was also integrated in the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia’s Code of Conduct for the Reporting of Elections[1] (2010), requiring every media to provide inclusive voter education.

Example: In different countries, a number of codes of conduct for media in elections forbid violence incitement or hate speech based on ethnicity, gender, political ideas or religious beliefs, among other conditions. This is the case of Lesotho and Zambia’s codes of conduct, adopted by their respective EMBs, the Independent Electoral Commission of Lesotho[2] and the Electoral Commission of Zambia[3]. In Tanzania, the Media Code of Conduct for Election Reporting[4], adopted in 2010 by a group of editors gathering in a workshop, established that “When reporting the opinions of those who do advocate discrimination or violence on any grounds, including race, gender, language, religion, political or other opinions, and national or social origins, journalists should do the utmost to put such views in a clear context and to report the opinions of those against whom such sentiments are directed.”

Example: In Haiti, the Code of Ethics for Media and Journalists establishes that “The media and journalists must show a particular sensitivity regarding the problem of gender stereotypes. Medias and journalists make sure they reflect the intellectual and emotional equality of men and women. They must encourage women’s participation in the media, including management positions”. Although this code of conduct is not only restricted to electoral coverage, it can also be used by journalists and media professionals when reporting on elections. [5]

For more information on this issue, please see the section on “Codes of Conduct for Media in Elections” in the topic area on Media and Elections.

Social media and women’s political participation

Online social media have become increasingly popular and available, showing that “the ways in which people communicate and share information have changed rapidly”.[1] This profound transformation of the communications landscape has had an impact on electoral processes, changing the channels used by citizens and voters to obtain information, the EMBs’ communication strategies, and the platforms where candidates present their political ideas and programs.

Social media can offer men and women a space to exercise their right to freedom of expression and participate in public life as committed citizens. It also offers women politicians and candidates a platform to present themselves and their political programs before citizens. Considering “its low cost and the role that personal initiative plays in its use”, social media “can serve as an equalizer for female parliamentarians who are otherwise politically disadvantaged”, having the potential to advance women’s participation in politics.[2]

According to a 2013 European Parliament study, new media has a potential positive impact on women’s empowerment, allowing them to “network with other women, create on line selves which build confidence, appeal to other women and peers through styles and issues that are directly relevant and attractive, and provide alternative power basis which might be of interest to mainstream politicians.” Online political communication, especially through social media, allow politicians to have more control over their own messages, and this works especially well for unelected or young women, whose status makes them less likely to be constrained by the political party apparatus.[3]

A 2016 survey carried out by the Women in Parliaments Global Forum, Facebook and the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy of the Harvard Kennedy School, analyzed the use of social media by female parliamentarians in 107 countries. Its findings showed that more than 85 percent of female parliamentarians surveyed make use of social media, especially during the campaign period. The findings of this research include detailed information about most used online platforms, most common audiences, as well as age, income and motherhood of women parliamentarians using social media. Facebook was by far the most used platform, being used by 90 percent of female parliamentarians surveyed. The primary audience comprised voters, constituents and campaign teams, followed by elite audiences, such as journalists and other politicians. Age and income seem to be significant factors determining social media use, with a higher use among respondents under 50 years of age and among those of very high or above average income. Motherhood was not a factor determining social media use of female politicians surveyed, since respondents with children were as active as the rest. [4]

Effective use of social media can help women candidates improve their communication strategies during the campaign. Capacity building and training initiatives aiming at improving social media knowledge and skills of women in politics can strengthen their communication strategies and voter outreach plans.

Social media can also be a hostile space for women in politics, with increasing attacks and very limited restrictions to harassment, defamation and threats. Anonymity and impunity for perpetrators of online violence against women makes it difficult to reverse this trend, but certain communication strategies can help women respond to online abuse. In March 2018, an Expert Group Meeting on “Violence Against Women in Politics” was organized in New York by UN Women, the OHCHR and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. The report of this meeting gives account of the extent, nature and implications of online violence against women politicians and presents existing approaches to prevent and combat this kind on violence.[5]

Example: In Armenia, the Council of Europe provided social media training for female candidates, with the purpose of “creating a pool of experts […] able to enhance knowledge and skills on social media for female candidates to be used in 2016 local elections and to offer them individual coaching if requested”. The initiative comprised a workshop on Women in Politics and Representation Online, as well as a two-day Training of Trainers on Understanding Social Media for Women Candidates. The topics addressed during these activities included principles of social media, major social media sites, social media strategy and measuring social media, among others.[6]

Example: In the United States of America, the organization VoteRunLead provides candidate training for women from all political parties, addressing online harassment, violence and trolling, among other issues. Its CEO, Erin Vilardi, suggests communication strategies to deal with online abuse: “report it to police if there are safety concerns, use humor if possible […] and, lastly, find an opportunity to do something more long form, like writing an op-ed about the incident”.[7]

Example: In Iraq, a series of defamation campaigns in social media targeted women candidates in the 2018 parliamentary elections, as denounced by the United Nation’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Iraq. The SRSG urged political parties and other relevant stakeholders to fight this harmful practice, which undermines electoral integrity and democratic governance.[8]

 

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Violence against women in elections (VAWE) is an under-researched topic, partly because of the lack of data and agreed definitions in this field. VAWE is considered as a form of violence that hinders the realization of women’s political rights in electoral contexts. It comprises several types of violence, including harassment, intimidation, psychological abuse, sexual violence and physical attacks, directed to women with different roles in the electoral process, such as voters, candidates, party supporters, observers, electoral administrators or public officials, among others. Electoral stakeholders can use a wide range of strategies to prevent and mitigate VAWE throughout the electoral cycle, including mapping and measuring VAWE, integrating this component into election observation and violence monitoring, fostering legal and policy reform, making electoral arrangements, engaging political parties and raising awareness on this issue.[1] For data gathering, prevention, monitoring and policy-making purposes, working in close partnership with the health sector can contribute to the success of violence prevention and mitigation strategies. Other specific forms of gender-based electoral violence, such as homophobic and transphobic harassment and attacks, have a negative impact on the participation LGBTI persons, undermining their human rights.

One of the key publications on this topic is the UNDP and UN Women’s 2017 “Preventing Violence Against Women in Elections: A Programming Guide”, which offers an overview about prevention and mitigation strategies against VAWE. With the purpose of illustrating strategies to fight and prevent VAWE, examples of good practice from different countries can be found in this section, mostly selected from the UNDP and UN Women’s 2017 guide. [2]

For more information on this topic, please see related content of the ACE Project, including:

• The consolidated reply “Safeguards Against Violence and Intimidation Against Women Candidates During the Campaign Period.”
• The consolidated reply “Practices Associated with Combatting Political Violence Against Women

Key concepts about violence against women in elections

There are currently no commonly agreed definitions about the concept of VAWE. The study of violence against women (VAW) and gender-based violence (GBV) has often neglected the political dimension. Political and election-related violence, on the other hand, has been barely analyzed from a gender perspective. The lack of clear definitions of VAWE, as well as the absence of standard indicators to measure its extent, makes it hard to develop a comprehensive framework for the analysis of this issue. Deepening understanding of VAWE requires exploring standard electoral violence definitions from a gender perspective and analyzing the scope of specific forms of violence suffered by women in the political sphere, compared to men’s experience of political violence. Some key definitions on these issues, extracted from UNDP and UN Women’s guide, can be found bellow.[1] 

•  Violence against women (VAW) 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. VAW can happen in different contexts, including the family, the community and the State.[1]
•  Gender-based violence (GBV) 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. In the context of political and election-related violence, the concept of VAW is more commonly used than the broader notion GBV, which can include other kind of violations, such as child marriage or childhood sexual violence.[2] 
• Violence against women in politics (VAWP) is any act of, or threat of, gender-based violence, resulting in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering to women, that prevents them from exercising and realizing their political rights, whether in public or private spaces, including the right to vote and hold public office, to vote in secret and to freely campaign, to associate and assemble, and to enjoy freedom of opinion and expression. Such violence can be perpetrated by a family member, community member and or by the State.[3] 
• Election-related violence is generally considered as a form of political violence. UNDP defines electoral violence as “acts or threats of coercion or physical harm perpetrated to affect an electoral process, or that arise in the context of electoral competition. When perpetrated to affect an electoral process, violence may be employed to influence the process of election, such as efforts to delay, disrupt, or derail a poll, and to influence the outcomes”. According to the United Nations Policy Directive on Preventing and Mitigating Election-related Violence (2016), election related violence “is often designed to influence an electoral outcome and therefore the distribution of political power.”[4] 
• Violence against women in elections (VAWE/VAWiE) is a form of violence against women intended to impact the realization of women’s political rights in an electoral context. This includes women’s participation as candidates, voters, activists, party supporters, observers, election workers, or public officials. VAWE can adopt multiple forms, including psychological abuse and intimidation, sexual attacks and physical violence.[5] 

According to Mona Lena Krook and Juliana Restrepo, activists throughout Latin America contributed to define the concept of “political violence and political harassment against women” [violencia política y acoso politico hacia las mujeres], working inductively from their experiences and observations. The concept first appeared in 2000 in Bolivia, “where a long grassroots campaign culminated in legal reform in 2012.” The Bolivian case was key to later developments, in three respects: “giving a name to this phenomenon, highlighting psychological alongside physical forms of abuse, and developing legislation to criminalize these behaviors.” [6] 

The Expert Group Meeting held in March 2018 by UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (SRVAW), showed that consensus is starting to emerge in this area. The Expert Group Meeting’s report and recommendations provide an overview of the state of the art regarding VAWP. It addresses causes and consequences of VAWP; international, regional and national frameworks; programmatic aspects in the prevention and mitigation of VAWP; and measurement and monitoring of this phenomenon. Some common understandings in the study of VAWP were summarized in the words of Mona Lena Krook: “ [VAWP] targets women because of their gender; its very form can be gendered, as exemplified by sexist threats and sexual violence; and its impact is to discourage women from being or becoming politically active.”[7] 

VAWP and VAWE are underreported phenomena, since “victims may be afraid to speak publicly and may face additional disincentives if they report incidents, e.g. political backlash, defamation, family impacts, marginalization within their own parties, showing weakness, receiving criticism that they are not up to the job, or the humiliation and frustration of not being taken seriously by the police.” [8] A central part of VAWP (and VAWE) is victim-blaming, “as men and women attempt to reinstate a challenged hierarchy of power and governance.”[9] 

In her 2018 report on violence against women in politics, the SRVAW outlines her conclusions and recommendations on preventing and combatting such manifestations of GBV. A central aspect is the lack of data and standard indicators to measure the incidence of VAWP and VAWE at all levels. These acts of violence are generally treated as isolated incidents, instead of as the result of structural and widespread discrimination against women in public life. VAWP “is often normalized and tolerated, especially in contexts where patriarchy is deeply embedded in society.” One of the recommendations issued by the SRVAW in her report is to collect and monitor data on VAWP nationally and design prevention strategies accordingly.[10] 

In 2018, iKNOW Politics held an e-discussion on Violence Against Women in Politics, which analyzed some under-researched aspects of this phenomenon, such as the causes behind the high levels of prevalence of VAWP all over the world, the reasons for low reporting rates and strategies to counter VAWP on social media.[11]

 

