Women's Political Networks Complete Guide

Womens Political Networks
Defining Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Fostering Change
Lucina Di Meco
WOMENS POLITICAL NETWORKS

THE COMPLETE GUIDE
Womens Political Networks: Defining Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Fostering Change
Acknowledgements
Id like to gracefully acknowledge all the politicians, gender experts and managers
of political networks who generously took part in this study, sharing with me their
experiences and thoughts regarding womens political networks. In alphabetical
Gwen K.Young,
order, they are: Achol Williams, Aida Balamaci, Ajla van Heel, Alessia Mosca, Anita
Director
Perez Ferguson, Anna Burke, Aretha Frances, Caroline Hubbard, Federiga Bindi,
Marie Principe, Funke Baruwa, Gabriela Jakovleva, Gabriella Borovsky, Hanane Ennadir, Hilary
Program Associate Anderson, Krishanti Dharmaraj, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Jessica Berns, Jessica
Althea Lloyd, Grounds, Jessica Huber, Joanna Maycock, Joyce Banda, Kah Walla, Kent Da-
Program Coordinator vis-Packard, Khadija Idrissi Janati, Khatoun Haidar, Kristin Haffert, Kristen Sam-
Ellysse Dick, ple, Kudzai Makombe, Lana Ackar, Lesia Radelicki, Lia Quartapelle, Lindy Wafula,
Communications Assistant Margarita Percovich, Maria Eugenia Valverde, Maria Ysabel Cedano, Mahnaz
Afkhami, Mary Balikungeri, Massimo Tommasoli, Melanne Verveer, Randi Davis,
Special thanks to Gwen K. Sandra Pepera, Susannah Wellford, Sonia Palmieri, Sonja Lokar, Susan Markham,
Young and Marie Principe
Teina Mackenzie, Valeria Fedeli, Valerie Dowling, Vivian Roza, Zeina Hilal. In
for editing this publication
addition, Id like to acknowledge Karine Lepillez, who read the manuscript and
and to Ellysse Dick for the
design and layout. provided critical comments and Elyse Gainor, who kindly proofread it. Finally, a
special thank you goes to Gwen Young, Director of the Global Womens Leadership
Initiative and Women in Public Service Project at the Wilson Center, who believed
About the in the importance of this research and made it possible.
Women in
Public Service Executive Summary
Project This paper seeks to understand the impact womens political networks have globally
in supporting women overcome the universal cultural and structural barriers they
The Women in Public Ser- face in engaging in a political career. With best practices from national, regional
vice Project will accelerate
and international networks, this paper explores the role and modus operandi net-
global progress towards
womens equal participa-
works have adopted in supporting women running for national office in congres-
tion in policy and political sional or parliamentary elections, enhancing their effectiveness and shaping their
leadership to create more leadership once in office. Through desk research of existing literature, interviews
dynamic and inclusive in- with women engaged in national politics and experts in this field, this paper also
stitutions that leverage the seeks to raise questions on the role of technology, the media and the correlation
full potential of the worlds between womens participation in networks and their substantive representation.
population to change the
way global solutions are About the Author
forged.
Cover: Northrop Grumman/The Lucina Di Meco is a Senior Gender Expert with more than 15 years of experience
Wilson Center/Women in Public in the design, management and implementation of international development
Service Project; Anna Burke:
programs addressing gender inequality. Lucina has worked for the United Nations,
Parliament@Work (CC BY-SA
3.0 au), via Wikimedia Com- as well as a wide range of international nonprofits and foundations, defending and
mons; all other photos courtesy promoting womens and girls rights and empowerment in Africa, Asia and Latin
of individuals pictured. America.
2
The Women in Public Service Project
Womens Political Networks: Defining Leadership, Breaking

Barriers, and Fostering Change
Background and Research Paper................................................................................................................................ 2
Introduction 4
Women in Politics: Considerations on Descriptive and Substantive Representation 4
Womens Political Networks: Definition, Role, Membership and Key Relations 6
Womens Networks as Barrier Breakers 12
Womens Political Networks: Suggestions for Further Investigation 24
Conclusion 26
Endnotes 27
Annex I: Researching Womens Political Networks: A Resource Guide.............................................................33
Background 34
Women in Politics: Key Bibliography 35
Womens Political Empowerment: Mapping of National and International Actors 42
Annex II: Designing Womens Political Networks: A Ten-Step Toolkit.................................................................56
Background 57
Roadmap: Designing your Womens Political Network 58
Tools and Key Questions for Designing a Womens Political Network 60
Further Resources: Manuals and Toolkits for Designing Womens Networks 66
1
WOMENS POLITICAL NETWORKS

BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH

Background and Research Paper
Annex I: Researching Womens Political Networks: A Resource Guide
Annex II: Designing Womens Political Networks: A Ten-Step Toolkit
Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

Introduction 4
Women in Politics: Considerations on Descriptive and Substantive Representation 4
Why Does This Matter? Going Beyond Sheer Numbers............................................................................................................................. 5
Womens Political Networks: Definition, Role, Membership and Key Relations 6

Womens Political Networks in Civil Society, Political Parties and National Legislatures: A Multiplicity of Experiences and
Goals.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Are All-Women Networks Always Best? ...........................................................................................................................9
Womens Networks and the Womens Movement: Difficulties and Gains of a Complicated Relationship................................. 10
Womens Political Networks, Social Media and Digital Technologies: Online Networks, Hashtag Activism and More............ 12
Womens Networks as Barrier Breakers 12

Ambition and the Confidence Gap:Womens Networks as Political Recruiters and Confidence Boosters................................. 13
Societal Expectations, Prevailing Models of Macho Leadership and Media Misrepresentation:Womens Networks as Agents
of Cultural Change ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Domestic Responsibilities and Family Penalty: Womens Networks as Support and Practice Changers.................................... 19
Gender-Based Violence in Politics:Womens Networks as Advocates and Womens Rights Defenders........................................ 20

Substituting the Old Boys Club:Womens Networks as Resources for Networking, Mentoring and Coaching......................... 22
Lack of Financial Resources:Womens Networks as Assets to Sustain Political Campaign Costs.................................................. 23
Womens Political Networks: Suggestions for Further Investigation 24
Conclusion 26
Endnotes 27
3 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

Introduction ceilings of UN Secretary-General and United

States President.
In 1995, when the Fourth World Conference
on Women was convened by the United Na- This paper seeks to understand the impact wom-
tions (UN) in Beijing, China, the world average ens political networks have on supporting women
of women in parliament was 11.3 percent. The running for office, getting women elected, and
conference represented a turning point for the shaping their policies and effectiveness once in
global womens movement, with the affirmation office.
of womens rights as human rights and the To explore these issues, Part I reviews contem-
adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, an porary thinking on womens descriptive and
agenda for womens empowerment with very substantive representation. In Part II, this study
specific goals, measures and indicators to increase, defines and describes the different types of wom-
among other things, equal participation of men ens political networks and explores answers to
and women in politics. some key questions that concern their member-
Since then, progress has been made, as women ship, their relationship to the womens movement
doubled their representation in parliaments and and their use of technology. Part III analyzes the
congresses all over the world (at the end of 2015, universal cultural and structural barriers women
women held 22.7 percent of seats). Still, as the face in each stage of a political career and provides
Sustainable Development Goals remind us, ensur- best practices of how different types of networks,
ing womens full and effective participation and separately or working in cooperation, have sup-
equal opportunities for leadership in the political ported women in overcoming these barriers. Part
public life globally is a goal not yet fully achieved. IV highlights some of the main opportunities for
Progress in this respect is uneven: while the further investigation from this research. Accom-
Nordic countries achieved on average 41 percent panying this paper are a key bibliography on
womens representation and Rwanda and Boliv- women in politics and a mapping of national and
ia have a majority of women in their national international actors active in this field (Annex
legislatures, most countries have failed to achieve I), and a toolkit with basic guidelines on how
Beijings target of 30 percent womens representa- to design a network fostering womens political
tion at a decision-making level in legislative and representation.
governmental bodies. In 2013, in In Asia and
the Pacific, where 60% of the world population
lives, women hold on average 18.4% of seats in
I. Women in Politics:
national legislatures.1 It is also important to note Considerations on
that increased representation does not necessarily
mean equal voice and power. Since 1960, only
Descriptive and Substantive
54 women have become the top political execu- Representation
tive in their countries;2 women hold only about
The fact that women represent approximately half
17 percent of ministerial positions worldwide
of the worlds population should in and of itself
and even then, they tend to be reliably entrusted
be a strong argument for equal representation.
with social welfare portfolios, which do not grant
In addition, womens participation in legislatures
power to decide how revenues should be allocat-
is proven to have a positive impact on the policy
ed or to take part in national security or foreign
agenda, profound consequences on the way pol-
policy decisions.3 Finally, still in 2016, despite the
itics is practiced and a beneficial ripple effect on
presence of extremely strong female candidates,
society as a whole.
women have not yet shattered the highest glass
Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks | 4

Globally, women legislators tend to be more sen- to run for office. Now we only have one female
sitive to community needs, as they often prioritize president. What if it was the other way round?10
issues like childcare, education and health;4 wom- Another question also remains to be fully ad-
en lawmakers are also much more engaged in gen- dressed. What are the conditions under which
der equality matters, including gender-based vio- nationally-elected female legislators drive these
lence, equal pay and parental leave.5 While there changes? Is the effectiveness dependent upon
is no ultimate evidence regarding the differential their sheer numbers, the strength of their internal
pervasiveness of corrupt behaviors among men network, their connections to their constituency,
and women in public office, multiple surveys in or other factors?
India have found a correlation between womens
increased representation and improved popular
perceptions about public office. 6 In the United Why Does This Matter? Going Beyond Sheer
States, 34 percent of the people interviewed for Numbers
a recent survey said they perceived women to be
The Beijing Platform for Action asserts that wom-
more ethical and honest, while only 3 percent said
en must achieve at least 30 percent representation
the same about men.7
in political institutions before their presence can
Furthermore, a growing body of research exam- have a transformative effect. This approach, often
ining leadership styles finds women to be less referred to as the critical mass theory, suggests
aggressive, more cooperative and have a more that only when a certain critical mass of wom-
democratic approach in decision making.8 In en is present in a political institution, will they
October 2013 in the United States, during the be strong enough to confront the dominating
federal government shut down, as the prospect culture, organize themselves as a group and act on
of a historic default loomed close, it was women behalf of womens interests.
from the Senate who worked across party lines to
Since Beijing, 77 countries all over the world have
put forward a plan that successfully reopened the
adopted compulsory gender quotas to increase
government. A study from the Canadian public
the number of female lawmakers through legislat-
service points at the positive impact that equal
ed candidate quotas or reserved seats.11 Political
representation has on institutional culture, pro-
parties in fifty-four countries have also adopted
grams and operations at all levels.9
voluntary quotas, with degrees of effectiveness
Lindy Wafula, member of the Labour Party of that generally reflect their overall gender-sensi-
Kenya who ran for office in the last two parlia- tivity, the presence of women in party elites and,
mentary elections, sums it up: I keep asking my- to a lesser extent, their ideological make-up.12 In
self and women and men in Africa: what would countries like Rwanda and Bolivia, where women
achieved and surpassed that critical mass almost
overnight due to ambitious quota rules, they were
Now we only have one female president. able to pass gender equality legislation that would
What if it was the other way round? have seemed unrealistic only a few years earlier.
Lindy Wafula, Member of the Labour Party of While certainly useful in increasing the sheer
Kenya and two-time parliamentary candidate number of women in office (womens descriptive
representation), quotas can produce resistance or
backlash in some countries.13 Also, quotas do not
Africa be like if we had 52 female presidents?
necessarily increase the ability (or even willing-
Would we still see war, hunger, poverty? This is
ness) of female legislators to work on gender
the question I ask to women as I encourage them
equality and womens policy concerns (womens