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There seems to be a growing global momentum to tackle VAWE, especially in Latin America, where legal frameworks start to include measures against this phenomenon.[1] Throughout the electoral cycle, relevant stakeholders can take action to prevent and mitigate VAWE. Based on the UNDP and UN Women’s guide, this section reviews good practice in this matter and presents the following six action points for the prevention and elimination of VAWE:

•  Mapping and measuring VAWE;
• Integrating VAWE into election observation and violence monitoring;
• Legal and policy reform to prevent and respond to VAWE;
• Preventing and mitigating VAWE through electoral arrangements;
• Working with political parties to prevent and reduce VAWE;
• Raising awareness and changing norms. [1]

 

 

 

Mapping and measuring VAWE

Despite limited data, research suggests that VAWE is present across all countries and regions. Mapping and collecting data about VAWE is a critical step for its mitigation and prevention, since it contributes to assess women’s participation in elections, assists in the identification of hotspots and patterns of violence, and facilitates the implementation of prevention and response measures. Country specific and regional assessments can help better understand the nature, causes and implications of VAWE, through both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. VAWE mappings can also be conducted by EMBs or be integrated as part of broader security assessments carried out by civil society and other organizations. The sensitive nature of this issue and the unwillingness of survivors to testify pose major limitations to data gathering in this area.[1] 

Gathering data on VAWE can be quite challenging, since general methodological frameworks to assess VAW, such as the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDG) global indicators or the United Nations Statistics Commission’s core VAW indicators, often lack specific measures for the political dimension. A wide range of indicators have been proposed to measure VAWE, including both quantitative measurements, such as frequency of incidents or types of attacks, as well as qualitative indicators. Ideally, measurements of VAWE should consider VAWE prevalence (i.e. proportion of victims among general population), VAWE incidence (i.e. number of incidents over a determined period of time) and targeted periods (such as a specific stage of the election cycle or over a long period of time). Crowd-sourced data and open-source data visualization tools can provide an effective platform to track VAWE incidents.[2]

Example: In Pakistan, UN Women carried out a study in 2016 on challenges to women’s political participation, with a major focus on violence against women in the electoral process. The study aimed to identify the types of VAWE in order to encourage adequate policy measures and legal reform, engaging the Election Commission of Pakistan and other key stakeholders.[3]

Example: In Latin America, UN Women’s Training Centre in the Dominican Republic developed a research project on violence against women in politics to support the implementation of the 2007 Quito Consensus for women’s empowerment. The project included four studies and mapping of political violence in Costa Rica (2011), El Salvador (2012), Ecuador (2012) and Bolivia (2012), contributing to develop theoretical and methodological frameworks to address this issue.[4] 

Example: In India, Nepal and Pakistan, UN Women and the Centre for Social Research (India) conducted a regional study on violence against women in politics in 2014 to understand the extent and motivations behind violence against women in politics and elections. It also aimed at raising awareness by identifying and disseminating good practices for mitigation through a consultative workshop.[5] 

Example: In Tanzania, the local civil society organization Tanzania Women Cross Party Platform (TWCP) collected data on VAWE before, during and after the 2015 general elections, with support from UN Women. TWCP deployed more than 50 trained VAWE monitors across the country, aided by NEC regional election coordinators and equipped with monitoring checklists and questionnaires. VAWE monitors attended a total of 530 election-related events to observe women’s participation and occurrence of VAWE. They also held structured interviews with a total of 1,532 respondents, including women and men voters, local leaders and influential community members, as well as women candidates for parliamentary and local elections. According to the findings, 69 percent of consulted women candidates reported abusive language, verbal harassment and insults, 17 percent said they had been physically attacked and 13 percent reported demands for sexual favors. Among female respondents, 53 percent declared not voting because of fear of violence, lacking voter cards or pressure from their spouse.[6] 

Example: In Zimbabwe, IFES conducted a VAWE assessment in the framework of the 2018 electoral process. Its findings showed that women candidates were at the forefront of VAWE, facing intense psychosocial violence, especially attacks on their moral probity and occasional physical violence. Intra-party abuse and violence are widespread and the generalized risk of electoral violence deters women from attending political rallies and events. Extensive online intimidation and harassment degrades and deters political women and aspirants.[7]

Example: In Haiti, IFES conducted a VAWE pilot assessment during the 2016 electoral process. Its findings showed that endemic electoral violence, particularly on Election Day, deters women’s participation. Women face physical, psychological and financial violence hindering their participation, in a male-dominated political context with weak party and judicial systems.[8] 

Example: In Bangladesh, IFES conducted a study in 2016 aiming to analyze the effects of violence on women’s participation in politics and elections. Its findings showed that the country’s violent political culture hampers the participation of women. Many women experience psychological violence within the household, including intimidation and harassment. Women candidates are often victims of sexual violence and their access to financial resources is frequently withheld. Some women are perpetrators of electoral violence and use it to limit voter choice within the home and slander other candidates in the public space.[9] 

Integrating VAWE into election observation and violence monitoring

Election observation and violence monitoring initiatives can provide a platform for data gathering in relation to VAWE. There is scope to improve monitoring of VAWE in election observation. In recent years, organizations like the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the European Union (EU), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Carter Center have made efforts to mainstream gender within their election observation missions (EOM), by developing specific guidelines for observing women’s participation in elections, collecting sex-disaggregated data, increasing the use of long-term observers and appointing gender advisors in core teams. Domestic observation and monitoring groups around the world have also integrated a gender perspective into their work and in some cases they have launched projects to specifically monitor VAWE, creating early warning and rapid response mechanisms.[1]

Example: In the framework of the project Votes Without Violence, NDI has partnered with domestic civil society organizations to launch election observation missions with a strong gender component in Myanmar, Nigeria, Guatemala, Tanzania, Burma and Côte d’Ivoire. This initiative allows observers to report VAWE throughout the electoral cycle. Sex-disaggregated data is channeled into an online visualization tool to raise awareness on how VAWE restricts women’s right to participate in public life. In the 2015 Guatemalan elections, NDI partnered with Acción Ciudadana (Citizen Action) to monitor campaign finance and electoral violence with a focus on VAWE. One of the major areas of concern was the use of violence to influence voters’ choices, especially women’s. During the 2015 electoral process in Côte d’Ivoire, NDI partnered with Plateforme des organisations de la société civile pour l’observation des élections (Platform of Civil Society Organizations Observing Elections or POECI). This collaboration allowed POECI to increase the number of women observers and to include specific questions concerning VAWE in their observation forms.[2]

Example: IFES’ Election Violence Education and Resolution (EVER) program is a primary example of specific violence micro-data collection tool. Under this program, IFES has monitored 15 elections in 13 countries since 2003, with sex-disaggregated data in six cases. The use of this methodology allowed IFES to publish in 2011 one of the most comprehensive cross-country studies available to date: “Breaking the Mold: Understanding Gender and Electoral Violence”.[3] This study collected data from six different countries between 2006 and 2010, including Timor-Leste, Burundi, Nepal, Bangladesh, Guinea and Guyana. Its findings show that women suffering from VAWE are frequently victims of intimidation (32 percent of cases), verbal harassment (11 percent), physical harm (10 percent) and group clashes (10 percent). As regards victim types, women are most often identified as victims when associated to a public role, since political party leaders, candidates and supporters reached 48 percent of all cases. Voters were the second most reported type of victim, with 22 percent of cases. Furthermore, drawing upon the methodology of the EVER program, IFES published in 2016 a typology and series of methodologies to assess VAWE.[4]

Example: Women Situation Rooms (WSR) aim to prevent and reduce electoral violence against women and promote their participation in elections. In the WSR, men and women from different sectors monitor VAWE throughout the country and warn government authorities and security forces when a rapid response is required. They are composed of a secretariat, a call center, a group of eminent women leaders and election observers deployed in the field who report incidents. This initiative has been implemented in a number of countries, generally with support from UN Women and UNDP, including Ghana (2016), Uganda (2016), Nigeria (2015), Mali (2013), Kenya (2013), Senegal (2012), Sierra Leona (2012) and Liberia (2011). WSR have been recognized by the African Union and the United Nations as a good practice for conflict and violence prevention, and several reports underline its contribution to reduce sexual violence thanks to the early warning preventive approach. [5] In Nigeria, UN Women partnered with the Angie Brooks International Centre and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to launch in 2015 the “Nigerian Women’s Platform for Peaceful Elections”, with support from UNDP. This platform worked closely with the Nigerian police and the National Electoral Commission to provide a timely response to reported cases of electoral violence.[6]

Legal and policy reform to prevent and respond to VAWE

Through the adoption of international and regional treaties and political declarations, various countries have taken on a commitment to prevent and eradicate VAWP and VAWE. Recent developments in this area have taken place in Latin America and the Caribbean, where a number of regional instruments taking into account the fight against VAWE have been created in the last decades, including the 1994 Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women (also known as Belém do Pará Convention), the 2007 Quito Declaration, the 2013 Santo Domingo Consensus, the 2016 Montevideo Strategy and the 2016 Organization of American States’ Declaration on Political Harassment and Violence Against Women.[1]

National legislators can promote legal reform to prevent, protect against and punish acts of VAWE, through three main strategies:

1) Adopting new specific legislation as special stand-alone laws to address VAWP.

So far, Bolivia is the only Latin American country that has passed stand-alone legislation to address VAWP. Ecuador, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Peru have also considered passing specific legislation on this matter. 

2) Including VAWP in existing laws on the elimination of violence against women.

Latin America also offers examples of countries that included VAWP in their elimination of violence against women (EVAW) laws. This is the case of Mexico’s 2007 General Law on Women’s Life Free from Violence, as well as EVAW laws in El Salvador (2011) and Panama (2013). 

3) Reforming electoral and penal codes.

Amendments to electoral or penal codes can also include provisions to prevent, protect against or punish acts of VAWE. In Ecuador, where the Congress rejected specific VAWE legislation in 2011, the 2012 electoral code introduced a provision according to which the systematic harassment of candidates or elected officials is subjected to penal code sanctions.[1] 

Despite these legislative advances, especially in Latin America, legal instruments combatting VAWE are generally insufficiently implemented, funded or enforced, as acknowledged by experts in the Expert Group Meeting held in March 2018 by UN Women, the OHCHR and the SRVAW.[2] An effective implementation of these legislative developments may require gender sensitivity of the adjudicating body, presence of women adjudicators, access to formal complaint processes and enforcement laws.[3] 

In several countries, EMBs have developed regulatory and normative frameworks to address VAWP and VAWE. This is the case of Mexico, where the National Electoral Institute, the Federal Electoral Tribunal, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office for Electoral Crimes, the National Women’s Institute and other agencies published in 2016 the Protocol to Respond to Violence Against Women in Politics. This is the most comprehensive protocol in Latin America. In other countries, such as Ecuador and Macedonia, EMBs have also made efforts to prevent, protect against and punish acts of VAWE through the adoption of guidelines.[4] 

Legislated codes of conduct seek to regulate the behavior of a wide range of stakeholders in the electoral process, including political parties, independent candidates, political movements and the media. They can be binding, establish sanctions and include provisions that specifically address VAWE.[5] 

Example: Although the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) does not address specifically VAWP, its Committee has tackled this issue in its concluding observations of State Parties’ reporting. The Committee has addressed VAWP in six cases since 2012, including The Bahamas (2012), Togo (2012), Bolivia (2015), Honduras (2016), Costa Rica (2017) and Italy (2017).[6] 

Example: The follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention, known as MESECVI, is a permanent and multilateral evaluation methodology and a Committee of Experts that allows analyzing progress in the implementation of the Convention by State Parties. In 2015, MESECVI issued a Declaration on Violence and Political Harassment against Women that led to the development of a “model law” on VAWP. The Model Law provides a broad definition of VAWP, in line with international and Inter-American legal frameworks, extending protection to all women who participate in the public sphere, including elected and appointed women, human rights defenders, etc. Further steps for the Model Law included “distribution to State Parties (2018-2020); releasing a Model Protocol of Political Parties to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women in Political Life (2018); publishing a Guide for Judges with a Gender Perspective in the Electoral Field: the case of Violence against Women in Political Life (2018); and training Electoral Courts on VAWP (1^st edition Mexico, 2018).”[7] 

Example: In Bolivia, the Law 243 against the Harassment of and Political Violence against Women was adopted in 2012. It does not only apply to women in public office, but also to any women exercising a political/public role. This law categorizes acts of harassment and political violence as “slight”, “serious” and “very serious”, establishing sanctions for each category, which makes it possible to clearly identify these acts and their corresponding sanctions. In cases of harassment and political violence, a report can be made by the survivor, her family members or any natural or legal person before competent authorities, under three different pathways: administrative, criminal and constitutional. The criminal route responds to crime categories recognized in the Bolivian Penal Code and does not allow for conciliation, in order to prevent further pressure on victims.[8] During her intervention at the 2018 Expert Group Meeting, Katia Uriona, President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Bolivia, “highlighted the important milestone of approving the Law’s regulatory decree in 2016, which clarified many aspects of implementation and the role of different actors.”[9] 

Example: In Nepal, the Code of Conduct includes regulation that applies to four different types of stakeholders: 1) candidates, political parties and other “concerned persons”; 2) National and local governments and public institutions; 3) government/public employees; and 4) media, NGOs and election observers. Rules regarding women’s participation vary depending on each stakeholder. According to Article 4, candidates and political parties are instructed not to get involved in any activity that “incites hatred or enmity amongst […] genders”. Media members must disseminate information without bias, giving “equal opportunities to political parties and candidates” without disrupting “the relation and harmony amongst different […] sexes”, in conformity with Article 14. Observers must respect different sexes and remain impartial during the electoral process, in accordance to Article 16.[10] 

Example: In Chad, Article 4 of the Code of Conduct forbids the use of violence in all its forms. Its signatories commit not to maintain, finance or use militias, auto-defense or paramilitary groups for their own protection, threaten or commit acts of violence and harassment. They also commit to exercise restraint in their speeches, writings, attitudes and behavior during the electoral process, rejecting the use of inflammatory and abusive comments inciting violence or ethnic, religious or gender-based hatred.[11] 

 

 

 

Preventing and mitigating VAWE through electoral arrangements

Across the globe, electoral management policies and procedures address VAWE in different ways. EMBs can consider a wide range of entry points to tackle VAWE throughout the electoral cycle. Conducting risk assessments and mapping of VAWE, as well as integrating this dimension into general security assessments, can help EMBs identify hotspot areas and design effective monitoring and mitigation strategies. During voter and candidate registration processes, EMBs can adopt measures to ensure the security of women, such as keeping voters’ names and identifying characteristics unpublished (anonymous registration) and adjusting location, opening hours and security protocol of candidate registration offices. During the electoral campaign, EMBs can also fight VAWE by referring VAWE cases to competent authorities, launching civic and voter education programs and raising awareness among electoral staff. Integrating the issue of VAWE into training programs and outreach activities can contribute to raise public awareness on the importance of this subject for women’s rights. When required, EMBs can adopt gender-sensitive security measures during Election Day, such as separate lines for men and women in polling stations, recruitment of sufficient female polling staff and placement of polling stations to minimize travel time through hotspots. The police and other security forces can also take steps to address VAWE, especially during the electoral period, by assessing gender specific security risks in operational planning for electoral security, recruiting more women among their staff and referring VAWE cases to gender focal points or gender desks. In the post-election period, when their mandate allows it, EMBs may launch investigations, sanction VAWE perpetrators, and provide evidence in court cases.[1] 

Example: In Tanzania, the Democratic Empowerment Project (DEP), implemented jointly by UNDP, UN Women, UNESCO, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), aimed to fight discrimination and VAW against persons with disabilities in the 2015 elections. The project allowed for the review of the Electoral Code of Conduct, the development of gender-sensitive guidelines both for election observation and voter education, as well as the adoption of a Gender and Social Inclusion Policy by the ZEC. This initiative also supported police training by developing a training manual on gender, human rights and the role of the police during elections, which addressed how different types of violence that may occur during election campaigns affect men and women. A total of 103 police officers received training for trainers, and, in turn, they trained around 6,000 other police officers around the country. The Tanzania Police Force (TPF) integrated VAW into its Incidence Reporting and Response System (IRRS), an IT tool that facilitates rapid response to electoral violence, based on VAWE typology and checklists developed in collaboration with the Network of Female Police Officers.[2] 

Example: In Macedonia, the State Election Commission implemented a program to mitigate the practice of family voting. As part of this program, the Commission issued a directive to all staff on the prevention of family voting and published a strategy against family and proxy voting that allowed coordinating efforts of government and donors in this area.[3] 

Example: In Kenya, UN Women developed a draft training facilitator manual in 2017, with UNDP support, to strengthen the capacities of duty bearers to support survivors of VAWE using existing protocol and measures for reporting, responding, investigating and prosecuting VAW. This manual was created as a response to post-election violence experienced by women and girls in the 2007 electoral process, and as part of broader initiatives to fight VAWE in the country. With a survivor-centered approach, the manual covers issues such as how to provide direct support to those affected by VAWE. It also provides information about Kenya’s relevant legal framework and health, security and justice sector responses to cases of VAWE.[4] 

Example: In Burundi, in 2014, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) disaggregated statistics from past elections to better understand VAWE in the country and to plan for prevention strategies in the forthcoming 2015 elections.[5] 

Example: In Papua New Guinea, the Electoral Commission found that women were subject to coercion by family and community voting practices, where the male head of household or the community leader would instruct them how to vote, compromising voter secrecy. As a response, the Commission instituted separate voting booths for men and women, under the assumption that women would vote freely if their male counterparts were not present.[6] 

Working with political parties to prevent and reduce VAWE

Political parties have an important role to play in preventing and mitigating VAWE throughout the electoral cycle. By ensuring that candidates and party members comply with codes of conduct, as well as integrating provisions forbidding VAWE in their founding documents and internal regulations, political parties can contribute to prevent and protect women against acts of VAWE. They can also prevent and mitigate VAWE during the process of candidate nomination with clear directives from party leaders and transparent procedures, and help women candidates face economic forms of VAWE by supporting their campaign finance. Political parties’ training strategies for party members and voter education campaigns should also consider this matter. Party monitors should receive training on VAWE and be able to report this kind of incidents during registration and voting processes. Furthermore, political parties have a role to play in ensuring that the elected party caucus is well aware of potential threats to women in elective office and ensuring that women representatives do not feel pressured to resign their seats in favor of men.[1] 

Example: In Liberia, the National Election Committee worked with several political parties to develop a Code of Conduct. Among other goals, it aimed to avoid “the marginalization of women through violence, intimidation and fraud.” Political parties agreed to “the principle of non-discrimination, not to use abusive language, and not to agitate on the basis of sex and gender.”[2] 

Example: In Macedonia, political parties agreed to a Code of Conduct in 2006, engaging themselves to “facilitate the full participation of citizens including women and other minority groups during elections; ensure free access of citizens […] to all campaign events; generally, refrain from forcing citizens to support a particular political party or candidate or to engage in, or refrain from engaging in, any political activity otherwise than in accordance with their free choice; support the universal concept of one-person-one-vote and discourage proxy voting.”[3] 

Raising awareness on VAWE and changing norms

Awareness-raising interventions play an important role in the prevention of VAWE, but they need to be complemented with broader strategies against gender stereotypes and discriminatory social norms, attitudes and behaviors, promoting positive social change in the long-term. A wide range of stakeholders can get involved in raising awareness on the causes and consequences of VAWE, including political parties, EMBs, civil society, parliamentarians, academics and the media, among others. In some countries, political parties, EMBs and civil society have launched specific campaigns to promote awareness of VAWE. By ensuring gender-sensitive reporting and providing journalists with adequate training, the media can also play a role in preventing VAWE. Although online media platforms can become hostile environments towards women in politics, with increasing attacks and very few restrictions to harassment and threats, they have the potential to promote women’s visibility through effective communication strategies. Parliamentarians can fight VAW through legislative action and by raising awareness on this issue among their constituents and other fellow parliamentarians. Furthermore, including men and boys in the social dialogue on gender equality and VAWE, with a particular attention to young men and male parliamentarians, is key to promote positive change in social attitudes and norms.[1] 

Example: In a 2016 Inter-Parliamentary Union study[2] that analyzed information provided by 55 women parliamentarians from 36 countries, 81.8 percent of respondents reported having suffered from psychological violence, 25.5 percent declared they had been exposed to physical violence and 21.8 percent identified themselves as victims of sexual violence. These research efforts contributed to raise awareness on the impact of VAWP on women parliamentarians.[3] 

Example: In Bolivia, UN Women, the Ministry for Autonomies and the National Confederation of Peasant Women Bartolina Sisa conducted jointly a number of awareness-raising workshops in 2014, targeting local authorities and female leaders in order to strengthen their capacities to tackle political harassment and violence in the departments of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. Municipal authorities and women who had directly faced political harassment and violence also made proposals for the implementation of Law 243.[4] 

Example: In Burundi, women’s associations took action to prevent and mitigate election-related violence in 2010. Le Collectif des Associations et ONGs Féminines du Burundi and Dushirehamwe launched the White Scarves for Peace campaign under the theme “women count for peace in Burundi”. Its goals included demonstrating Burundian women’s rejection of violence and inviting them to prevent violence within their communities. The campaign received support from UNDP, the United Nations Office in Burundi, Panos Paris and International Alert, with the provision of communications expertise and material support of 10,000 scarves. The campaign received much media coverage on local TV and radio stations, raising public awareness and contributing to violence prevention during the electoral process.[5] 

Example: In Kenya, UN Women took part in a multi-stakeholder initiative in 2012, aiming to educate and integrate mechanisms for responding to VAWE, in collaboration with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission, the media and two civil society platforms (the UWIANO Platform for Peace and the USALAMA Platform).[6] 

Example: In Sierra Leone, women’s associations launched in 2007 a violence-free election advocacy campaign, with support from UN Women, targeting political parties in response to the rise in political violence. The campaign was launched in the southern town of Bo amid violent outbreaks between rival political groups. Women’s groups, accompanied by brass bands, marched through the town with peace messages and were addressed by the mayor of the town. Peace messages were subsequently delivered to political party headquarters in the four provinces of Sierra Leone. In the capital Freetown, heads of political parties committed to violence-free elections. UNDP and the UN Mission in Sierra Leone up scaled this initiative.[7] 

Example: In Zimbabwe, ahead of the 2010 electoral process, the domestic organization National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) conducted the yearlong campaign “Act Now against Political Violence”. This campaign targeted women and sought to “address the scourge of political violence as the country approaches yet another election by raising awareness, building support structures, naming and shaming perpetrators as well as building the capacity of women and communities at large to deal with VAWE.”[8] 