substantive representation). Neither do they remove the needs of its population must include an equal
many of the cultural and structural barriers wom- number of women legislators to ensure a truly
en face in entering the political life and achieving democratic representation.
senior leadership positions.14
The critical mass approach has also come un-
der harsh criticism in recent years for a variety
II. Womens Political Networks:
of reasons. First, it assumes women legislators Definition, Role, Membership
should primarily respond to women as their core
constituency.15 According to a 2008 global IPU
and Key Relations
survey of men and women in parliament, howev- A social network can be defined as a set of actors
er, while women parliamentarians reported feeling (individuals, groups, organizations, or societies)
a responsibility to represent the needs and inter- and the relations between these actors.18 Building
ests of women, they also noted feeling an equal upon this definition, this paper considers wom-
responsibility to represent the needs of men and ens political networks as the set of critical actors
children.16 Second, this approach strengthens a working to increase womens political participa-
gender-stereotypical notion of which matters are tion, recruitment and leadership and the rela-
of womens interest, often with a strong focus on tions among them. These actors include the men
health and education.17 Third, the critical mass and women who, through womens civil society
approach demands for women representatives a organizations, womens political party wings and
higher and different standard of accountability, womens parliamentary bodies (by themselves
neither taking into consideration nor challenging womens political networks), represent important
the role played by a multiplicity of stakeholders in stakeholders to the legislative process. The paper
the legislative process, which includes civil society will analyze the role each one of these stakehold-
organizations, political parties and national legis- ers plays to increase womens representation, both
latures. Finally, this approach does not explain the individually and in strategic partnerships some-
incredible achievements made by women lawmak- times referred to as womens cooperative constella-
ers who were able have important gender-equality tions.19
legislation passed despite holding very few seats.
Womens networks are not necessarily substitu-
These considerations reflect the need to overcome tive, but complementary with respect to policies
the critical mass approach in favor of a new narra- aimed at increasing womens descriptive repre-
tive for gender parity in the political life: one that sentation. In some cases they prepare the ground
assumes equal representation as a precondition for them, such as when networks advocate for
for political institutions that are inclusive, able to gender quotas. In other cases, they contribute to
mirror the realities and respond to the needs of all eliminating some of the barriers that make those
people in their societies. Worldwide, to a greater policies necessary in the first place. For example,
or lesser extent, men and women are educated networks can increase the supply or demand
and socialized differently because of their gender of female candidates by increasing the pool of
identity, which fosters differing life experiences
with respect to health, education, social norms,
Having been part of a womens network,
economic constraints and much more. By virtue
when you get into office you will have greater
of those experiences, their perspectives are differ-
political will to advance the position of women.
ent albeit often complementary and need to be
represented equally in the political life. With this Dr. Joyce Banda, Former President of Malawi
in mind, any government aiming at fully meeting

qualified female political aspirants or

convincing political parties and the In order to make significant progress in
electorate of the importance of hav- womens political empowerment, we need a
ing more women in office. Womens lot more of such networks.
networks also play an essential role Melanne Verveer, Executive Director, Georgetown
in promoting womens substantive Institute for Women, Peace and Security and former
representation, by fostering dialogue U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Womens Issues
among critical actors to the legislative
share experiences and tools on how to successfully
process, including women in government, civil
advance gender equality policies. In order to make
society and political party activists.20 For Joyce
significant progress on womens political empow-
Banda,21 former president of Malawi and womens
erment, we need a lot more of such networks.24
rights activist, having been a part of a womens
network and having gotten that support from
your fellow women, when you get into office Womens Political Networks in Civil Society,
you will have greater political will to advance the Political Parties and National Legislatures: A
position of women. Multiplicity of Experiences and Goals
Finally, womens networks shape and inform Since Beijing, a great number of womens political
womens leadership. According to Joanna Barsh, networks have been created, varying for geograph-
Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, many ic outreach (national, regional or international)
very successful women use a centred leadership, and membership (political party wings, parlia-
heavily reliant on the power of connecting, or mentary committees and caucuses, civil society
identifying who can help you grow, building groups), among other categories. Each of them
stronger relationships, and increasing your sense offers different advantages and services to their
of belonging.22 Speaking with over seventy fe- members. Asked about the role of different wom-
male leaders for their book Fast Forward, Verveer ens networks for her political career, Kah Walla,25
and Azzarelli also found connecting with others the first woman to run for president in Camer-
to be absolutely essential in unlocking womens oon, explained: Each network provides you with
potential.23 Its through these connections that something. Being part of national womens net-
women discover their power and purpose, as well works you can understand and reach out to wom-
as find the strength and validation to pursue their en involved at the grassroots level and build your
political vision. constituency. In a regional network you share
experiences and understand how to advance your
Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the
issues. The international network enables you to
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and
Security and first ever U.S. Ambas-
sador-at-Large for Global Womens Being part of national womens networks,
Issues at the Department of State you can understand and reach out to
from 2009 to 2013, explains it this women involved at the grassroots level.
way: I believe womens networks
are invaluable in providing female Kah Walla, first woman to run for President in
political aspirants with the tools they Cameroon
need to get elected, despite the many
hurdles in their paths. Womens
take your grassroots workto a global level, find
networks also make an enormous difference in en-
similarities and differences with other activists in
abling female legislators to meet across party lines,

the world, learn and build the connections. budgetary allocations.29 In some countries, wom-
ens parliamentary bodies allow men to serve as
Womens civil society organizations and networks
honorary members.
play a very important role in raising political
awareness, acting as a loudspeaker for issues and While each one of the above mentioned actors
grievances and monitoring the government and (womens civil society organizations, political par-
political parties commitment to gender equality ty wings and parliamentary bodies) independently
at the national, regional and international lev- plays an important role improving womens politi-
el. For example, in view of the 2014 European cal representation and leadership, they can achieve
Parliament elections, the European Womens their goals most effectively when they strategically
Lobby (EWL), the largest umbrella organization work together, even in a challenging political
of womens associations in the European Union, climate. In Germany, Italy and the United States
performed gender audits of the manifestos of in the 1960s and 1970s, a very small number of
the main European parties, assessing their com- female lawmakers managed to advance important
mitment to womens rights. Because of the sheer laws on gender equality thanks to the strength de-
numbers of their members, womens organizations, rived from the connection they had with womens
especially if organized through networks, can civil society organizations and womens political
influence the agenda of political parties interested party wings.30 In the 1990s in Uruguay, women
in reaching out to women as a constituency. legislators, despite occupying only 15 percent of
seats, succeeded in shaping the legislative agenda
Often referred to as the gatekeepers of democracy,
in favor of gender equality thanks to the strength
political parties are very important actors in the
of their cross-party parliamentary network Banca-
promotion of womens inclusion in democratic
da Femenina and its connectivity with the Uru-
institutions. Women who are members of politi-
guayan womens movement.31 According to Mar-
cal parties organize themselves through formal or
garita Percovich, a long-time feminist, politician
informal groups or networks commonly referred
and one of the founders of the Bancada Femenina,
to as womens wings. These bodies are generally
this connectivity has been important to multiply
aimed at supporting women who run for office
actions and enrich the political agenda.32
and/or seek senior leadership positions within the
party,26 as well as influence the partys agenda with Speaking about her experience with womens net-
respect to policies concerning women. While the works, the European parliamentarian from Italy
majority of political parties globally have womens Alessia Mosca33 says: I strongly believe in wom-
wings,27 their effectiveness varies widely, from very ens networks. I have had the chance to be elected
influential to purely symbolic, often as a reflection also thanks to the support of many female groups
of the overall gender-sensitivity of the party and
its record of addressing gender issues in gover-
nance and electoral processes.28 I have had the chance to be elected thanks
In parliaments, congresses and parliamentary to the support of many female groups and
assemblies, women often organize themselves networks that have believed in me.
through what the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Alessia Mosca, European Parliamentarian from Italy
(IPU), the international organization of parlia-
ments, describes as parliamentary committees or
caucuses, depending on their structure and func-
tioning. These bodies monitor the implementa- and networks that have believed in me. And I
tion of gender mainstreaming across the countrys had proof of its strength also a step further the
legislative work, practices and, in some instances, elections, while working on the law that bears my

name and introduces in Italy gender quotas in the gender roles and be judged upon them. Several
boards of listed companies. If it was not for the experts and coordinators of international wom-
help of different professional groups representing ens political networks interviewed for this study
professional womens interests, female colleagues pointed to the relationships of validation, mento-
in the Parliament that supported us, the media ring, support and solidarity that women develop
attention mostly started by female journalists, and in such spaces. According to Jessica Huber, Senior
the awareness raised among all the men coun- Gender Specialist at the International Foundation
terparts, we would not have achieved that result for Electoral Systems (IFES): There is a strong
so quickly. And it would not have had such an demand and enthusiasm for the camaraderie, vali-
impact on the Italian society in general. dation and kinship among women who are in the
Are All-Women Networks Always There is a strong demand and enthusiasm for
the camraderie, vaidation and kinship among
Best?
women who are in the singular role of being a
All over the world, the majority of woman and an election leader.
networks fostering womens political Jessica Huber, Senior Gender Specialist, International
leadership include mostly, if not only, Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
female members. There is a strong
case to be made for female-only net-
works in some circumstances, for example when it singular role of being a woman and an election
comes to capacity building, mentoring and coach- leader.39 Federiga Bindi, scholar and former gov-
ing. Research on girls shows how they perform ernment official in Italy who directed a training
better in same-sex environments34 and when the program for women leaders in international rela-
teacher is female.35 Also, when working in same- tions in 2013 confirmed: I am still in touch with
sex teams, women and girls boost their self-con- many participants: each time they never fail to re-
fidence and draw on each others strengths.36 The peat how that week in Brussels changed their life
reason behind this seems to be that people tend forever. They gained a self-awareness and self-con-
to relate and learn from similar others and that fidence, in addition to a set of specific skills and
the social ties that participants forge with one tools that have since made the difference in both
another play a key role in going beyond a simple their professional and personal lives.40
learning experience to an actual capacity-building
experience.37 Former United States Secretary of While female-only political networks are import-
State and presidential candidate Hillary R. Clin- ant, female political aspirants, activists and legis-
ton echoed this notion when reflecting on her lators need to complement them with other kinds
experience at the womens college Wellesley: In of political networks that are open to men, as they
so many ways this all-women college prepared might have more of the breadth, connectivity and
me to compete in the all-boys club of presidential dynamism that are so important in the passage
politics.38 from a simple support network to one that truly
helps people advance in their careers. 41 In addi-
In some countries more than others, women feel tion, when it comes to achieving policy change
more comfortable in female-only environments, that tackles societal norms on gender identity and
where they report feeling safe, able to share their roles, the inclusion of men, generally the power
experiences, ambitions and the challenges they brokers in political institutions, can prove very
face in accessing the political career without the important. For example, the involvement of male
pressure to perform according to stereotypical lawmakers was key for achieving positive changes

in legislation with respect to female genital muti- womens roles in the family as complementary
lation in Uganda and abortion in Uruguay. 42 to that of men.47 The Tunisian womens move-
ment took to the streets in protests and ultimately
Finally, there is a point to be made in favor of
succeeded in having the word complementary
political networks that take into consideration the
substituted by the word equal, in direct oppo-
restrictive gender norms in society through the
sition to what had been advocated for by many
challenges women and men face for their gender
women lawmakers. Other times, women start
identity, engaging both beyond traditional nar-
a political career after having been part of the
ratives of mens and womens roles and interests.
womens movement, where they found a training
Created in 2016, the Finnish parliamentary group
ground and a support network. Once elected,
on Feminism, open to (and attended by) both
these women are more likely to continue engaging
men and women, does just that. The founder
with the movement for an open dialogue on their
explained: Men are favored in recruitment in
policy agenda.
Finland. Mothers are favored in custody battles. A
feminist group looks at both of these issues.43 For many women politicians, however, the reality
is in between: while they developed some rela-
tionship with the womens movement prior to en-
Womens Networks and the Womens
tering politics, they do not see this relationship to
Movement:44 Difficulties and Gains of a be the only--or even the main--factor that helped
Complicated Relationship them running for office, become a party candi-
For many women and girls who are skeptical date and be elected. In those instances, women in
towards political parties and politics in general,45 power will often try to push forward some items
activism in civil society organizations linked to on the womens movement agenda but they might
the womens movement often represents a first be negotiable in exchange for support from senior
step in the direction of political engagement. The party leadership.
relationship between the womens movement and Often, women legislators find themselves in
women in government or political parties is how- a dilemma: on the one hand, they fear being
ever a complicated one. Khadija Idrissi Janati, an identified as womens issues politicians and
entrepreneur and political activist from Moroc- pigeonholed, particularly if newly-elected.48 On
co, described her relationship with the womens the other hand, they try to keep a connection to
movement in her country as: Supportive, as we the womens movement and receive support for
all have the same objective of encouraging more their gender-sensitive legislative work. Sometimes,
women to go into politics but conflictive, because in the political compromising and negotiating
we do not do it the same way.46 process, the relationship between female lawmak-
Sometimes, this relationship depends on the ers and representatives of the womens movement
movements role in getting a female candidate get strained, leaving women legislators and the
elected. Some women access the political life gender-equality agenda vulnerable.
through typically male channels (family, po- Despite its difficulties and complications, the
litical party affiliation, friends); in those cases, relationship between women legislators and the
they do not necessarily engage with the womens womens movement is a very important and po-
movement and do not always share its ideology. tentially beneficial one for both stakeholders: for
In Tunisia, after the 2011 elections, most women female lawmakers, it keeps them connected with
elected in office belonged to the moderate Islamist their female constituency, informs and grants le-
Ennahda Party; in the discussions on the new gitimacy and public support to their policy-mak-
constitution, they supported a draft describing ing and supports their voices when they are being

sidelined. For womens civil society

activists, it provides a channel to in- There hasnt been any moment in my
fluence policies and promote lasting political life which hasnt intersected with the
change. policy discussions happening within womens
networks
In Central and Eastern Europe, Valeria Fedeli, Education Minister of Italy
women from progressive political
parties, civil society organizations
and parliament, organized through Fedeli, Italys Education Minister and long-term
the CEE Network for Gender Issues, successfully feminist, said about her political trajectory:
advocated for the adoption and implementa- There hasnt been any moment in my politi-
tion gender quota policies in Slovenia, Kosovo, cal life which hasnt intersected with the policy
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, discussions happening within formal or informal
Indonesia, Ukraine, Albania and several other womens networks. Being connected with women
countries. In Rwanda, grassroots activists from who share ones own experiences is fundamental
the womens movement created a common front in achieving common goals and gender-sensitive
with women from the leading political party policies.52
(Rwandan Patriotic Front, RPF) and women Anita Perez Ferguson, former President of the
legislators to successfully advocate for quotas, National Womens Political Caucus and White
a modification in inheritance laws favorable to House Liaison to the U.S. Department of Trans-
women and the introduction of stark legislation portation reported that women who had been
to prevent gender-based violence and rape.49 In in networks were much more able to accomplish,
2003, in Mozambique, more than one thousand understand policy changes. They had deeper
women marched to the National Assembly to levels of conversation, were more open to differ-
demand the passing of the New Family Law Act ent approaches, had a greater comfort level and a
(which contained provisions to allow women to strengthened ability to function further in their
work without their husbands permission). Af- political careers. They were better equipped.53
ter having previously stalled for four years, the
bill was passed one month after the demonstra- According to Sonja Lokar, member parliament
tion.50 According to Mary Balikungeri, Director in Slovenia from 1986 to 1992 and Executive
and Founder of the Rwanda Womens Network: Director of the CEE Network for Gender Issues
Grassroots womens organizations since 1998: All the women from the progressive
in their efforts to empower women
and promote gender equality need to All the women from the progessive parties
be capacitated to make linkages with that stayed long in politics were brought up
women in decision making levelsto through the womens networks.
join efforts in finding durable solu- Sonja Lokar, Executive Director, CEE Network
for Gender Issues and former Member of
tions to fundamental challenges
Parliament, Slovenia
faced by grassroots women.51
Some current and former women parties that stayed long in politics, surviving the
politicians interviewed for this study reported pressure of the political life and working on issues
finding a direct correlation between their ability of violence, sexual rights and care in Southern
to push forward a gender equality agenda (in and Eastern Europe were brought up through the
other words, their substantive representation) and womens network. The otherscame, stayed for a
their experience in womens networks. Valeria mandate and disappeared.54

Womens Political Networks, Social Media mentor one another with limited cost.55 In addi-
and Digital Technologies: Online Networks, tion, specialized online platforms like iKNOW
Hashtag Activism and More Politics,56 WikiGender, PROLID and Apolitical
connect women at various stages of the political
Digital technology has revolutionized the way career and support them in accessing, sharing and
men and women work, live and think. This rev- disseminating information and resources, and
olution has not left out the political arena; social launching advocacy and awareness campaigns
media plays an increasing important role in the with very limited costs.
way information is shared globally and contrib-
utes to defining the relationship between citizens Women legislators and coordinators of womens
and governments. political networks interviewed for this study
have pointed out the importance of online tools
Womens networks in civil society are capitalizing to connect women with one another nationally
on social medias unprecedented political and and internationally. At the same time, they have
awareness-raising potential. Hashtag activism has stressed how these tools should be seen as comple-
brought womens issues to the forefront of polit- mentary, not substitutive with respect to in-per-
ical agendas, helping to increase the visibility of son gatherings, where women at all stages of polit-
issues that were under-reported in mainstream ical recruitment truly connect, learn to trust one
media, like the #BringBackOurGirls campaign another and develop bonds that enable them to
in 2013, which reached over 1 million tweets. continue mentoring and supporting one another.
Womens political party wings and womens par- As Sonja Lokar57 put it: Virtual things are good
liamentary bodies globally have also become savvy if they are in support of the real thing.
in using technology and social media for reaching
out to their constituency, mobilizing support for
their agenda, celebrating activities and achieve- III. Womens Networks as
ments and raising awareness on important issues. Barrier Breakers
The Georgian Dream, the political party leading
Today, women can run for office almost any-
the governmental coalition that won the 2012
where,58 theoretically having the same chances to
elections, has a website with information on the
get elected as their male counterparts. The reality
initiatives carried out by their female members at
is, however, quite different: in the overwhelming
the national and local levels. In 2016, Hillary for
majority of countries, women find it extremely
America, the political action committee sup-
difficult to consider, let alone pursue, a political
porting the Democratic Presidential Candidate
career, because of obstacles often perceived as
Hillary R. Clinton, released an application for
insurmountable that directly relate to their gender
iPhones which engaged supporters with quizzes
identity.
on policy issues, information on local advocacy
and fundraising events and suggestions on how to Structural and cultural barriers59 are the main
support the candidate. challenges women face in the three stages of
the political career: from eligible to aspirant (as
Women who are actively engaged in politics
women decide they want to run for office); from
have much higher familiarity and access to such
aspirant to candidate (as women are selected by
technologies compared to the overall population.
political parties as candidates); and finally from
They rely on commercial social media platforms,
candidate to elected official (as women are vot-
like Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Whatsapp to
ed by the population and selected for office).60
connect with one another, share information,
Structural barriers reflect the overall gender gap
build a constituency, disseminate their ideas and

in a society: educational, professional, economic sal some of the barriers they face are. The degrees
and social differences in the roles and achieve- are different, but the principles are the same. This
ments of men and women. Cultural barriers refer has led to WDNs concerted effort to first focus
to a societal belief of women and mens roles, on addressing these barriers in order to set the
acquired early in life through family, community, foundation for successfully increasing womens
and education, and reinforced through media and leadership in this field.63
continued socialization.61 Some barriers, like gen- Womens networks in civil society, political parties
der-based violence in politics, have both a cultural and legislatures have an incredibly important role
and a structural dimension, as they build upon to play, each by its own right or working coop-
existing prejudices of womens roles to restrict eratively, in supporting women to overcome the
their ability to attain professional roles in public barriers they face.
office.
While attaining a political career is difficult for
Ambition and the Confidence Gap:Womens
men and women, the analysis of their sex-disag-
gregated responses on what are perceived as the Networks as Political Recruiters and
main obstacles faced in this direction are very dif- Confidence Boosters
ferent. For male legislators, lack of support from In 2013, Lawless and Fox surveyed more than
the electorate and from political parties, lack of 2,100 American college students between the ages
finances and lack of experience in representative of 18 and 25, assessing their political ambitions.
functions are the top four barriers. For women, Their findings were, in their own words, trou-
they are domestic responsibilities, prevailing cul- bling, as the young men interviewed were twice
tural attitudes regarding the role of women, lack as interested in a political career than their female
of support from family and lack of confidence.62 peers.64 What is more, this ambition gap was sim-
At a closer analysis, two things are clear: first, the ilar to the one found in older age groups, where
main barriers women report facing relate closely women are burdened by family obligations and
to their gender identity; second, these barriers do painfully aware of the difficulty achieving work-
not substitute, but mostly add to the ones report- life balance. What creates such a gap, so early on?
ed by their male colleagues, making their climb to
power even steeper. According to Lawless and Fox,65 encouragement
(or lack thereof ) is key in defining young peoples
According Valerie Dowling, Director at the Wom- political ambition. The young men and women
ens Democracy Network (WDN) at the Inter- they surveyed were just as likely to respond posi-
national Republican Institute (IRI), which has tively if encouraged to consider a political career,
trained thousands of women engaged in politics but female students received such encouragement
all over the world: The more women we train as much less than male students did. Girls ambition
our network grows, the more we see how univer- gap can also be explained by the scarcity of female
political leaders. As Madeleine Albright, the first
The more women we train as our network woman Secretary of State in the United States,
grows, the more we see how universal some of famously said: I never dreamed one day becom-
the barriers they face are. ing secretary of state. Its not that I was modest;
Valerie Dowling, Director, Womens Democracy its just that I had never seen a secretary of state
Network, International Republican Institute (IRI) wearing a skirt. Conversely, several studies find
a very strong positive correlation between the
political aspirations of adolescent e models in the
political life.66