Other forms of electoral gender-based violence: Homophobic and transphobic violence in elections

Homophobic and transphobic violence has been reported across countries and regions and ranges “from aggressive, sustained psychological bullying to physical assault, torture, kidnapping and targeted killings. […] Attacks on people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity are often driven by a desire to punish those seen as defying gender norms and are considered a form of gender-based violence.” Despite States’ obligations under international law to protect the rights of LGBTI persons, few countries have adopted adequate systems for monitoring and reporting homophobic and transphobic hate crimes.[1]

Homophobic and transphobic violence in the context of electoral processes harms LGBTI persons and affects negatively the realization of their political rights, including the right to vote and to stand for election. Inflammatory and hate speech used by candidates that oppose human rights of LGBTI persons can result in an increase of attacks against this community at different stages of the electoral cycle. In Costa Rica, for instance, a substantial increase of attacks against LGBTI persons were registered following the first round of the presidential elections, with an election campaign dominated by the debate on marriage laws and anti-LGBTI remarks by one of the main presidential candidates.[2] Furthermore, openly LGBTI candidates, public officers and political activists often suffer from harassment and attacks around the world. In Pakistan, transgender candidates and associations denounced threats and intimidation ahead of the 2018 electoral process.[3] In the United States, in 2018, Christine Hallquist, the first transgender woman to win a major party’s nomination for governor in Vermont, said she had been receiving death threats since winning her party’s primary.[4]

 

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Freedoms of peaceful assembly and of association are a key pillar of democratic principles and institutions, and of credible electoral processes. Around the world, women’s associations and other civil society groups continue to advocate for gender equality and inclusive electoral processes despite existing threats to the enjoyment of these liberties and the current global trend of shrinking civic space. In many countries, the advocacy efforts of women’s associations have contributed to long-term positive social change, by increasing women’s participation and fostering equality. Efforts to promote gender equality should also include men and engage male allies in the construction of inclusive democratic principles and institutions. Also, LGBTI groups in different countries have engaged in advocacy work to promote political inclusion and effective participation in public life.

 

 

 

This section mainly deals with the advocacy work conducted by civil society organizations to promote inclusive participation of all genders in the electoral process. However, the contribution of civil society to promote gender equality and women’s participation in elections is not exclusively limited to advocacy efforts, and covers a much wider spectrum of the electoral process, through a broad range of activities, such as civic and voter education, election observation, capacity building and training, among others. For more information, please see section 5 of this topic area, “promoting women’s participation and gender equality throughout the electoral cycle”, as well as section 6, “Enhancing a gender approach in election observation and monitoring.”

 

 

Freedoms of peaceful assembly and association and gender equality

The right to freedoms of peaceful assembly and of association is recognized in international human rights law, namely under Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Articles 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Freedoms of association and peaceful assembly are key pillars in democratic systems and in credible electoral processes, and all citizens should be able to fully enjoy these participation rights. Through the practice of these civil liberties, social movements and civil society have pursued social justice and equality throughout history, and have been able to advance the human rights agenda. A historical example is the suffragist movement, which allowed women to obtain the right to vote in many countries. 

In its first thematic report to the Human Rights Council in 2018, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association identifies a number of global trends affecting the exercise of these rights, including:  

• Use of legislation to suppress the legitimate exercise of freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
• Criminalization, indiscriminate and excessive use of force to counter or repress peaceful protest;
• Repression of social movements;
• Stigmatization of and attacks against civil society actors;
• Restrictions targeting particular groups;
• Limitations of rights during electoral periods;
• Negative impact of rising populism and extremism; and
• Obstructions encountered in the digital space. [1]  

In line with these findings, International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy Indices show worrying trends in the evolution of freedom of association and peaceful assembly worldwide. According to this research, between 2005 and 2015, 14 analyzed countries improved their freedom of association and peaceful assembly, while 22 countries saw a decline in this area. The CIVICUS State of Civil Society Report 2018 found that most countries in the world are seeing “serious, systematic problems with their civic space”, with shrinking space for civil society even in countries where it had not been seen before.[2] 

Global restrictions to the rights of association and peaceful assembly, as well as shrinking civic space, have a particularly negative impact on the work of women’s associations. The Special Rapporteur’s report shows concern about “the use of police violence, harassment and judicial intimidation against assemblies held by women in different parts of the world.” 

Across the globe, LGBTI persons, among other minority and marginalized groups, suffer from discrimination, unequal treatment and harassment in the exercise of their rights to association and peaceful assembly, generally in the broader context of shrinking civic space and democratic backlash.[3] “LGBT groups often face discriminatory restrictions and bans on holding public gatherings. LGBT pride marches have been banned in some cities; in others, where marches have gone ahead, the authorities have failed to take effective measures to protect participants, leading to violent attacks by neo-Nazi groups and other extremists.”[4] 

Women’s associations advocating for gender equality in politics and elections

Advocacy is a form of participation in public affairs and has the potential to help individuals and organizations promote and protect human rights. In many countries, women’s associations have played an important role in fostering gender equality and women’s participation in politics and elections. Through advocacy campaigns, domestic and international women’s groups have succeeded in convincing relevant stakeholders of the paramount importance of ensuring equal opportunities and rights for men and women, contributing to positive social change. Through monitoring, documentation and effective communication strategies, gender equality advocates can foster inclusion at different stages of the electoral process. 

Advocacy strategies used by women’s groups throughout the electoral process can be addressed to various stakeholders, and seek a wide variety of goals, including increasing gender balance among candidates, decision-making positions in political parties, observers, election administrators and other actors; influencing political agendas and public debate; supporting legal reform and review of electoral procedures; promoting gender-sensitive media coverage of the electoral process; and strengthening the gender component in election observation, among many others. 

Example: In Madagascar, the National Council of Women conducted an advocacy campaign ahead of the 2013 electoral process, reaching out to political party leaders. This initiative included meetings with political party leaders to encourage an increased representation of women in the candidate lists, as well as to engage the party into progressive policy positions favoring women’s rights. In addition to these advocacy efforts, the National Council of Women, the Independent National Electoral Commission for the Transition (CENI-T) and UNDP hosted a high-level inter-party dialogue with presidential candidates addressing gender equality policies.[1] 

Example: In Haiti, International IDEA and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Gender Issues organized a forum in 2017 that allowed “political parties and women’s organizations to meet, network, share experiences and lessons learnt in order to successfully promote women’s political participation and representation.”[2] 

Example: In Mali, as a result of advocacy efforts by women’s associations and other civil groups, a gender quota bill was passed in 2015, requiring at least 30 percent of elected or appointed officials to be women. In this advocacy work, civil society organizations joined forces with women legislators of the Network of Parliamentarian Women and the Ministry on the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family. Male allies, especially parliamentarians, also played a key role in the adoption of the law.[3] 

Example: In Paraguay, a multi-sectorial coalition with diverse political parties and civil society organizations launched a national debate on women’s under-representation in politics, organizing a number of trainings and fora from 2014 to 2018 to sensitize women and advocate for the adoption of a parity democracy law. This initiative, supported by UN Women, UNDP and the Ministry of Women, reached 14 out of the 17 regional departments in the country. Civil society organizations taking part in these efforts included the Center for Documentation and Studies (CDE, Centro de Documentacion y Estudios), DECIDAMOS Campaign for Citizen Expression (DECIDAMOS Campaña por la Expresion Ciudadana), the Women in Municipalities Network (Red de Mujeres Munícipes del Paraguay), and the Southern Women’s Network (Red de Mujeres del Sur), among others.[4] 

Example: IFES has been supporting the advocacy efforts of women with disabilities in a number of countries. In Nepal, in 2018, IFES and the National Disabled Women’s Association offered advocacy training to women with disabilities, which covered how to develop a unified policy platform and practice of advocacy skills for communicating with government stakeholders.[5] In Kenya, IFES partnered with Women Challenged to Challenge, an umbrella organization for people with disabilities, to develop a policy platform document that would help women with disabilities in their advocacy efforts.[6] 

Example: In Myanmar, IFES launched in 2017 the “We Stand Together” campaign, in partnership with the domestic organization Yaung Chi Thit (YCT), to encourage women’s political participation. Supporters reached out to elected officials on the importance of women’s political participation, mobilized their communities and collected photo petitions demonstrating support from them at regional-level roundtables.[7] 

Example: In Honduras, party leaders and aspiring presidential candidates from seven parties met in October 2016 to ratify the “Political Parity and Alternation Pact”, by which the parties committed to place women in the top positions of candidate lists, ensuring the application of parity among their candidates and effective alternation mechanisms. This agreement was the result of the advocacy campaign “The Pilgrimage of the Braid” (la Peregrinación de la Trenza) launched by Honduras Interparty Women’s Network (Red de Mujeres Interparetidarias de Honduras), in partnership with NDI.[8]

 

Male allies and social norm change in politics and elections: building transformative masculinities

Although men tend to have more agency than women, their lives are still shaped by rigid social expectations attributed to masculinity. Whereas men’s traditional identities are deeply entrenched in the system of patriarchy, often associated with violence against and control over women, transformative masculinities “should be positive for everyone, because they emphasize the values of equality, respect and dignity for people of all gender identities”.[1] Men and women around the world, both individually and organized into groups, have started to challenge well-established notions of patriarchal masculinities, promoting a deep positive transformation of social attitudes and norms. However, “in moving forward with efforts that engage men and boys, it is important to remember that change is not easy to achieve, particularly because challenging men’s notions of masculinity may in some ways be akin to challenging their notions of self.”[2] 

In the last years, “there has been a strategic shift in emphasis […] from women’s issues to those concerning gender equality, in which the focus has moved from women exclusively to both men and women and mutually beneficial social and economic development.”[3] This evolving approach is due, partly, to the realization that, in order to be effective, efforts to promote gender equality should also include men in the conversation, engaging male allies in the construction of inclusive democratic systems. Male parliamentarians and political leaders have the potential to become strategic allies and powerful advocates for gender equality, contributing to open the political space for women. In contexts of weak representation of women in the decision-making process, men sitting at the table can tip the scales in favor of women’s rights and promote a gender equality agenda with the adoption of relevant legislation. Furthermore, educating the public, and especially young men and women, on the importance of equality and women’s political and social inclusion can promote positive social change in the long run, transforming social attitudes and mentalities.

Example: IFES has developed the training module Male Allies for Leadership Equality (MALE), with the purpose of sensitizing women and men on the importance of working together to achieve gender equality and supporting broad coalitions to advocate for more inclusive electoral processes. The MALE module was created through focus group discussions in Syria and Nigeria.[4] Since then, IFES has organized MALE workshops in different countries, including Haiti, Ukraine and Libya.[5]

Example: International Gender Champions is “a leadership network that brings together female and male decision-makers determined to break down gender barriers and make gender equality a working reality in their spheres of influence.” The network is formed by over 200 Gender Champions and Alumni, who are heads of international organizations, permanent missions and civil society organizations. All Gender Champions sign a pledge to no longer sit in single-sex panels and commit to treat every person with respect and fairness, value diversity, create and maintain safe workplaces and work together with other Champions in a spirit of openness, honesty and transparency.[6]

Example: UN Women’s HeForShe campaign “invites men and people of all genders to stand in solidarity with women to create a bold, visible and united force for gender equality.” [7] In 2016, the Southern African Development Community - Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF) Vice President, together with several National Parliament Speakers from the region, signed up as HeForShe Champions for Gender Equality.[8] 

Example: In Paraguay, International IDEA organized in 2018 a series of workshops on new masculinities in democracy, addressed to civil society representatives. Participants engaged in a reflection process on the construction of men’s identities and violence against women, and discussed strategies to promote inclusive political systems and enhance women’s participation in the electoral process.[9] 

Example: In Mexico, the INE organized a seminar on “New Masculinities: Why Gender is Relevant for Men?” in 2019, during the post-electoral period. This initiative mainly targeted motivated citizens and civil society members. The first conference of this seminar was held in Mexico City on 13 February. A live video was broadcasted on social media to maximize the reach of the initiative. 