Women and girls ambition gap is also closely mance is ambiguous, successful women are rated
related to their confidence gap. In The Confidence as less competent than men.74 One consequence
Code, by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, the au- is that women who enter politics are on average
thors stress how very often women are burdened more educated and experienced than their male
by levels of self-doubt exponentially superior colleagues;75 another one, though, is that many
to the ones men with similar professional and extremely qualified women simply never run.
educational achievements face.67 In the political
field, like in many others, women hold themselves Womens networks have an incredibly important
to a much higher standard than their male coun- role to play in providing the encouragement, vali-
terparts and often feel too unqualified to con- dation and role models that women and girls need
sider running for office. Also, women are more to consider pursuing a political career that, unlike
reluctant to promote themselves and are averse to men and boys, they might not find elsewhere.
competitive environments, particularly when the
competition is against men.68 As the Executive All over the world, civil society networks imple-
Director of the Massachusetts Womens Political ment leadership programs to ignite womens polit-
Caucus Priti Rao stated: Women in particular ical ambitions. According to Randi Davis,Di-
tend to be less likely to be self-promoters. In rector of the Gender Team in UNDPs Bureau
order to get a woman to agree to run for office for Policy and Programme Support (UNDP),
she has to be asked seven times by seven different these networkssupports womens leadership with
people.69 mentoring, research, advocacy and they therefore
play a vital role in supporting women to become
The confidence gap does not only impact the be- leaders and be effective in leadership roles. They
ginning of womens political career (from eligible are also incubators and mentors of leadership.
to aspirant and candidate), but it influences their They are vital to supporting women to become
work once elected into office. In the United States leaders and be successful ones. For example,
and Sweden, women legislators give fewer speech- the European Womens Lobby organizes a Young
es than their male colleagues because they are Feminist Summer School. In the United States, the
concerned about being perceived as too assertive non-governmental organizations Running Start
and facing backlash.70 Their concerns are very and IGNITE, among others, introduce young
real, as women-sponsored bills often receive more girls to the importance of political participa-
hostility and scrutiny than male-sponsored bills.71 tion and leadership through trainings in public
Risk-aversion also plays a role. One study found speaking, networking, platform development and
that female state legislators in the United States more. According to Susannah Wellford, President
were willing to consider running for congress only and Founder of Running Start: Women and
if their perceived odds at winning were 20 per-
cent or more, while men in the same roles were Encouraging girls to be self-confident about
willing to consider running for any odds above their aspirations is an extremely important
zero.72 From a behavioral psychology stand- step in ensuring their political engagement.
point, this risk-aversion is a direct consequence
of the high social price in likeability women pay Susannah Wellford, President and Founder,
Running Start
for being perceived aggressive or competitive.73
Women who are performing stereotypically male
jobs seem to be in a lose-lose situation: When
performance is observable, successful women girls networks are important because leadership
are rated as less likeable than men; when perfor- for women can be lonely in a way that it is not for

men. What we heard from the girls we work with lead and they appreciate the manner in which I
is that, before the program, they felt that saying lead and that is a very supportive environment to
that they wanted to run for office was not OK. be a part of.78
Encouraging girls to be self-con-
fident about their aspirations and Many other women in the community trust
connecting them with others who me to lead, and that is a very supportive
share them is an extremely import- environment to be part of.
ant step in ensuring their political Teina Mackenzie, former parliamentary
engagement.76 candidate, Cook Islands
The She Should Run initiative offers

an online nomination tool, where
individuals can submit the information of a wom- Political parties have also started realizing the
an who they think should consider running for importance of recruiting women. In the Unit-
office someday, and the program gives her positive ed Kingdom, the Conservative and the Labour
encouragement, connections, and the necessary parties have programs to encourage young women
resources to take the next step. In Ireland, the to run for office. The Canadian Liberal Party has
Women for Election Initiative inspires and equips a Womens Candidate Search Director to help
women to succeed in politics through trainings on recruit women to the party. The Swedish Social
confidence, communications and campaigning. Democratic Party features a handbook for women
Many more trainings are developed by interna- party members on how to identify and remove the
tional civil society organizations like the National traps that make it difficult for them to advance
Democratic Institute (NDI), the International within the party, unmasking socio-behavioral pat-
Republican Institute (IRI), Womens Leadership terns that tend to leave them behind.79 In Cam-
Partnership (WLP) and others. Talking about bodia, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) womens wing
the role womens networks played in her political provides trainings for female activists.
trajectory, Kah Walla reported: I had made up In some instances, womens parliamentary bodies
my mind to go into politics and was politically have successfully advocated for the introduction
active, but being part of a network focusing on of practices aimed at recruiting more women in
womens leadership allowed me to be on panels politics and boosting the confidence of female
with world class leaders. Thiscontributed tremen- legislators. In 1997 in Iceland, a multi-partisan
dously to my confidence in running for president. parliamentary committee created and funded a
Networks that Iam part of have then invited me 5-year campaign to increase the number of wom-
to speak about my experience to other women, en in politics through ads, mentoring programs
which in turn gave courage to many more women and trainings. In the German Bundestag, when
to become politically engaged.77 Teina Mack- a woman raises her hand to speak in discussions,
enzie, who ran as the only independent female she is automatically shifted to the top of the list of
candidate in the 2014 parliamentary elections in male speakers. This practice aims at overcoming
the Cook Islands, also stressed the importance of womens diffidence about speaking in male-dom-
womens networks as confidence boosters: The inated groups and maximizes their opportunities
greatest element has been the self-esteem boost to participate.80
I receive as I recognize that many other women
in the community (and beyond)count on me to Women in civil society organizations, political
take their concerns to a variety of forums on their party wings and parliamentary bodies can cata-
behalf - they trust me to lead, they expect me to lyze change at an even greater extent when they

work co-operatively and strategically together as ical career and be identified as leaders in the first
a network. In Lithuania, the government brings place.
together women from different political parties For centuries, womens perceived primary roles
into non-governmental organizations known as as mothers, wives and caretakers limited their
Womens Politicians (Milda) clubs. These clubs, engagement in the public sphere. Consequently,
funded through state budget, hold seminars and leadership has been associated with traits consid-
training events aimed at increasing the confidence ered to be stereotypically male, like aggression,
and number of women in politics locally and competitiveness, dominance and decisiveness.83
nationally.81 In the United States, the Women A 2010 Pew Global Attitudes survey of 46 coun-
in Public Service Project (WPSP) of the Global tries found that, despite womens advances in
Womens Leadership Initiative at the Wilson Cen- the last century, womens ability to lead is still
ter engages an ever-growing number of women at questioned in many countries where women have
the highest levels of decision-making, including traditionally enjoyed very little political repre-
women working in the government, academia, sentation: majorities in Mali, Palestine, Kuwait,
civil society organizations and political parties to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ethiopia and nearly half
build a network of stakeholders that will allow of Jordanians and Nigerians still said men make
women to assume positions as public leaders better political leaders than women.84 The idea of
across the globe. As Gabriela Jakovleva, WPSP a woman leader, particularly in an
eminently public and male-dominat-
Behind every successful man stands a
ed environment like politics, often
successful woman, but behind every successful
defies cultural norms and expecta-
woman stands the network that we have built.
tions, demanding from women who
Gabriela Jakovleva, Women in Public Service engage in this field and, often from
Project Institute Alumna from Macedonia
their families, the willingness and
ability to challenge long-held percep-
tions of femininity and leadership. In
alumna from Macedonia summed up: Behind this context, it is not surprising that many women
every successful man stands a successful woman, lawmakers consider prevailing cultural attitudes
but behind every successful woman stands the regarding the role of women and lack of support
network that we have built.82 from families as the primary obstacles to pursuing
a political career.
Societal Expectations, Prevailing Models Media outlets play an extremely important role
of Macho Leadership and Media in shaping perceptions around women as poli-
Misrepresentation:Womens Networks as cy-makers, politicians and leaders, however their
Agents of Cultural Change influence has often been a negative one, as high-
lighted by the 2011 documentary Miss Represen-
Ambition and confidence gaps are strictly relat-
tation. In 2015, women made up only 16 percent
ed to the gendered roles that women and men
of the people in news about politics and govern-
are socialized to play. While programs like the
ment worldwide;85 female politicians are not only
ones mentioned above are incredibly important
covered less than their male colleagues, but the
in empowering women and girls and changing
nature of their coverage is often very gender-ste-
society one woman at a time, they should al-
reotypical, as much larger attention is paid to the
ways be framed within a wider discussion about
way they are dressed, their body image and their
the cultural norms and stereotypes that make it
family life.86 A study on the media coverage of
counter-intuitive for women to consider a polit-

female candidates in Canada found that women down cultural and structural barriers -- improving
are generally described according to four roles: leadership around the world and showing every-
sex object, mother, pet, and iron maiden. Each one what women can achieve.91
of these roles poses dangers for womens equal Societal expectations and attitudes evolve in-
representation in politics, as well as societal gen- crementally (under normal circumstances) or
der equality more generally. Indeed, to the extent abruptly (often as a result of conflict and political
that news coverage perpetuates well-entrenched, unrest). In both cases, womens networks have an
but tired stereotypes about mens and womens extremely important role to play in supporting
roles, abilities, and aspirations, media contribute the women who are defying societal expectations
to broader dysfunctions in how the genders see to gain larger shares of representation and power.
themselves and each other.87
In the past century, conflict has been a catalyst for
These attitudes matter enormously, as they have change and womens enhanced political repre-
proven to be better predictors of womens ad- sentation for many countries, including Rwanda,
vancement in public life than, for example, a Burundi, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, South
countrys level of socioeconomic and democratic Africa and Uganda. After the Arab Spring, wom-
development, or womens participation in the en gained unprecedented representation in na-
labor force.88 The way media treats female politi- tional legislatures in Algeria, Iraq and Tunisia.92
cians does not only impact the demand of female Because conflict disrupts social norms and prac-
candidates (how the electorate and political tices, women often need to step out of the private
parties perceive women as candidates), but also sphere to occupy new roles as heads of house-
their supply (the pool of women willing to run). holds, combatants or at the fore-front of peace
In a survey conducted after Australias first female building activities aimed at de-escalating conflict.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard left office in 2012, These activities offer women a training ground
80 per cent of women over the age of 31 said they in political engagement and the opportunity of
were less likely to run after seeing how negatively gaining the popular support and visibility neces-
Gillard was treated by the media.89 sary to become viable candidates for democratic
Societal and cultural expectations are however not elections. Women can also play an essential role as
permanent. Evidence shows that where women countries re-write constitutions and basic electoral
hold public office for a sustained amount of time, and civil laws, to ensure that the new legislation is
the general perception about their ability to lead gender-sensitive and provides greater opportuni-
improves.90 As Gwen Young, Director of the ties for representation to female political activists.
Women in Public Service Project at the Wilson In these situations, it is key that women organize
Center, pointed out: Simply having female through political networks, where they gain the
leaders changes the norms about who can lead connections, information and skills to take advan-
and what qualities are necessary in leadership. tage of the opportunities presented to make their
Having women in leadership roles is breaking voices heard and ensure lasting change.
Even in the absence of an external, dramatic
Having women in leadership roles is breaking shock like conflict, womens networks are ex-
down cultural and structural barriers, improving tremely important to promote incremental change
leadership around the world. in societal expectations around women, politics
Gwen K.Young, Director, Women in Public
and leadership.
Service Project at the Wilson Center Womens civil society organizations all over the
world have been particularly savvy in using the

media for challenging the gender status quo womens wing supported a civic education radio
in political campaigns. In the Czech Republic, program to advocate for increased womens partic-
before the 2006 elections, the local non-govern- ipation in legislatures.96
mental organization Forum 50 percent sponsored Women in national legislatures can foster change
a poster campaign featuring a long row of trousers in parliamentary culture, challenging prevailing
and ties and the question Do you really have a cultural norms on mens and womens roles within
choice? In Turkey, the local civil society associa- democratic institutions, with positive ripple
tion Ka-Der created posters featuring well-known effects on the entire society. Because of womens
Turkish businesswomen and female artists wear- advocacy within parliament, in South Africa, the
ing a tie or moustache and asking: Is it necessary term chairman was replaced by chairperson.97
to be a man to enter parliament?93 During the Since 2012 in Italy, several women parliamentar-
2010 electoral campaign in Haiti, women from ians started demanding to be referred to with the
civil society produced and disseminated the Elect feminine form of their professional titles, instead
Haitian Women television and radio campaign of the default masculine forms, still widely in use.
to encourage voters to elect women candidates. This request encouraged a national debate involv-
The campaign subverted the traditional stereo- ing academics, journalists and feminist groups
type of women as homemakers with slogans such on the use of language to reinforce or challenge
as If we can run our families, we can run our stereotypes regarding womens roles in politics.
country.94 Womens organizations have also been
active in documenting and protesting against gen- Changing cultural norms regarding what is
der bias in the way women are depicted by media, macho and what is feminine is however a long-
training media outlets on gender-sensitive media term process and one that requires engagement
coverage and encouraging opinion surveys on of a broad range of stakeholders from civil society
voter attitudes towards women in politics. Recent organizations, national legislatures and political
research from the United States and Europe has parties, each working individually, as well as in
reported a positive evolution in media coverage cooperation. According to Jennifer Siebel New-
with respect to gender and politics,95 possibly in som, who wrote, directed, and produced the 2011
response to the pressures received from womens award-winning documentary Miss Representation
civil society organizations and networks. and currently leads The Representation Project, a
nonprofit organization that uses film and media
Women organized in political parties can raise
awareness on the importance of womens political
representation and disseminate media messages Our cultures limiting gender stereotypes
highlighting the central role women play in the perpetuate many of societys injustices.
public life. In recent years, several to-be Prime
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Writer, Director, and
Ministers highlighted their commitment to gen- Producer, Miss Representation
der equality, winning large portions of the female
vote in view of the general elections: Zapatero in
2004 in Spain; Hollande in 2012 in France and as a catalyst for cultural transformation: Our cul-
Trudeau in 2015 in Canada. In the United States, tures limiting gender stereotypes - that our girls
EMILYs List, a political action committee that value lies in their youth, beauty, and sexuality and
aims to help elect pro-choice Democratic female that our boys value lies in physical dominance,
candidates to run for office, disseminates tele- sexual prowess, and financial control - perpetuate
vision ads specifically addressing women voters many of societys injustices. Our #AskHerMore
and asking for their support to elect women in campaign calls out sexist reporting for focusing
office. In Cambodia, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP)

on what and who women are wearing, and sug- so at a higher personal cost, facing higher trade-
gests ways to re-focus the reporting on womens offs than their male counterparts. One legislator
achievements. #AskHerMore has a broad range of interviewed for this study reported: It is difficult
stakeholders who have actually helped transform to balance politics and family. I separated from
the medias sexist reporting, including media out- my husband because I was forced to chose either
lets and influencers.98 being a politician or housewife.100
Another success story is the HeForShe campaign Even once elected in office, women continue pay-
launched by the United Nations to engage men ing a family penalty,as they spend substantially
and boys in ending gender inequality is a great more time caring for their families than their male
example of such efforts at the global level. Es- colleagues.101 A Rwandan female parliamentarian
poused by high-level politicians, including the explained: He [her husband] wants everything to
United States President Barack Obama, politi- be ready by the time he wakes up, he should find
cal party activists, lawmakers, as well as media all lined-up for him, warm water in the bath-
outlets, universities, financial service companies room, breakfast ready on the table, clothes ironed,
and well-recognized film actors, the campaign has shoes polished, socks on top of shoes, plus you to
quickly gained media attention and contributed be ready by the time he is done if you have to go
to starting conversations regarding gender roles with him somewhere or use the same car.102
and expectations all over the world. As a result of this situation, female politicians
often shy away from leadership positions in
Domestic Responsibilities and Family parliamentary committees or government, hin-
Penalty: Womens Networks as Support and dering their chances of advancement and possi-
Practice Changers bly re-election. As Anne-Marie Slaughter put it
talking about her experience as the first female
Politics is often experienced as an all-consuming Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State
activity by the men and women who engage in it. Department: Having it all it all was not possible
Even before entering office, a candidate (or aspi- in many types of jobs, including high government
rant) needs to travel extensively and take part in officeat least not for very long.103
activism and networking events, often carried out
at night and on the weekends, as stepping stones Womens networks can be extremely important
of the political career. In most countries, women in advocating for changes in cultural expectations
carry a disproportionate share of domestic work around family and domestic responsibilities and
and find it extremely difficult to find the time to in supporting women in their quest to balance
invest in anything other than their families and political ambitions and family. Civil society
jobs, particularly if they have small children. organizations like Vital Voices Global Partnership
offer trainings where women leaders share best
As a result, women tend to become politicians lat- practices on work-life balance, learn to better pri-
er in life than men (once their children are grown oritize, delegate and be more efficient in the use
up and require less attention); they are more often of their time. Almost more importantly, they pro-
single (including divorced or separated), have on vide participants with role models: women who
average fewer children than both their male col- have gone through the same challenges and found
leagues and the overall female population.99 These ways to overcome them or learned to accept some
statistics point to the fact that, as in other pres- trade-offs.
tigious and male-dominated professions, women
find it extremely hard to balance career and family Womens wings in political parties play a critical
and the ones who enter the political career do role in ensuring that the practices of the party are

gender-sensitive and take into consideration men Modern technology, including emails, blogs and
and womens needs to balance political activism social media platforms have provided new chan-
and family responsibilities. Allowing party mem- nels for misogyny and gender-based violence,
bers to bring their children to congresses and with 95 percent of all aggressive behavior, abusive
meetings and providing child care (or financial language and denigrating images in online spac-
support to sustain childcare costs) are important es aimed at women.106 In 2011, Laura Boldrini,
first steps. The annual political meetings orga- Speaker of Italys lower house, divulged multiple
nized by former Italian Prime Minister Matteo emails she has received threatening rape, torture
Renzi in Florence are open to (and attended by) and murder. She was not alone: for women in
men and women bringing small children. politics, threats, online harassment and graphic
sexual taunts are often common occurrences.107
Womens parliamentary bodies are uniquely
positioned to mainstream gender into political In some cases, online threats lead to physical vio-
institutions and practices, making sure that it is lence and even murder. In 2016, Jo Cox, a female
possible for female legislators to balance domestic member of parliament in the United Kingdom,
and public responsibilities. Womens caucuses was killed by a male far-right activist. Ms. Cox
have successfully worked to make legislatures had been victim of repeated online harassment
more family-friendly working environments by and threats. In recent years, female candidates
limiting sitting hours (Denmark, Sweden, South have been targeted by violence during the party
Africa and Spain), having the parliamentary nomination stage and the electoral campaign in
calendar match the school calendar (South Africa Kenya, Afghanistan and many other countries.
and Switzerland), providing child care (Australia) Sometimes, women are singled out for harassment
and establishing lactation rooms or proxy votes when populist strongmen turn to patriarchal nar-
for new mothers (Peru).104 Given that changes rative of putatively traditional social valuesfor
in parliamentary protocols and practices have example, as both Russian President Vladimir Pu-
financial implications and often need to be voted tin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
upon, the ability of women lawmakers to involve have done in recent years.108
their male colleagues in advocating for such These attacks, starting at the political aspirant
changes is of fundamental importance and can be stage and often continuing (or worsening) as
a first step towards a society-wide discussion with women are in office, increase the perception of
respect to gender equality, parenting and domestic politics as an inherently dirty, corrupt, cynical
responsibilities. and violent field, where characteristics such as
empathy and honesty, predominantly attributed
Gender-Based Violence in Politics:Womens to women, do not have a place.109 Women who
Networks as Advocates and Womens Rights decide to enter this field often do so at their own
personal risk and are blamed if they become vic-
Defenders tims of attacks, scaring away new generations of
Gender-based violence is a vicious barrier for female political aspirants.
women who defy traditional roles and engage
In recent years, womens civil society networks
in the political arena, as they become objects of
have been particularly active in denouncing
insults and cat-calling at best, death threats and
gender-based violence in politics and advocating
murder at worst. Women lawmakers sometimes
for legislative tools to prevent and punish it. They
report feeling intimidated by the gentlemens
have served as shields and human rights defenders
club atmosphere and the sexist language which
for female political activist, organizing advoca-
pervade many legislatures.105
cy and media campaigns to protect them from

abuse. Womens civil society organizations have women civil society organizations, government,
also promoted the use of new technologies in international cooperation, as well as experts and
this respect, through online spaces like GenderIT activists from all backgrounds and origins, includ-
and Take Back The Tech!, where activists connect ing from both urban and rural areas. According
globally, share information, best practices and to Maria Eugenia Valverde, Gender Expert and
launch awareness campaigns. They have increas- Director of ACOBOL from 2002 to 2012, this
ingly trained female political aspirants on how to coordinated work was extremely important: On
protect themselves from online harassment and the one hand, we succeeded in having greater
gender-based violence. Finally, womens organiza- outreach and visibility as a very wide set of actors
tions and networks have successfully
applied text messaging technology
Women from very different backgrounds learned
and mapping tools to document
to understand one another and find a common
and respond to violence and ha-
denominator in the battle for gender equality
rassment.110 In Kenya, Mali, Egypt,
Syria, Senegal and Sierra Leone, Maria Eugenia Valverde, Gender Expert and former
these tools have been incorporated Director, Association of Women Mayors and
into efforts to monitor gender-based Councilwomen (ACOBOL)
violence around elections.
was advocating with us. On the other hand, as the
Perpetrators of gender-based violence are often women in the network shared information, our
within political parties and women in party wings collective understanding of the various forms of
have a critical role in uncovering and denouncing political violence against women increased and so
them. In 2015, the Tanzania Women Cross-Party did our ability to propose a comprehensive law to
Platform, supported by the National Democratic fight it. In this process, women from very differ-
Institute, conducted a systematic observation of ent backgrounds built a common language to
gender-based violence before the elections, report- share and disseminate information on the various
ing numerous incidents of sextortion, where forms of violence, learned to understand one
female political aspirants or candidates were another and find a common denominator in the
demanded sexual favors by male party leaders.111 battle for gender equality.112
Thanks to this reporting, Tanzanias Indepen-
dent Ethics Secretariat issued stricter disciplinary In 2013, Mexico adopted amendments to its elec-
measures to be taken against any official found to toral law and its law on violence against women
abuse his or her power. to include cases of violence against women in
politics and in the electoral process. In Afghan-
In many countries, women who are in legisla- istan, womens civil society groups, the Afghan
tures and government, locally or nationally, often Independent Election Commission and several
side by side with civil society organizations and international actors successfully lobbied the Min-
women political activists across parties, have istry of Interior to obtain body guards for female
successfully advocated for laws protecting female parliamentary candidates, increasing their ability
politicians from violence. In 2012, Bolivia passed to campaign in safety.113
a ground-breaking law to combat gender-based
harassment and violence in politics. The law was
the result of twelve years of advocacy by the Steer-
ing Committee for the Political Rights of Women,
led by Association of Women Mayors and Coun-
cilwomen (ACOBOL), working together with