LGBTI groups advocating for political inclusion

LGBTI groups around the world have conducted advocacy campaigns at different stages of the electoral cycle to influence those who have responsibility for implementing policy decisions. In some countries, civil society groups have reached out to political parties and candidates ahead of the election, seeking to place LGBTI rights in the political agenda and to ensure the politicians’ commitment with inclusive policies. During the post-election period, civil society organizations can also do advocacy work, approaching parliamentarians, EMBs and other institutions to ensure participation and inclusion of all citizens in the political process, regardless their gender identity and sexual orientation. 

Through global advocacy efforts, organizations can also raise awareness on the human rights situation of LGBTI persons and support their participation and civic engagement. In line with the Declaration of Montreal, “LGBT human rights must be mainstreamed into global debates about social and political issues.”[1] 

Example: In the framework of the 2017 French legislative elections, a group of LGBTI associations conducted an advocacy campaign addressed to candidates, asking them to subscribe an engagement charter on human rights of LGBTI persons to fight discrimination and violence against this community. The organizations supporting this initiative included Inter-LGBT, Caelif, Mag Jeunes and Glup.[2] 

Example: In Pakistan, TransAction, along with other civil society organizations, launched the “Transgender and Intersex Community Election Manifesto 2018” before the 2018 general elections, aiming at integrating their human rights claims in the political agenda and public debate, fight discrimination and promote inclusive policies empowering this community.[3] 

Example: In Macedonia, civil society groups made advocacy efforts to engage parliamentarians in favor of human rights for the LGBTI community by promoting inclusive legislation, with support from NDI. The organization Health Education and Research (HERA) testified at several parliamentary committee hearings on issues such as contraception, abortion rights, harassment and the care and treatment of people living with IHV/AIDS. They also successfully advocated for the establishment of a parliamentary caucus on HIV issues, which integrated 10 parliamentarians from six different parties. The Coalition for Sexual Health Rights and Marginalized Communities advocated for a parliamentary declaration on hate speech, in response to increasing hostility towards LGBTI persons. Although the declaration was not finally adopted, the Coalition succeeded at ensuring broad press coverage and enhanced public debate on hate speech.[4] 

Example: In Nepal, the Blue Diamond Society made advocacy efforts to promote LGBTI rights and push for the implementation of the 2007 Supreme Court’s ruling in the case Pant vs. Nepal, which recognized full rights for sexual and gender minorities and determined that gender identity should be based on self-identification, creating a “third gender” category, in addition to “male” and “female”. According to this civil society organization, as a result of these advocacy efforts, the Election Commission of Nepal decided to include a “third gender” category in its voters’ list form, complying with the Supreme Court’s decision.[5]  

Example: In 2017 International IDEA released the film “LGBTI Political Inclusion Journeys”, featuring the trajectories of LGBTI groups in Nepal and Malawi. It aims “to showcase strategies for political inclusion of LGBTI persons as a principle of democratic participation in public life”, advocating for increased political participation and civic engagement of this community globally. Some of the inclusion strategies outlined in the film include raising awareness on the human rights situation of the LGBTI community, challenging discriminatory laws before domestic courts and conducting advocacy campaigns reaching out to political parties and parliamentarians.[6]

 

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During the post-electoral period, newly elected authorities have an important role in the promotion of gender equality. Parliamentarians can contribute to promote and protect human rights through the main parliamentary functions of representation, lawmaking and oversight, as well as establishing institutional mechanisms and informal fora to deal with this issue.[1] Through the creation of women’s caucuses, the implementation of relevant capacity development programs and a strong commitment with progressive and gender-sensitive agendas for legal reform, parliamentarians can support women’s rights and their political participation. Furthermore, members of parliament can also contribute to promote human rights for all citizens, regardless their gender identity and sexual orientation, and enhance the participation of LGBTI persons in politics and elections.

 

Building gender-sensitive parliaments

According to an Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (IPU) survey, conducted between 2006 and 2008, women face great obstacles entering politics, including prejudice and cultural perceptions about the roles of women in society, violence against women in politics, and lack of financial resources. When they do become involved, women parliamentarians bring new perspectives and priorities to the decision-making process, placing women’s concerns in the parliamentary agenda. This study concluded that women’s participation is a major driver of change in terms of gender equality in parliament. However, its findings also showed that parliaments as a whole are not generally gender-sensitive institutions, with most parliamentarians agreeing that gender equality is only “occasionally” or “rarely” mainstreamed in parliament. [1] 

The IPU published in 2011 another study on gender-sensitive parliaments[2], focusing on what parliaments are doing, as institutions, to promote gender equality. Gender-sensitive parliaments respond “to the needs and interests of both
 men and women in its structures, operations, methods and in its work”. In gender-sensitive parliaments men and women have equal right to fully participate without discrimination in the decision-making process and gender is mainstreamed throughout all parliamentary work. Some concrete examples of actions that gender-sensitive parliaments may take would include appointing women to lead important committees, allowing them equal time to speak on the floor of parliaments, ensuring their offices have equal and adequate resources, and holding sessions at times when women are not responsible for care or domestic duties, among others. 

Parliaments should be safe spaces for all men and women, but in practice sexism, harassment and violence against women members of parliament are widespread, as shown by the IPU’s 2016 publication “Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians”. This research shows high levels of prevalence, with 81.8 percent of respondents being subjected to psychological violence, 21.8 percent to sexual violence, 25.5 percent to physical violence and 32.7 percent to economic violence.[3] 

Parliamentarians can promote gender equality within the institution’s internal policies, structures and culture, as well as when fulfilling their parliamentary responsibilities in the legislative process, governmental oversight and representation. The IPU’s 2017 Plan of Action for Gender-Sensitive Parliaments, building on the previous 2012 Plan of Action, aims to assist parliaments in their efforts to become more gender sensitive, presenting strategies in the following action areas: [4] 

• Increase the number of women in parliament and achieve equal participation;
• Strengthen gender equality legislation and policy;
• Mainstream gender equality throughout all parliamentary work;
• Institute or improve gender-sensitive infrastructure and parliamentary culture;
• Ensure that responsibility for gender equality is shared by all parliamentarians, men and women;
• Encourage political parties to be champions of gender equality; and
• Enhance the gender sensitivity of, and gender equality among, parliamentary staff. 

Women’s parliamentary caucuses

Women’s parliamentary caucuses gather together women members of parliament from across different party lines, with the purpose of providing peer support to foster gender equality legislative and policy agendas. Women’s caucuses can engage in a wide range of activities, including gathering data, conducting research, creating partnerships with allies within and outside the parliament, facilitating public discussions, raising awareness of key issues, promoting civic education, and learning from experiences in other countries, among others. 

Although in some cases women’s caucuses have had a positive effect on the adoption of gender equality legislation, the impact of most caucuses in this area remains limited. In a 2011 Joint AGORA and iKNOW Politics Virtual Discussion, analyzing the factors that could hinder women’s caucuses from fostering gender equality legislation, participants pointed out three different issues: 

1) The small proportion of women in many parliaments makes the caucus a small organ, which does not reach the necessary weight to promote legal reform. 

2) The creation of women’s caucuses requires additional efforts in terms of organization, leadership and workload. 

3) The cross-party nature of women’s caucuses makes it difficult to find common ground and join forces. Whereas the perception of caucuses as weak organs and their soft positioning allow parliamentarians to consider them as a “safe venue for cross-party legislation drafting”, their soft nature sometimes impedes them from setting gender-sensitive agendas in law-making.[1] 

The IPU has made efforts to support the work of women’s caucuses worldwide. It created and maintains a database that gathers data on the existence and characteristics of women’s caucuses around the world. Furthermore, the IPU’s 2013 “Guidelines for Women’s Caucuses” provide practical tools for women parliamentarians who wish to create a caucus or to improve an existing one. It points out a number of strategies to increase the effectiveness of women’s caucuses, such as focusing clearly on goals and objectives, outreaching and partnering with like-minded allies within and outside the parliament, ensuring adequate funding and managing it responsibly, as well as strengthening communication channels within the caucus and communicating effectively with other parliamentarians, civil society and the general public. [2] 

Example: In Iraq, women in the single chamber of Parliament, the Council of Representatives (CoR), “first came together to explore the creation of a women’s caucus in 2005. Since then, with support from NDI, the multi-party caucus has debated women’s challenges, coordinated legislative agendas, and received training on negotiation, conflict resolution, campaigning, leadership and team-building. NDI has also provided them with technical assistance for drafting legislation on such issues as discriminatory labor and retirement practices and gender-based violence. In 2010, the caucus demanded on the parliament floor that the new Iraqi cabinet include more women. Though their calls weren’t heeded, newly elected female MPs have vowed to continue caucusing for greater representation in leadership roles.”[3] 

Example: In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Women’s Parliamentary Club supported the adoption of a law establishing a 30 percent parliamentary quota for women. This women’s caucus also contributed to drafting the Law on Equal Opportunities and supported a new chapter in the Law on Families to protect victims of domestic violence.[4] 

Example: In Rwanda, the Women Parliamentary Forum advocated for constitutional quotas for women in parliament and other electoral mechanisms, which allowed a rapid increase in women’s parliamentary representation, going from 16 percent in the lower house in 1996 to 61.3 percent in 2018.[5] 

Example: In 2015, NDI organized a number of workshops for representatives of women’s caucuses from Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda, where participants discussed policy priorities, challenges and success stories in their respective parliaments. Parliamentarians taking part in this initiative created a regional coalition of women’s caucuses in the IGAD region, known as Women’s Parliamentary Association.[6] 

Capacity development and training on gender equality for parliamentarians

Capacity building and training for men and women parliamentarians can contribute to institutional strengthening and lead to a greater engagement with gender equality in parliamentary work. “Once elected, women and men legislators need support, training and advice in navigating the institution of parliament. Training should be provided in the core responsibilities of legislators: con­stituent relations, legislative duties, and executive oversight, including consideration of national budgets.” Training programs can specifically address the issue of gender equality, raising awareness among men and women parliamentarians and offering them tools to perform their duties effectively while promoting the principle of equality and women’s rights in lawmaking and government oversight. 