Substituting the Old Boys Club:Womens of such networks is, for the women who take part
Networks as Resources for Networking, in it, incredibly enriching. As the WPSP alumna
Mentoring and Coaching Hanane Ennadir116 put it: WPSP has created a
platform where women from different culture but
As newcomers to the political life, women lack active for the same gender equality cause can ex-
access to traditionally male-dominated networks change information and ideas. Automatically, this
linked to political parties, such as trade unions, impacts our vision and our ability to get things
business and other associations where the knowl- done once were back at work.
edge sharing, mentoring and coaching activities
necessary to launch, sustain and grow a political Through womens political party wings, female
career take place. For this reason, womens net- political activists mentor one another, share
works represent valuable alternative channels knowledge and build a common front to in-
where women at all stages of the political career crease their voice and leadership. In the United
to connect with one another, advocate on specific Kingdom, the womens organizations of the
policy issues and share information and strategies. Conservative and Labour Parties provide men-
According to Caroline Hubbard, Senior Advisor, torship, training and networking opportunities
Gender, Women and Democracy at the National to female activists who want to become members
Democratic Institute (NDI): Womens networks of parliament. Womens political party wings in
are important for women to have access to power Croatia, Indonesia and Morocco, among others,
groups they normally do not have access to.114 organize trainings for women political activists
to support them in ascending to party leadership
positions.117 In Australia, the Labor
Womens networks are important for women Partys womens annual conference
to have access to power groups they normally provides women with the opportuni-
do not have access to. ty to discuss policy, lobby on specific
Caroline Hubbard, Senior Advisor for Gender, issues and network with one another.
Women and Democracy, National Democratic In El Salvador, the Farabundo Mart
Institute (NDI) National Liberation Front party or-
ganizes annual conferences bringing
together women leaders, stakeholders
Womens civil society networks connect wom- and members of the partys senior leadership to
en across society and sometimes, countries and formulate gender equality strategies and policies.
regions to strategize around common struggles The Women Can Do It (WCDI) program, orga-
and advocacy efforts, sometimes propelled by nized by the Womens Wing of the Norwegian
international womens conferences, where they Labour Party, trained and provided over 20,638
find a new sense of urgency for their local work.115 women from more than 25 countries with a
Womens civil society networks are also strong platform to learn, strategize and build alliances.118
propellers of training, mentoring and networking The Thaera network of women, set up in 2013
opportunities. Based in the United States, the by the womens organizations of social democratic
National Democratic Institute, the Internation- parties in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia,
al Republican Institute, the Women in Public has built the capacity of over 150 women politi-
Service Project (WPSP) and the International cal activist to become trainers for female political
Foundation for Electoral Systems support wom- activists at the grassroots level.
en at all stages of political recruitment through
trainings, technical assistance and mentorship Parliamentary womens bodies help women leg-
programs. The experience provided by being part islators share information and strategic advice, as

well as refine and implement their

individual and common agenda. In
several countries, including Laos, Someone who has never run for office
Burundi, Morocco and Ethiopia, the cannot give you the lived experience of what
national womens parliamentary bod- it is like to try to enter parliament.
ies train their newly elected members Anna Burke, former member of the Australian Labor
on the rules and procedures in place, Party and Speaker of the House of Representatives
helping them be effective legislators.
The Rwanda Women Parliamentary in hand with civil society organizations in de-
Forum (RWPF) trains both its male and female fining the policy items to prioritize and was able
members in gender-related policies, gender to have several gender-equality bills passed.122 In
mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting. Peru, the womens parliamentary caucus engaged
The Ugandan Womens Parliamentary Association women from grassroots civil society networks and
raises awareness on gender equality legislation succeeded in getting the issues that were of main
and promotes activities to support and develop concern to them (like gender-based violence)
womens leadership.119 In El Salvador, the Associa- translated into policy reforms. According to Anna
tion of Salvadorian Women Parliamentarians and Burke, former member of the Australian Labor
Ex-Parliamentarians supports female politicians Party and Speaker of the House of Representa-
in reaching senior leadership positions. The In- tives, national networks where women political
ter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) The Inter-Parlia- aspirants and women in office meet are crucial:
mentary Union (IPU) is the world organization of Someone who has never run for office cannot
parliaments, it has a membership of 170 Mem- give you the lived experience of what it is like to
ber Parliaments.Since 1985, at the initiative of try to enter parliament, the many obstacles and
women parliamentarians from different countries, challenges.123
ithas established aforum of women parliamen-
tarians to enhance solidarity among women and Lack of Financial Resources:Womens
advance the gender equality agenda. According to
Zeina Hilal, IPU Program Officer for the Gender Networks as Assets to Sustain Political
Partnership Program: The women see the forum Campaign Costs
as a space to share best practices, report on de- On average, women have less financial resources
velopments in their respective countries. A place than men do, as a result of unequal gender divi-
where they can share their challenges not only in sions of labor, patriarchal laws on inheritance and
the forums meetingsbut also in the corridors.120 land ownership, domestic responsibilities, cultural
An even greater value is generated by networks practices and much more. Women have also less
that include women from civil society organiza- access to business networks and rich individuals
tions, political parties and legislatures. Together, that sometimes financially support the electoral
they multiply knowledge and skills and ensure campaigns of male candidates. For this reason,
that the concerns of women at the grassroots level systems where aspirants need large amounts of
are taken into account and translated into policies money to become candidates tend to disadvan-
at the national level. In Uganda, womens civil tage female candidates; conversely, limitations on
society organizations have successfully partnered campaign spending and on the amount of indi-
with the womens caucuses by building their vidual donations tend to have a positive effect on
members capacity to write and present bills.121 womens representation. With more limited assets
In Uruguay, the Bancada Femenina worked hand to begin with, fewer financial sponsors and, often,
less support from the partys senior leadership

(often all-male), women find sustaining the costs local EMILYs List chapters, including Australia
of a political campaign extremely hard. Financial and the UK.
risk-aversion also plays a role: women are in fact Womens parliamentary bodies, most often in syn-
generally less willing to put their financial resourc- ergy with female party and civil society activists,
es into a personal objective perceived as risky (the have succeeded in changing some of the norms
political career) and more likely to invest them in that make campaign financing unsustainable for
their families. Ironically, the very same traits that women and encourage political parties to include
are highly desirable in public office, such as con- more women in electoral lists. Several countries,
cern for balanced budgets and selflessness, make where public funding is a major driver of political
many women less likely to run for office. campaigns, have adopted policies in this respect.
Womens civil society organizations and net- In Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bolivia,
works are very important sources of monetary Colombia, Georgia, Niger and Haiti, among
and in-kind support for female candidates, who others, political parties receive additional fund-
sometimes rely on their members to volunteer ing for women candidates. In France, Ethiopia,
time and sometimes financial resources in their Burkina Faso and Ireland, parties which do not
campaigns.124 In the case of Maria Ysabel Cedano, meet the gender quotas see their public funding
long-time feminist and member of the Socialist reduced or forfeited.126 In Mexico, the electoral
Party in Peru, women from the Peruvian wom- code demands that two percent of the public
ens movement were the largest donors in her funding of political parties be used specifically
2016 electoral campaign.125 Womens civil society for building womens capacity as candidates and
networks can also connect female candidates with politicians. In the 2001 elections in East Timor,
business networks and other sources of funding. additional television advertising time was given to
The Nigerian Womens Trust Fund supports fe- women candidates and parties that placed women
male political aspirants and candidates irrespective in winnable positions on their candidate lists. In
of political affiliation, providing them with the Brazil, a 2009 reform provided 10 per cent addi-
financial resources and trainings. In Kazakhstan, tional media time to political parties, to be used
the Association of Businesswomen runs a political by female candidates.127
leadership school for businesswomen, encourag-
ing them to consider starting a political career.
Women political party activists can advocate
IV. Womens Political Networks:
for changes in the partys campaign financing Suggestions for Further
rules in favor of female representation, as well as
organize campaign financing activities specifically
Investigation
for women. In the United States, EMILYs List The experiences and best practices so far de-
supports pro-choice Democratic women candi- scribed highlight how different womens political
dates by raising contributions, organizing cam- networks support womens decision to run for
paigns and mobilizing Democratic women voters. national office, influence their success in being
A similar initiative has also been developed by the elected and increase their ability to push forward
pro-life Susan B. Anthony List to support female a gender-equality agenda once in office. Several
candidates on the other side of the ideological important questions remain however unanswered
spectrum. The Womens Campaign Fund provides regarding the link between womens substantive
women from both political parties with the finan- representation and the role of womens networks
cial resources necessary to run for office. Other globally.
countries have started similar initiatives or opened While the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the

Quota project provide important tools to track decision to run for office? What tools did they
womens descriptive representation in national provide them with, which proved crucial for their
legislatures, very little is being done to track wom- legislative work? Did these networks influence in
ens substantive representation globally. In most any way their leadership approach? Did any other
countries in the world, there is no systematic network they joined after entering parliament (for
analysis on the legislative record of women in na- example, womens parliamentary bodies)? Surveys
tional legislatures: the types of bills they propose, of female parliamentarians globally could provide
their rate of success or their longevity in office. some interesting responses to these questions and
Also, while several models have been proposed shed some light on the impact of womens politi-
to analyze the reasons behind advances in gender cal networks.
equality in some countries,128 they have not been Responses to these questions are important in
systematically applied to explain variances across order to design political empowerment programs
time and regions. and structures that truly improve womens politi-
In particular, an area that demands much greater cal representation.
investigation is the role various types of womens According to Kristin Haffert, Founder and Princi-
networks have played in supporting womens pal of Haffert Group,co-founder of Project Mine
descriptive and substantive representation global- the Gap Womens Global Leadership & Gender
ly. Are women lawmakers who started their career Equality Expert: If were going to move more
through womens networks in civil society or women into elected positions around the world,
political parties more effective in their legislative we need a sustainable model to institutionalize
work than the ones who started it through other
channels? Do they propose more bills
than the latters? Do they succeed in We need a sustainable model to institutionalize
getting them passed and are the bills academies/centers for women that are cultivated
they propose more gender-sensitive with committed partners in-country.
than the ones presented by other Kristin Haffert, Founder and Principal, Haffert
female legislators? Are they more Group and Co-Founder, Project Mine the Gap
or less successful at being re-elected
than female lawmakers who have
not been supported by womens networks? Are academies/centers for women that long outlive
these indicators the same or different for women donor programs and are cultivated with commit-
lawmakers who were not part of a womans net- ted partnersin-country. These centers would not
works before entering parliament but joined, once only provide training on critical leadership skills
elected, a womens parliamentary or congressional and navigating political processes, but they would
body? How are their chances to achieve senior establish a network of mentors and peersthat
political roles in parties or government? women indifferent stages of the political career
In addition to these questions, which have a can leverage throughout their life in politics. Over
mostly objective dimension (longevity in office, time, this could become a locus of support to en-
number and, to some extent, quality of bills courage new women to run and create a stronger
proposed or passed can be measured), there are pipeline of talents.129
additional ones, equally interesting, which look According to JessicaN. Grounds, founder of Sol-
at the impact of womens networks from the id Grounds Strategy, co-founder of Project Mine
perspective of female legislators who engaged in the Gap andwomens political leadership expert:
them. Which role did these networks play in their There is a great need to increase the dialogue

There is a great need to increase the dialogue Conclusion

among nonpartisan actors working to increase Today, women have the right to vote
womens participation and run for office almost everywhere
Jessica N. Grounds, Founder, Solid Grounds in the world.131 Still, most women
Strategy and Co-Founder, Project Mine the Gap find it extremely difficult to consider
and pursue a political career because
of barriers that are closely related to
among nonpartisan actors working to increase
their gender identity and the highest glass ceilings
womens political participation in the Unite d
are still not shattered in many countries and po-
States and internationally. Women in the United
litical institutions, including the United Nations
States would benefit from knowing best practices
and the United States Presidency. Analyzing best
from womens networks that have been successful
practices from womens political networks glob-
in advancing female political representation in
ally, this paper highlights the incredible results ob-
their countries, through legislative change and
tained by womens political networks, particularly
other tools. On the other hand, international
when composed by various stakeholders in the
networks would benefit from the lessons learned
legislative process (civil society, political parties
of the work womens nongovernmental organi-
and legislators) in supporting women overcome
zations have done in the United States, in order
these challenges. In doing so, the paper uncovers
to increase the demand of women in office (for
the need for more qualitative and quantitative
example, by generating and disseminating re-
research on the long-term impact of womens
search on the positive outcomes of having more
networks on womens descriptive and substantive
women legislators), as well as expanding the pool
representation in national legislatures, as well as in
of qualified candidates, for example by boosting
their approach to leadership.
womens self-confidence, motivation and skills to
run for office.130

Endnotes
1. Women in National Parliaments, Inter-Parlia- 12. Left-leaning parties have generally more gen-
mentary Union, March 1, 2017, http://www.ipu. der-sensitive platforms and include more women
org/wmn-e/world.htm. than right wing ones. However, in some regions,
like Latin America, right-wing parties have
2. Melanie Hughes and Pamela Paxton, Women, Pol- recently proven to be better than left-wing ones
itics, and Power: A Global Perspective (Los Angeles: at engaging and supporting female candidates.
Pine Forge, 2016). See Mala Htun and Laurel Weldon, When
3. Facts and Figures: Leadership and Political Do Governments Promote Womens Rights? A
Participation, UN Women, August 2017, http:// Framework for the Comparative Analysis of Sex
www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leader- Equality Policy, Perspectives on Politics 8, no. 1
ship-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures. (2010): 207-216, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/
S1537592709992787.
4. Sarah F. Anzia and Christopher R. Berry, The
Jackie (and Jill) Robinson Effect: Why Do 13. Mona Lena Krook, Contesting Gender Quotas:
Congresswomen Outperform Congressmen? Dynamics of Resistance, Politics, Groups, and
American Journal of Political Science 55, no. Identities 4, no. 2 (2016): 268-283, DOI: http://
3 (2011): 478-493, DOI: 10.1111/j.1540- dx.doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2016.1151797
5907.2011.00512.x 14. Mona Lena Krook and Pippa Norris, Beyond
5. Jessica C. Gerrity, Jeanette Morehouse Mendez, Quotas: Strategies to Promote Gender Equality in
and Tracy Osborn, Women and Representation: Elected Office, Political Studies 62, no. 1 (2014):
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der 3, no. 2 (2007): 179-200, DOI: https://doi. 15. Michele L. Swers, The Difference Women Make:
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6. David Dollar, Raymond Fisman, and Rober- University of Chicago Press, 2002).
ta Gatti, Are Women Really the Fairer Sex? 16. Julie Ballington, Equality in Politics: A Survey of
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46, no. 4 (2001): 423-429, DOI: http://dx.doi.
org/10.1016/S0167-2681(01)00169-X 17. Karen Celis, Sarah Childs, Johanna Kantola, and
Mona Lena Krook, Constituting Womens In-
7. Women and Leadership: Public Says Wom- terests through Representative Claims, Politics &
en are Equally Qualified, but Barriers Persist, Gender 10, no. 2 (2014): 149-174, DOI: https://
Pew Research Center, January 14, 2015, http:// doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X14000026
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8. Joni Lovenduski (ed), State Feminism and Political versity Press, 1994).
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Conceptual Analysis, Representation 44,
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Federal Public Service, (Ottawa: Centre for Wom-
en in Politics and Public Leadership, Carleton 20. Sarah Childs and Mona Lena Krook, Analyz-
University, 2016). ing Womens Substantive Representation: From
Critical Mass to Critical Actors, Government
10. Lindy Wafula, personal interview, October 2016. and Opposition 44, no. 2 (2009): 125-145, DOI:
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quotaproject.org/.

21. Joyce Banda, personal interview, October 2016. 31. Nelida Archenti and Niki Johnson, Engendering
the Legislative Agenda With and Without the
22. Joana Barsh, Susie Cranston, and Geoffrey Lewis, Quota: A Comparative Study of Argentina and
How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Uruguay, Sociologia, Problemas e Prcticas no. 52
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2009).
32. Margarita Percovich, personal interview, October
23. Melanne Verveer and Kim K. Azzarelli, Fast 2016.
Forward: How Women Can Achieve Power and
Purpose, (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 33. Alessia Mosca, personal interview, September
Publishing Company, 2015). 2016.
24. Melanne Verveer, personal interview, November 34. See: Thomas Spielhofer, Tom Benton, and Sandie
2016. Schagen, A Study of the Effects of School Size
and Singlesex Education in English Schools,
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26. In some cases, like the National Federation of 133-159, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0267152
Democratic Women and the National Federation 0410001695407; and Alice Sullivan, Heather
of Republican Women the United States, they Joshi and Diana Leonard, Single- sex school-
are financially and organizationally independent ing and academic attainment at school and
from the political parties, but promote the par- through the lifecourse, American Educational
ties vision, objectives and policies. While wom- Research Journal 47, no. 1 (2010): 6-36, DOI:
ens wings are mostly national networks, some are 10.3102/0002831209350106.
regional or international, like the Women Section 35. Jaegeum Lim and Jonathan Meer, The Impact of
of the Party of European Socialists (PES), bring- Teacher-Student Gender Matches: Random As-
ing together women from the Socialist, Social signment Evidence from South Korea, (working
Democratic and Labour Parties of the European paper, National Institute of Economic Research,
Union and the Socialist International Women. 2015).
27. Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, Political 36. Alison Booth and Patrick Nolen, Choosing to
Parties in Africa through a Gender Lens (Stock- Compete: How Different Are Girls and Boys?
holm: International Institute for Democracy and Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Electoral Assistance, 2013). 81, no. 2 (2012): 542-555, DOI: http://dx.doi.
28. Julie Ballington et. al, Empowering Women for org/10.1016/j.jebo.2011.07.018
Stronger Political Parties: A Good Practices Guide 37. Iris Bohnet, What Works: Gender Equality by
to Promote Womens Political Participation (Unit- Design (Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
ed Nations Development Programme and the 2016).
National Democratic Institute, 2011).
38. Ed Okeefe, Wellesley Women for Hillary, ABC
29. Organization for Security and Co-Operation in News (blog), December 17, 2007, http://blogs.
Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions and abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/11/welles-
Human Rights, A Comparative Study of Struc- ley-women.html.
tures for Women MPs in the OSCE Region (OSCE
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human 39. Jessica Huber, personal interview, September
Rights (ODIHR), 2013). 2016.
30. Karen Beckwith and Kimberly Cowell-Mey- 40. Federiga Bindi, personal interview, September
ers, Sheer Numbers: Critical Representation 2016.
Thresholds and Womens Political Represen-
tation, Perspectives on Politics 5, no. 3 (2007): 41. Herminia Ibarra, How to Revive a Tired Net-
553-565, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/ work, Harvard Business Review, February 3,
S153759270707154X 2015, https://hbr.org/2015/02/how-to-revive-a-
tired-network.

42. Niki Johnson and Cecilia Josefsson, A New Way and the Meanings of Women in Governance in
of Doing Politics? Cross-Party Womens Caucus- Post-Genocide Rwanda, African Affairs 107,
es as Critical Actors in Uganda and Uruguay, no. 428 (2008): 361-386, DOI: https://doi.
Parliamentary Affairs 69, no. 4 (2016): 845-859, org/10.1093/afraf/adn024.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsw011
50. Jennifer Disney, Incomplete Revolutions:
43. Sonia Palmieri, Embracing Feminism: The Case Gendered Participation in Productive and
of Finland, LinkedIn Pulse (blog), July 29, 2016, Reproductive Labor in Mozambique and
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/embracing-femi- Nicaragua, Socialism and Democracy 18,
nism-case-finland-sonia-palmieri. no.1 (2004): 7-42, DOI: http://dx.doi.
org/10.1080/08854300408428380.
44. The notions of feminism and womens movement
vary across national and cultural boundaries 51. Mary Balikungeri, personal interview, October
and need to be interpreted in the context of 2016.
the culture in which they develop. Historically,
feminist movements, in their various shapes and 52. Valeria Fedeli, personal interview, June 2016.
forms, have been instrumental in advocating 53. Anita Perez Ferguson, personal interview, August
for womens rights. In some countries, however, 2016.
the term feminism is associated with ideological
radicalism and approached critically by many 54. Sonja Lokar, personal interview, August 2016.
women, including women in politics. For this
reason and in order to be as inclusive as possible 55. The National Democratic Institute, Women,
in the descriptions of a very diverse spectrum of Technology and Democracy Survey (National Dem-
experiences and ideologies, this paper will refer ocratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI),
to womens (instead of feminist) movements and 2008.
civil society organizations, unless otherwise specif- 56. The International Knowledge Network of Wom-
ically identified. en in Politics (iKNOW Politics) is an online
45. Kent Portney, Richard C. Eichenberg, and Rich- workspace designed to serve the needs of anyone
ard G. Niemi, Gender Differences in Political interested in learning more the science and best
and Civic Engagement Amoung Young People practices to advance women in politics. The old-
(APSA 2009 Toronto Meeting Paper, 2009). est online network of this kind, iKNOW Politics
also includes fora for e-discussions on specific
46. Khadija Idrissi Janati, personal interview, Octo- topics related to women and politics and a global
ber 2016. network of experts.
47. Mounira M. Charrad and Amina Zarrugh, 57. Sonja Lokar, personal interview, August 2016.
Equal or Complementary? Women in the New
Tunisian Constitution after the Arab Spring, The 58. The only exception is the Vatican State, where
Journal of North African Studies 19, no. 2 (2014): only men detain the right to active and passive
230-243, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13629 suffrage.
387.2013.857276. 59. A third category of barriers sometimes referred to
48. Karen Beckwith, Mapping Strategic Engage- are institutional barriers, referring to the political
ments: Womens Movements and the State, system and focusing on the electoral and cam-
International Feminist Journal of Politics 9, paign financing laws and regulations as drivers
no. 3 (2007): 312-338, DOI: https://doi. in explaining womens under-representation in
org/10.1080/14616740701438218 political systems (See Pippa Norris, The Impact
of Electoral Reform on Womens Representation,
49. Elizabeth Pearson, Demonstrating Legislative Lead- Acta Politica 41 (2006): 197-213). This paper
ership: The Introduction of Rwandas Gender-Based touches upon the institutional barriers only in
Violence Bill, ed. Elizabeth Powley (Initiative the analysis of campaign financing. It does not
for Inclusive Security, Hunt Alternatives Fund, enter into the debate around electoral systems
2008); and Jennie E. Burnet, Gender Balance (proportional versus majoritarian), as it aims at