Training strategies should consider specific circumstances, such as the fact that “women legislators are less likely to have previously served as pol­iticians than their male colleagues.” Some training programs are exclusively designed for women parliamentarians, in order to address existing gaps in formal and political education. “Single-sex sessions for women have proven useful in building self-confidence as they provide a safe learning environment in which women are more likely to actively engage.”[1] 

Example: In Mexico, the Electoral National Institute (Instituto Nacional Electoral, INE) provided women parliamentarians with skill building online training on communication styles and negotiation in 2018, through the Temporary Commission for the Strengthening of Gender Equality and Non Discrimination in Political Participation.[2] 

Example: In Morocco, the Forum of Women Parliamentarians provides its members with conflict resolution workshops to improve their leadership skills.[3] 

Example: In Burundi, the Association of Women Parliamentarians organizes training sessions on leadership, advocacy and communication.[4] 

Example: In Ethiopia, the Caucus of Women Parliamentarians organizes activities that allow its members to practice debating skills in a safe environment.[5] 

Example: In Georgia, the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament organized in 2017 a six-day tailored session on gender budgeting practices and the gender perspective of the policy and lawmaking process, in partnership with UNDP, NDI, Government of Sweden, UK Government and the USAID Georgia Good Governance Initiative.[6] 

Engaging in legal and policy reform to promote gender equality

In their legislative capacities, parliamentarians can pass laws advancing women’s rights. They can also take into consideration the gender implications of specific laws, by assessing their impact on men and women. 

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR) developed a guide to gender-sensitive legislation in 2017. It sets a framework for analyzing the impact of legislation on men and women’s lives and integrating the gender perspective into the lawmaking process. This document provides a step-by-step guide on how to conduct gender-sensitive legislation analysis, including recommendations on how to approach a gender analysis in a specific sector, assess gender implications of specific laws, integrate gender-specific activities in new legislation, develop gender-sensitive indicators to monitor the laws’ implementation and analyze budgets from a gender perspective. It also points out the importance of institutionalizing gender-sensitive legislation within internal parliamentary structures, such as gender equality committees or multi-portfolio committees that include gender equality, women’s parliamentary structures and informal networks, gender technical units and external research services. [1] 

Parliamentary oversight mechanisms allow parliamentarians to follow-up on the government’s commitments with gender equality, by scrutinizing its public policies and holding the executive politically accountable. Common oversight mechanisms include parliamentary questions and requests of documentation. A 2016 iKNOW Politics e-discussion on “Parliamentary Oversight of Gender Equality”[2] identified the following four models of parliamentary oversight of gender equality: 

•  Parliament asks the government for information: Women and men parliamentarians can ask questions in all policy areas, inquiring about beneficiaries and policy impact on men and women. 
• Parliament asks the government for public clarification of policy: Parliamentarians can ask whether the data considered in policy formulation is sex-disaggregated and inquire about women’s inclusion in consulting mechanisms during policy design. 
• Parliament obtains information from sources outside the government: Parliamentarians can establish communication channels with women’s associations and gender experts. 
• Parliament expresses its views to the government and the public: Parliamentarians can make recommendations for the government to promote gender equality and women’s rights in its policies. 

Example: Through parliamentary strengthening projects, UNDP has supported mechanisms for parliamentary oversight of gender equality in a number of countries, including the PALOP[3], Colombia, Swaziland, Nepal, Guinea-Bissau, Moldova, Rwanda, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, El Salvador, Nigeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan Gambia, Tunisia, Argentina and Iraq.[4] 

Example: UNDP and the Parliament of Fiji developed a practical toolkit for parliamentarians on how to scrutinize legislation from a gender perspective, to assist them in gender mainstreaming when fulfilling their functions, in compliance with Standing Orders’ requirements. “The Parliament’s Standing Orders require a gender-based analysis to be used by parliamentary committees when scrutinizing legislation or undertaking their oversight functions.”[5] 

Example: In Argentina, UNDP developed a practical guide to integrate the gender approach into legislative work, to support national, regional and local legislators in the process of mainstreaming gender equality in lawmaking. This guide was developed in partnership with the National Council of Women, UN Women and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation to Development (AECID).[6] 

Parliaments and LGBTI political inclusion and participation

Parliamentarians can promote legislation supporting equality and non-discrimination, regardless gender identity and sexual orientation. A higher representation of LGBTI persons in national parliaments can have an impact on lawmaking, often leading to the enactment of equality laws focused on sexual orientation. According to a 2013 study, same-sex marriage was more likely to happen in countries with representation of openly gay MPs in parliament. Also, research findings showed that “the countries with the most progressive LGBT rights have had some level of gay representation for the longest time and continue to do so today”.[1] 

Establishing institutional mechanisms and informal fora to discuss LGBTI rights, such as LGBTI caucuses, can be positive for the work of parliamentarians defending this cause, since the creation of such platforms gives a strong political message in favor of social inclusion and equality. Furthermore, international parliamentary strengthening projects can promote political inclusion and human rights of the LGBTI community, by supporting parliamentarians’ work in this field. 

Example: In the United States, the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus was created in the House of Representatives in 2008, aiming to promote human rights of LGBT people in the country and around the world. The Caucus has over 100 members and is currently co-chaired by six openly LGBT Members of Congress. Its work focuses on promoting human rights equality, repealing discriminatory legislation, fighting against hate violence and improving health and wellbeing of LGBT people.[2] 

Example: In the United Kingdom, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT Rights was created in 2005 to provide a forum for parliamentarians to advance the enjoyment of human rights for LGBTI persons inside the country and abroad. Among other functions, the Parliamentary Group promotes LGBTI rights at the domestic and international levels, meets activists from all around the world, attends conferences and builds links with parliamentary LGBTI groups in other countries. In 2016, it launched a global report on human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, recommending increased support and funding to LGBTI groups on the ground.[3] 

Example: The European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI rights is an informal forum for Members of the European Parliament who wish to advance the rights of LGBTI persons. With 150 members from different political backgrounds, it is the largest intergroup within the European Parliament. Its work consists in “monitoring the work of the European Union; monitoring the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in EU Member States and beyond; and liaising with civil society groups to relay their concerns at the European level.” The priorities of the Intergroup include freedom of movement for LGBTI persons, monitoring the European Commission, combatting discrimination in the European Union, securing transgender and intersex rights and monitoring human rights in the European Union’s work. 

Example: The organization Parliamentarians for Global Action, a broad international network of legislators, has conducted a global parliamentary campaign against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, to mobilize parliamentarians in favor of LGBTI rights.[4] In the framework of this campaign, the organization launched an inclusion website in 2017, as a resource platform for parliamentarians to advance inclusion of LGBTI persons.[5] In 2017, it published a Handbook for parliamentarians, in collaboration with UNDP, which “offers practical tips, tools and resources designed to support parliamentarians to undertake legislative, representational and oversight activities that advance the rights and inclusion of LGBTI persons.” [6] 

ANNEX I. ADDITIONAL COUNTRY-BASED CASE STUDIES ON GENDER AND ELECTIONS

For more information on country-based case studies related to gender and elections please see the following content of the ACE Project:

• The section “Maldives: Women’s Representation in Political Processes” in the topic area Electoral Systems. 
• The section “South Africa: Gender and Elections” in the topic area Media and Elections. 
• The section “Case Studies” in the page “Women and Voter Registration.” 
• The section “Indonesia: Continuity, Deals and Consensus” in the topic area Electoral Systems. 
• The section “Liberia: the National Elections Commission” in the topic area Electoral Management. 
• The section “Namibia: The Role of the EMB in Electoral Reform” in the topic area Legal Framework. 
• The section “The Case of Kenya” in the topic area Electoral Management.

 

 

CONTRIBUTORS

The ACE Gender and Elections topic area was written by Lluís Juan Rodríguez, as lead author, under the supervision of Aleida Ferreyra, Electoral Policy Specialist in UNDP. Lluís Juan Rodríguez has contributed to the promotion of women’s participation and gender equality in politics and elections, through his work with UNDP, International IDEA and IFES, among other organizations, in a number of countries, including Paraguay, Guatemala, Mexico, Haiti, Madagascar and Spain. 

Aleida Ferreyra supervised and supported the entire writing process of this topic area, providing essential guidance and valuable indications on contents and structure. Aleida Ferreyra serves as a Policy Electoral Specialist for UNDP, based in New York since 2010. She is responsible for developing policy and knowledge in the area of electoral assistance and providing electoral support to UNDP country offices and projects in the field.  

This topic area was enriched with the valuable contributions of ACE partners, through an in-depth peer-review process. Aleida Ferreyra and Risa Arai, from UNDP, contributed to the improvement of the topic area with relevant information and examples. The IFES’ team also supported the consolidation of this topic area, with contributions from Gabrielle Bardall, Meagan Allen, Marita Ivonne Jimenez, Stephen W. Weiland, Gina Chirillo and Brikena Avdyli. In representation of International IDEA, Therese Pearce-Laanela, Sofie Bingemark and Maryam Safi had some suggestions regarding this topic area, including important bibliographical references. Furthermore, André Fecteau, from Elections Canada, took part in the peer-review process. 

This topic area also benefitted from the comments of Julie Ballington and Gabriella Borovsky, on behalf of UN Women. Ms. Ballington’s previous work on gender equality in electoral management, women’s participation in political parties and violence against women in elections (VAWE) has provided a solid background to some of the chapters of this topic area. 

Carmen Echauri, as an independent gender expert, also contributed to the peer-review process with examples from Paraguay, her home country. 

This topic area is in debt with existing research and publications on women’s participation and gender equality in the electoral process, since some of its sections are mainly based on a number of studies carried out by ACE partners and other organizations. In particular, the following references should be acknowledged:

• Section 3. “Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation in Political Parties” is mainly based on UNDP and NDI’s 2012 “Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Guidebook to Promote Women’s Political Participation”, one of the key publications in this field, which offers a general overview about what political parties can do to advance women’s participation in politics. The lead author of this guidebook is Julie Ballington, and contributors and case study authors include Randi Davis, Mireya Reith, Lincoln Mitchell, Carole Njoki, Alyson Kozma and Elizabeth Powley. Other parts of this section, especially content regarding LGBTI participation in politics and elections, is unedited work by the lead author of this topic area. 
• Section 4. “Gender Mainstreaming within Electoral Management Bodies” is mainly based on UNDP and UN Women’s 2016 publication “Inclusive Electoral Processes: A Guide for Electoral Management Bodies on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation”, which offers a general overview about what can be done to mainstream gender from the perspective of electoral management. The main contributors of this guide are Julie Ballington, Gabrielle Bardall, Sonia Palmieri and Kate Sullivan. Other parts of this section, especially content regarding LGBTI participation in politics and elections, is unedited work by the lead author of this topic area. 
• Section 5. “Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation throughout the Electoral Cycle” is mainly based on the aforementioned UNDP and UN Women’s 2016 publication “Inclusive Electoral Processes: A Guide for Electoral Management Bodies on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation.” Other parts of this section, especially content regarding LGBTI participation in politics and elections, is unedited work by the lead author of this topic area. 
• Section 8, “Violence Against Women in Elections and Other Forms of Gender-Based Electoral Violence” is mainly based on UNDP and UN Women’s 2017 publication “Preventing Violence Against Women in Elections: A Programming Guide”, which offers an overview about prevention and mitigation strategies against VAWE. The lead author of this guide is Julie Ballington, and contributing authors are Gabrielle Bardall and Gabriella Borowsky. This section also includes content from the studies published by IFES in this field, notably the work of Gabrielle Bardall: “Breaking the Mold: Understanding Gender and Electoral Violence” (2011).

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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See: https://agora-parl.org/resources/library/agora-iknow-politics-virtual-discussion-womens-caucuses

 

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See: https://democracy-reporting.org/dri_publications/domestic-election-observation-key-concepts-and-international-standards/

 

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See: https://www.elections.org.zm/journalist_code.php

 

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See: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/129c4c8b-66b9-45c3-a7f1-702517b1b3e0/language-en/format-PDF/source-74181956

 

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See: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/uncategorized/lgbt-acceptance-around-the-world/

 

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Also see: http://www.esquel.org.ec/webesquel/actualidad/noticias/item/496-encuentro-internacional-cierre-de-por-una-democracia-diversa.html

 

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See: http://genderlinks.org.za/pressreleases/gender-censorship-glaring-reality/

 

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See: https://www.ifes.org/publications/violence-against-women-elections

 

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See: http://www.iec.org.ls/

 

iKNOW Politics (2007): “Consolidated response on Establishing Women’s Party Sections”.

 

iKNOW Politics (2008): “Consolidated Response on Working with Women Candidates and Women Voters During Elections”

 

iKNOW Politics (2009): “Consolidated Response. Best practices used by political parties to Promote Women in Politics.”

See: http://iknowpolitics.org/en/knowledge-library/expert-responses/consolidated-response-best-practices-used-political-parties

 

iKNOW Politics (2009): “Consolidated Response on the Prevention of Family Voting.”

 

iKNOW Politics (2016): “Consolidated Reply of the e-Discussion on Parliamentary Oversight of Gender Equality”. April 2016.

See: iknowpolitics.org/sites/default/files/cren.pdf

 

IKNOW Politics (2018): “Women hold at least half of ministerial positions in these countries”, 7 June 2018.

See: http://iknowpolitics.org/en/learn/knowledge-resources/data-and-statistics/women-hold-least-half-ministerial-positions-these

 

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See: https://iknowpolitics.org/en/learn/knowledge-resources/discussion-summaries/summary-e-discussion-violence-against-women-politic-0

 

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See: http://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5513944&fecha=21/02/2018

 

International Foundation for Electoral Systems: “Guatemala: Acciones de IFES para promover el voto de la mujer y la población LGBTI.”

 

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (2016): “Violence Against Women in Elections in Zimbabwe: Pilot Assessment in Haiti”.

 

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (2013): IFES Pakistan Fact Sheet: Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities.

See: http://www.ifes.org/pakistan

 

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See: https://www.ifes.org/news/male-allies-leadership-equality-learning-nigerias-experience

 

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See: https://www.ifes.org/publications/effect-violence-womens-electoral-and-political-participation-bangladesh

 

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See: https://www.ifes.org/publications/new-assessment-violence-against-women-elections-zimbabwe

 

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (2018): “Empowering Kenyan Women with Disabilities as Policy Advocates”, 11 September 2018.

See: https://www.ifes.org/news/empowering-kenyan-women-disabilities-policy-advocates

 

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (2018): “Nepali Women with Disabilities Build Advocacy Skills to Engage Government Officials”, 19 September 2018.

See: https://www.ifes.org/news/nepali-women-disabilities-build-advocacy-skills-engage-government-officials

 

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (2018): “Bridging Perspectives: Engaging Male Allies for Gender Equality and Women’s Leadership”, 8 March 2018.

See: https://www.ifes.org/news/bridging-perspectives-engaging-male-allies-gender-equality-and-womens-leadership

 

International IDEA (2012): “Review of political parties’ commitments to gender equality: a study of 33 African countries” (unpublished).

 

International IDEA (2013): “Political Parties in Africa through a Gender Lens.”

 

International IDEA (2014): “Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns: A Handbook on Political Finance”.

See: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/funding-political-parties-and-election-campaigns-handbook-political-finance

 

International IDEA (2014): “Social Media: A Practical Guide for Electoral Management Bodies”. See: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/social-media-practical-guide-electoral-management-bodies?lang=en

 

International IDEA (2016): “A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for Political Parties”.

See: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/framework-developing-gender-policies-political-parties

 

International IDEA (2016): “A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for Electoral Management Bodies”.

See: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/framework-developing-internal-gender-policies-electoral-management-bodies

 

International IDEA, Inter-Parliamentary Union and Stockholm University (2013): “Atlas of Gender Quotas.”

Contributors: Drude Dahlerup, Zeina Hilal, Nana Kalandadze and Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu.

See: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/atlas-electoral-gender-quotas

 

International IDEA (2016): “A Framework for Developing Gender Policies for Political Parties”.

See: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/framework-developing-gender-policies-political-parties

 

International IDEA and Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (2015): “Political parties’ internal rules from a gender perspective: comparative experiences.”

 

Inter-Parliamentary Union (1994): “Plan Of Action to Correct Present Imbalances In The Participation Of Men And Women In Political Life”. 16 March 1994.

See: http://archive.ipu.org/Wmn-E/Planactn.Htm

 

Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR (2005): “Human Rights Handbook for Parliamentarians”.

See: http://www.ipu.org/PDF/publications/hr_guide_en.pdf

 

Inter-Parliamentary Union (2013): “Guidelines for Women’s Caucuses”.

See: https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reference/2016-07/guidelines-womens-caucuses

 

Inter-Parliamentary Union (2016): “Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians”. See: https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2016-10/sexism-harassment-and-violence-against-women-parliamentarians

 

Inter-Parliamentary Union (2017): “Plan of action for gender-sensitive parliaments”.

See: https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reference/2016-07/plan-action-gender-sensitive-parliaments

 

Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women (2017): “Women in Politics 2017 Map.”

See: http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2017/4/women-in-politics-2017-map#view

 

International Women’s Media Foundation (2011): “Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media”.

See: https://www.iwmf.org/resources/global-report-on-the-status-of-women-in-the-news-media/

 

Kandaswavica-Nhundu, Rumbidzai (2018): “Women’s participation in local government”, 7 February 2018.

See: https://www.idea.int/news-media/news/womens-participation-local-government

 

Krook, Mona Lena and Restrepo Sanín, Juliana (2015): “Gender and political violence in Latin America. Concepts, debates and solutions.”

See: www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/.../1665-2037-pyg-23-01-00127-en.pdf

 

Larserud, Stina and Taphorn, Rita (2007): “Designing for Equality: Best-fit, medium-fit and non-favourable combinations of electoral systems and gender quotas”, International IDEA.

 

Lassegue, Marie-Laurence (2017): “Advocacy to strengthen women’s participation in Haitian political parties”, International IDEA, 16 November 2017.

See: https://www.idea.int/news-media/news/advocacy-strengthen-women%E2%80%99s-participation-haitian-political-parties

 

Llanos, Beatriz and Sample, Kristen (2008): “From Words to Action: Best Practices for Women’s Participation in Latin American Political Parties”, International IDEA.

See: http://iknowpolitics.org/en/learn/knowledge-resources/case-study/words-action-best-practices-womens-political-participation

 

Llanos, Beatriz and Nina, Juana (2011): “Election Coverage from a Gender Perspective. A Media Monitoring Manual”. UN Women and International IDEA.

See: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/election-coverage-gender-perspective-media-monitoring-manual?lang=en

 

Llanos, Beatriz (2012): “Unseeing Eyes: Media Coverage and Gender in Latin American Elections”. International IDEA and UN Women.

See: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/ojos-que-no-ven-cobertura-medi%C3%A1tica-y-g%C3%A9nero-en-las-eleccciones?lang=en

 

Llanos, Beatriz and Roza, Vivian (2015): “Partidos politicos y paridad: un desafío de la democracia en América Latina.” International IDEA and Inter-American Development Bank.

See: https://publications.iadb.org/en/publication/15507/partidos-politicos-y-paridad-un-desafio-de-la-democracia-en-america-latina

 

Markham, Susan A.: “Strengthening women in parliament”, National Democratic Institute.

See: archive.ipu.org/splz-e/asgp11/Markham.doc

 

Men Engage, UN Women and UNFPA (2014): “Men, Masculinities and Changing Power: A Discussion Paper on Engaging Men in Gender Equality From Beijing 1995 to 2015”.

See: https://www.unfpa.org/es/node/9655

 

National Democratic Institute: “Political Party Women’s Wing Factsheet ”.

See: https://www.ndi.org/dcc-parties

 

National Democratic Institute: “Candidate schools help women in West Africa compete and win.”

 

National Democratic Institute: “Supporting a network of women’s caucuses in the IGAD region”.

See: https://www.ndi.org/Supporting-Network-Women-Caucuses-IGAD-Region

 

National Democratic Institute: “Republic of Macedonia: Code of Conduct of Political Parties for Free and Fair Parliamentary Elections.”

 

National Democratic Institute (2014): “Civic Update. Political Inclusion of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Population”. January 2014.

See: https://www.ndi.org/civic_update

 

National Democratic Institute (2015): “Mali adopts law promoting gender equity”.

See: https://www.ndi.org/mali-adopts-gender-quota-law

 

National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (2010): “The Code of Conduct for Mass Media and Journalists on the Manner of Reporting About Elections Regulation Number 6/2010.”

See: www.refworld.org/pdfid/51028ac92.pdf

 

National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (2018): “Gender Policy.”

 

Needja, Amirouche (2014): “Couverture électorale sensible au genre: vers l’égalité dans l’espace public”, in Femmes et médias au Maghreb. Revue d’analyse nº 7.

See: unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002481/248166F.pdf

 

O’Malley, Jeffrey et al. (2018): “Sexual and gender minorities and the Sustainable Development Goals”, UNDP.

See: https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/hiv-aids/sexual-and-gender-minorities.html

 

O’Reilly, Christiana; Flanigan, Annetta and Sullivan, Kate (2018): “Women, use your power: a gender assessment of Sierra Leone’s elections”, National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone and UNDP.

 

Organization of American States (2013): “Manual for Incorporating a Gender Perspective into OAS Electoral Observation Missions (OAS/EOMs).”

See: http://iknowpolitics.org/en/learn/knowledge-resources/guide-training-material/manual-incorporating-gender-perspective-oas

 

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (2004): “Handbook for Monitoring Women’s Participation in Elections”. See: https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/13938

 

OSCE/ODIHR (2014): “Handbook on Promoting Women’s Participation in Political Parties”.

See: https://www.osce.org/odihr/120877

 

OSCE/ODIHR (2017): “Making Laws Work for Women and Men: A Practical Guide to Gender-Sensitive Legislation”.

See: https://www.osce.org/odihr/327836

 

Palmieri, Sonia (2011): “Gender-Sensitive Parliaments: A Global Review of Good Practice”. Inter-Parliamentary Union, p. 61.

See: https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2016-07/gender-sensitive-parliaments

 

Red Multicultural de Mujeres Trans and Acción Ciudadana (2016): “Informe del Observatorio para la Promoción del Voto de las Mujeres Trans Guatemaltecas. Segunda vuelta de elecciones Guatemala 2015”.

See: https://www.ndi.org/es/publications/informe-sobre-la-observaci%C3%B3n-electoral-con-%C3%A9nfasis-transg%C3%A9nero-de-acci%C3%B3n-ciudadana-y

 

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association to the Human Rights Council, Thirty-eighth session, 13 June 2018.

 

Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences on violence against women, A/73/301, 6 August 2018, submitted in accordance with Assembly resolution 71/170.

See: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/SRWomen/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx#ga

 

Reynolds, Andrew (2013): “Out in Office. LGBT Legislators and LGBT Rights Around the World”.

 

Reynolds, Andrew (2013): “Representation and Rights: the Impact of LGBT Legislators in Comparative Perspective”, in American Political Science Review. May 2013.

See: http://reynolds.web.unc.edu/downloads-2/

 

Rosas, Vivian; Llanos, Beatriz and Garzón de la Roza, Gisela (2011): “Gender and Political Parties: Far from Parity”. Inter-American Development Bank and International IDEA.

See: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/partidos-politicos-y-paridad-la-ecuacion-pendiente?lang=en

 

Sacchet, Teresa (2005): “Political Parties: When do they work for Women?” United Nations.

See: http://iknowpolitics.org/en/2008/08/political-parties-when-do-they-work-women

 

Sidhu, Gretchen Luchsinger and Meena, Ruth (2007): “Electoral Financing to Advance Women’s Political Participation: A Guide for UNDP Support”. UNDP.

See: https://agora-parl.org/node/10216

 

Silva-Leander, Annika and Noonan, Joseph (2018): “Is the space for civil society really shrinking?” International IDEA, 17 July 2018.

See: https://www.idea.int/news-media/news/space-civil-society-space-really-shrinking

 

Solijonov, Abdurashid (2016): “Voter Turnout Trends around the World”. International IDEA.

See: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/voter-turnout-trends-around-world

 

The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (2017): “The Women Situation Room in Africa”.

See: http://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/womens-situation-room-africa/

 

Tribunal Supremo Electoral de El Salvador (2014): Memoria Especial Elecciones 2014.

 

Tribunal Supremo Electoral de El Salvador, Dirección de Capacitación y Educación Cívica (2018): Instructivo para Juntas Receptoras de Votos. Elección de Diputaciones a Asamblea Legislativa y de integrantes a Concejos Municipales, domingo 4 de marzo 2018.

 

Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability. Press release. 25/01/2018.

See: http://tdea.pk/transgender-disabled-women-rights-activists-urge-ecp-sensitize-polling-staff/

 

UNESCO (2013): “Awareness and debate sessions emphasize the role of the journalists during elections”, in Media and Elections Journal. Edition 1, 1 July 2013.

 

United Nations (2005): “Women and elections. Guide to promoting the participation of women in elections.”

See: http://iknowpolitics.org/en/knowledge-library/guide-training-material/women-elections-guide-promoting-participation-women

 

United Nations for LGBT Equality: “Fact Sheet. LGBT Rights: Frequently Asked Questions.”

See: https://www.unfe.org/learn-more/

 

United Nations for LGBT Equality: “Fact Sheet. Homophobic and transphobic violence.”

See: https://www.unfe.org/learn-more/

 

United Nations for LGBT Equality: “Fact Sheet. Equality and Non-Discrimination.”

See: https://www.unfe.org/learn-more/

 

UN Resolution of the General Assembly 66/130 on Women and Political Participation, 2012.

See: http://www.un.org/en/ga/66/resolutions.shtml

 

UNDP: “Enhancing women’s participation throughout the electoral process” e-learning course.

See: http://iknowpolitics.org/en/learn/knowledge-resources/online-courses/undp-online-course-enhancing-women%E2%80%99s-participation

 

UNDP and UN Women (2012): “Survey on Gender Mainstreaming in Electoral Management Bodies”.

 

UNDP and NDI (2012): “Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Guidebook to Promote Women’s Political Participation”. Lead author: Julie Ballington.

See: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/womens-empowerment/empower-women-political-parties.html

 

UNDP (2014): “Gender Equality in Public Administration.”

See: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/democratic-governance/public_administration/gepa.html

 

UNDP (2014): “Gender Equality Women’s participation and leadership in governments at the local level, Asia and the Pacific 2013”.

See: http://www.asia-pacific.undp.org/content/rbap/en/home/library/democratic_governance/gender-equality-in-local-gov-2013.html

 

UNDP (2015): “Observing elections from a gender perspective; UNDP builds capacity for women CSOs”.

See:http://www.ng.undp.org/content/nigeria/en/home/presscenter/articles/2015/02/03/observing-elections-from-a-gender-perspective-undp-builds-capacity-of-women-csos-.html

 

UNDP (2019): “Reference Guide on Women’s Representation and Political Participation for the Arab Region”, UNDP Regional Office for Arab States.

 

UNDP and UN Women (2016): “Inclusive Electoral Processes: A Guide for Electoral Management Bodies on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation”.

Main contributors: Julie Ballington, Gabrielle Bardall, Sonia Palmieri and Kate Sullivan.

See: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/democratic-governance/electoral_systemsandprocesses/guide-for-electoral-management-bodies-on-promoting-gender-equali.html

 

UNDP and UN Women (2017): “Preventing Violence Against Women in Elections: A Programming Guide”.

Lead author: Julie Ballington. Contributing authors: Gabrielle Bardall and Gabriella Borovsky.

See: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/democratic-governance/electoral_systemsandprocesses/preventing-violence-against-women-in-elections--a-programming-gu.html

 

UNDP/PGA (2017): “Advancing the Human Rights and Inclusion of LGBTI People: A Handbook for Parliamentarians”.

See:  http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/democratic-governance/parliamentary_development/advancing-the-human-rights-and-inclusion-of-lgbti-people--a-hand.html

 

United Nations Statistical Division (2010): “2015 World’s Women.”

See: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/worldswomen.html

 

UN Women (2012): “Annual Report 2011-2012.”

See: http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2012/8/annual-report-2011-2012

 

UN Women (2015): “Preparing Journalists to Promote Change: Training on Gender Sensitive Reporting in Timor Leste”. 1 June 2015.

See: http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/news-and-events/stories/2015/06/preparing-journalists-to-promote-change-training-on-gender-sensitive-reporting

 

UN Women Training Centre (2016): “Self-Learning Booklet: Understanding Masculinities and Violence Against Women and Girls”.

See: https://trainingcentre.unwomen.org/mod/data/view.php?d=6&rid=4171&lang=en

 

UN Women et al. (2017): “Electoral Gender Based Violence Training Facilitators Manual”, adapted draft working manual.

 

UN Women, OHCHR and SRVAW (2018): “Violence Against Women in Politics: Expert Group Meeting Report and Recommendations”, 8-9 March 2018, New York.

See: http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2018/9/egm-report-violence-against-women-in-politics

 

Virginia Garcia Beaudoux (2017): “Dancing Backwards in High Heels: Women, Leadership and Power.” Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.

 

Who Makes the News (2015): “Global Media Monitoring Project 2015”.

See: http://whomakesthenews.org/gmmp/gmmp-reports/gmmp-2015-reports

 

Women in Parliaments Global Forum (2016): “Social Media: Advancing Women in Politics?”

See: https://www.womenpoliticalleaders.org/event/launch-wip-facebook-harvard-report-use-social-media-women-politics-2/

 

 

PRESS ARTICLES

 

Boldrini, Angela (2018): Transexuais e travestis poderão votar com nome social, Folha de S. Paulo. 02/04/2018.

See: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2018/04/transexuais-e-travestis-poderao-votar-com-nome-social.shtml

 

El Telégrafo (2016): “Funcionarios son capacitados sobre los derechos de los GLBTI”, 23/07/2016.

See: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/politica/3/funcionarios-son-capacitados-sobre-derechos-de-los-glbti

 

El Universo (2017): Transgéneros ecuatorianos votan por primera vez de acuerdo con el género elegido. 19/02/2017

See: https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2017/02/19/nota/6055933/transgeneros-ecuatorianos-votan-primera-vez-acuerdo-genero-elegido

 

Ghauri, Irfan (2017): Only 1,456 transgender listed from 97,02 million voters in electoral rolls. The Express Tribune. 21/10/2017.

See: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1537485/1-1456-transgender-listed-electoral-rolls/

 

Khan, Muhammad Salman (2018): “FAFEN hires 25 transgender persons as electoral observers” in The Express Tribune. 5 July 2018.

See: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1749937/1-fafen-hires-25-transgender-persons-electoral-observers/

 

La Razón (2018): “Democracia para todos… es ¡todos!”, 08/07/2018

See: https://www.razon.com.mx/democracia-para-todos-es-todos/

 

La Red 21 (2018): “Incrementa en Costa Rica violencia contra población LGBTI tras ascenso de político evangélico”. 18 February 2018.

See: http://www.lr21.com.uy/mundo/1359960-costa-rica-fabricio-alvarado-lgbti-discriminacion-homofobia

 

Margolin, Emma (2018): “How a New Wave of Female Candidates Is Training to Fight the Trolls. Running for office in the age of #MeToo”, in Politico Magazine. 12 March 2018.

See: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/03/12/how-a-new-wave-of-female-candidates-is-training-to-fight-the-trolls-217350

 

Moreau, Julie (2017): “Will 2017 Be the Year of the Transgender Candidate?” in NBC News, 12 June 2017. See: https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/will-2017-be-year-trans-candidate-n768831

 

Pink News (2017): A majority of people in the transgender community in India are not voting in elections. 05/02/2017

See: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/02/05/a-majority-of-the-transgender-community-in-india-are-not-voting-in-elections/

 

Qiblawi, Tamara (2018): “Gay rights come to the fore as Lebanon prepares to vote”, in CNN. 4 May 2018.

See: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/04/middleeast/lebanon-elections-lgbt-rights-intl/index.html

 

Reliefweb (2018): “UN’s Kubiš rejects and denounces malicious acts against election integrity, in particular defamation and threats against women, urges respect and civility”. 24 April 2018.

See: https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/un-s-kubi-rejects-and-denounces-malicious-acts-against-election-integrity-particular

 

Sajjad Haider, Muhammad (2018): “Pakistan’s 13 transgender candidates face threats of violence”. Samaa. 14 June 2018.

See: https://www.samaa.tv/uncategorized/2018/06/pakistans-13-transgender-candidates-face-threats-of-violence/

 

Shugerman, Emily (2018): “Transgender governor nominee Christine Hallquist says she is getting death threats”. Independent. 22 August 2018.

See: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/christine-hallquist-transgender-vermont-death-threats-democrat-governor-nominee-a8503701.html

 

Tajali, Mona (2015): “The promise of gender parity: Turkey’s People’s Democratic Party (HDP)”, in Open Democracy. 29 October 2015.

See: https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/mona-tajali/promise-of-gender-parity-turkey-s-people-s-democratic-party-hdp

 

Talkoof, Emma (2017): “Will 2017 Be the Year of the Transgender Candidate?” in Time, 6 July 2017. See: http://time.com/4846082/transgender-political-candidates/

 

The Guardian (2016): Trans rights: meet the face of Nepal’s progressive third gender movement. 12/02/2016

See: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/feb/12/trans-rights-meet-the-face-of-nepals-progressive-third-gender-movement

 

Times of India (2018): Transgender encouraged to register in voters’ list. 19/04/2018.

See: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangaluru/transgenders-encouraged-to-register-in-voters-list/articleshow/63821670.cms

 

UN News (2014): Sexual minorities given right to vote in India’s elections.

See: https://news.un.org/en/audio/2014/05/588452

 

Wasib, Sehrish (2018): “Transgender community files manifesto for upcoming elections”, in The Express Tribune. 14 March 2018.

See: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1659983/1-transgender-community-files-manifesto-upcoming-elections/

 

 

GLOSSARY: GENDER AND ELECTIONS

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]