analyzing first and foremost the barriers that are 10.1177/1065912914525861; and Victoria
reported by women activists and women elected L. Brescoll, Who Takes the Floor and Why:
in national legislatures as universal, applying to Gender, Power, and Volubility in Organizations,
all political, social, legal and religious contexts. Administrative Science Quarterly 56, no. 4 (2011):
622-641.
60. Mona Lena Krook, Female Quotas in Parlia-
ment: Do They Make a Difference? International 71. Lyn Kathlene, Susan E. Clarke, and Barbara
Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, A. Fox, Ways Women Politicians are Making a
ed. James Wright, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Elsevi- Difference, Gender and Policymaking 2001, ed.
er, 2015): DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-08-097086- Debra L. Dodson (Rutgers: Eagleton Institute of
8.64064-3. Politics, 1991): 31.
61. Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Cultural 72. Sarah A. Fulton, Cherie D. Maestas, L. Sandy
Obstacles to Equal Representation, Journal of Maisel, and Walter J. Stone, The Sense of a
Democracy 12, no. 3 (2001): 126-140. Woman: Gender, Ambition, and the Decision to
Run for Congress, Political Research Quarterly
62. Ballington, Equality in Politics 59, no. 2 (2006): 235-248.
63. Valerie Dowling, personal interview, September 73. Sheryl Sandberg and Nell Scovell, Lean In: Wom-
2016. en, Work, and the Will to Lead (New York: Knopf,
64. Jennifer L. Lawless and Richard L. Fox, Girls 2013).
Just Wanna Not Run: The Gender Gap in Young 74. Iris Bohnet, What Works: Gender Equality by
Americans Political Ambition (Washington, DC: Design (Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
Women & Politics Institute, 2013). 2016).
65. Ibid. 75. Frances Rosenbluth, Joshua Kalla and Dawn
66. Christina Wolbrecht, and David E. Campbell, Teele, The Female Political Career (Women in
Leading by Example: Female Members of Parlia- Parliaments Global Forum, 2015).
ment as Political Role Models, American Journal 76. Susannah Wellford, personal interview, October
of Political Science 51, no. 4 (2007): 921-939, 2016.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00289.x.
77. Kah Walla, personal interview, September 2016.
67. Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, The Confidence
Code: The Science and Art of Self-assurance-- 78. Teina Mackenzie, personal interview, October
What Women Should Know (New York: Harper 2016.
Business, 2014).
79. The Power Handbook is available at: http://www.
68. Uri Gneezy, Muriel Niederle, and Aldo Rustichi- socialdemokraterna.se/Webben-for-alla/S-kvin-
ni, Performance in Competitive Environments: nor/S-kvinnor/In-English1/The-Power-Hand-
Gender Differences, The Quarterly Journal of book1/
Economics 118, no. 3 (2003): 1049-1074, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1162/00335530360698496. 80. Joni Lovenduski, Feminizing Politics, Women: A
Cultural Review 13, no. 2 (2002): 207-220, DOI:
69. Caroline Cox, Why Women Dont Win, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09574040210149004.
Harvard Political Review, April 12, 2011, http://
harvardpolitics.com/covers/women-in-the-world/ 81. Ballington et. al, Empowering Women for Stronger
why-women-dont-win/ Political Parties
70. See: Hanna Baek, Marc Debus, and Jochen 82. Gabriela Jakovleva, personal interview, September
Mueller, Who Takes the Parliamentary 2016.
Floor? The Role of Gender in Speech-Mak- 83. Hughes and Paxton, Women, Politics, and Power.
ing in the Swedish Riksdag, Political Science
Quarterly 67, no. 3 (2014): 405-418, DOI: 84. Gender Equality Universally Embraced, but

Inequalities Acknowledged, Pew Research Gender 12, no. 2 (2016): 223-253, DOI: https://
Center, July 1, 2010, http://www.pewglobal. doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X16000106
org/2010/07/01/gender-equality/
96. Ballington et. al, Empowering Women for Stronger
85. Sarah Macharia, Who Makes the News? Global Political Parties
Media Monitoring Project 2015 (London; Toron-
to: World Association for Christian Communica- 97. Sonia Palmieri, Gender-Sensitive Parliaments: A
tion, 2015) Global Review of Good Practices (Geneva: In-
ter-Parliamentary Union, 2011)
86. Beatriz Llanos, Unseeing Eyes: Media Coverage and
Gender in Latin American Elections (International 98. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, personal interview,
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance December 2016.
(IDEA) and UN Women, 2011). 99. Rosenbluth et. al, The Female Political Career
87. Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant, Gendered News: 100. Female legislator, personal interview, September
Media Coverage and Electoral Politics in Canada 2016.
(Vancouver: UBC Press, 2014).
101. Ballington, Equality in Politics
88. Norris and Inglehart, Cultural Obstacles to
Equal Representation 102. Justine Uvuza, Hidden Inequalities: Rwandan
Female Politicans Experiences of Balancing Fam-
89. Suzanne Williams, Women Can Do It! A Capac- ily and Political Responsibilities (dissertation,
ity-Building and Awareness-Raising Project for University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2014)
Women: External Evaluation Report (Norwegian
Peoples Aid, 2013). 103. Anne-Marie Slaughter, Why Women Still Cant
Have it All, The Atlantic, 2012, https://www.
90. Lori Beaman, et al., Powerful Women: Does theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-
Exposure Reduce Bias? Quarterly Journal of women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/
Economics 124, no. 4 (2009): 1497-1540, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2009.124.4.1497 104. Palmieri, Gender-Sensitive Parliaments
91. Gwen K. Young, Why We Need More Women 105. Palmieri, Gender-Sensitive Parliaments
Leaders, CNN.com, July 31, 2016, http://www.
cnn.com/2016/07/29/opinions/women-ris- 106. United Nations, General Assembly, Background
ing-benefits-society-young/. Documentation for 61st Session of the General
Assembly, Item 60(a) on Advancement of Women:
92. Hughes and Paxton, Women, Politics, and Power. Secretary-Generals Study on Violence against Wom-
en, A/61/122/Add. 1 (2006).
93. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights, Handbook on Promoting Womens 107. iKNOW Politics, Consolidated Response on Pre-
Participation in Political Parties (Organization vention and Mitigation of Electoral and Political
for Security and Co-Operation in Europe Office Violence Targeted at Women (iKNOW Politics,
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, 2015).
2014).
108. Thomas Carothers, Democracy Support Strat-
94. Susan Markham, Women as Agents of Change: egies: Leading with Womens Political Empow-
Having Voice in Society and Influencing Policy erment, Carnegie Endowment for International
(Washington: The World Bank, 2013). Peace, September 14, 2017, http://carnegieen-
dowment.org/2016/09/14/democracy-sup-
95. See: Danny Hayes and Jennifer L. Lawless, Wom- port-strategies-leading-with-women-s-politi-
en on the Run: Gender, Media, and Political Cam- cal-empowerment-pub-64534
paigns in a Polarized Era (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2016); Maarja Luhiste and Susan 109. Nadezhda Shvedova, Obstacles to Womens Par-
Banducci, Invisible Women? Comparing Can- ticipation in Parliament, Women in Parliament:
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Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 123. Anna Burke, personal interview, October 2016.
2002): 63-84.
124. Marcela Tovar, Women Candidates and Campaign
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lence: The Role of Information and Communica- Development Organization, 2007).
tion Technologies, Stability: International Journal
of Security & Development (2013). 125. Maria Ysabel Cedano, personal interview, Octo-
ber 2016.
111. Caroline Hubbard and Claire DeSoi, Votes
Without Violence: Monitoring Media, Votes 126. Lolita Cigane and Magnus Ohman, Political
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Addressing Violence Against Women in Elections International Foundation for Electoral Systems,
(Washington: National Democratic Institute, August 2014).
2016). 127. Julie Ballington, and Muriel Kahane, Women in
112. Maria Eugenia Valverde, personal interview, Politics: Financing for Gender Equality, Fund-
November 2016. ing of Political Parties and Election Campaigns: A
Handbook for Political Finance, ed. Elin Falguera,
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vention and Mitigation International IDEA, 2014).
114. Caroline Hubbard, personal interview, July 2016. 128. See: Htun and Weldon, When Do Governments
Promote Womens Rights?; Celis et al, Consti-
115. Mona L. Krook, Promoting gender-balanced tuting Womens Interests through Representative
decision-making: the role of international fora Claims; Beckwith and Cowell-Meyers, Sheer
and transnational networks, Crossing Borders: Numbers; Archenti and Johnson, Engendering
Re-Mapping Womens Movements at the Turn of the the Legislative Agenda
21st Century, ed. Roemer Christensen, Beatrice
Halsaa, and Aino Saarinen (Odense: University 129. Kristin Haffert, personal interview, August 2016.
Press of Southern Denmark, 2004).
130. Jessica Grounds, personal interview, November
116. Ms. Ennadir, Division Head Of Social Engi- 2016.
neering in the Moroccan Ministry Of Solidarity
Of Women, Family And Social Development, 131. See endnote no. 58.
Personal interview, September 2016.
117. Ballington et. al, Empowering Women for Stronger
Political Parties
118. Williams, Women Can Do It!
119. Inter-Parliamentary Union, Guidelines for Wom-
ens Caucuses (Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union,
2013).
120. Zeina Hilal, personal interview, July 2016.
121. Johnson and Josefsson, A New Way of Doing
Politics?
122. Niki Johnson, La Bancada Femenina en Uru-
guay: un Actor Crtico para la Representacin
Sustantiva de las Mujeres en el Parlamento,
Amrica Latina Hoy 66 (2014): 145-165, DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.14201/alh201466145165.

ANNEX I
RESOURCE GUIDE

Background & Research Paper

Researching Womens Political Networks:

A Resource Guide
Background
This resource guide has been designed to complement the paper: Womens Political Networks: Defin-
ing Leadership, Breaking Barriers And Fostering Change, which explores the role and modus operandi of
womens networks in supporting female political aspirants get elected, gain higher leadership positions
and in shaping their policy making once in office. The resource guide includes two main sections:
Women in Politics: Key Bibliography, and Womens Political Empowerment: Mapping of Nation-
al and International Actors.
Following a similar approach to the research paper, the bibliography focuses on a few key areas of
investigation, namely: contemporary thinking on womens descriptive and substantive representation;
analysis of the universal cultural and structural barriers women face in all stages of the political carrier
(and their solutions); the main lessons learned from experiences and programs fostering womens polit-
ical participation through civil society, political parties and national legislatures. Drawing on some of
the resources referenced in the research, it includes a substantial amount of additional sources.
The mapping of actors provides a list of the most authoritative and reliable international, regional and
national organizations working to promote womens political participation and leadership all over the
world, arranged by geographic outreach. The mapping includes, among many others, some of the
networks and institutions that are referred to in the paper for their best practices in enhancing womens
political engagement.
34 | Annex I: Researching Womens Political Networks: A Resource Guide

Women in Politics: Key Bibliography

This bibliography provides an overview of key resources available from feminist and non-feminist1
literature on women and political participation: articles from some of the key scholars on this topic,2 as
well as policy papers, toolkits and manuals of best practices. Following a similar approach to the paper,
it is arranged by issue-specific sections:
1. Women in Politics: Considerations On Descriptive and Substantive Representation

2. Womens Confidence and Ambition Gap: On Competition and Political Participation
3. Societal Expectations and Media Coverage of Women in Politics
4. Family Penalty: The Impact of Domestic Responsibilities on Women in Politics
5. Gender-Based Violence in Politics
6. Women and Financing of Political Campaigns
7. Women and Political Leadership
8. Fostering Womens Political Participation in Civil Society, Political Parties and National
Legislatures: Best Practices and Manuals
1 Methodological note: what is feminist research?

There is a large amount of literature on gender and conflict. Some of this research self identifies as feminist research. In absence of a
unanimously accepted definition, it is safe to say that feminist research tends to have a very strong social change agenda and use methods
which can best answer particular research questions, but always using them in ways which are consistent with broad feminist goals and
ideology (Jayaratne and Stewart, 1991). Most of the existing research, however, does not identify as feminist, but follows a gender ap-
proach, consisting, of a set of agreed principles, namely: consideration of the hierarchical power relations between men and women that
tend to disadvantage women throughout the research process; integration of diversity, including the differing ways that race, ethnicity,
class, caste, sexuality, age, and (dis)ability, affect gender relations, with special attention to the voices of the marginalized, into all levels
of the research process; analysis of the relationships between and among all research parties (including the researcher/s); common use of
qualitative methods considered non-traditional in the physical and social sciences and in research for development in particular; adap-
tation of quantitative methods to take into consideration hard-to-measure aspects such as womens empowerment, and sensitive items
such as gender-based violence.
References:
Jayaratne and Stewart, Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in the Social Sciences: Current Feminist Issues and Practical Strategies, in
Gender Development 2007, ed. Gwendolyn Beetham & Justina Demetriades, pp. 85107
2 They are: Jennifer Lawless, American University; Joni Lovenduski, Birkbeck College, University of London; Karen Beckwith,
Case Western Reserve University; Karen Celis, Vrije Universiteit Brussel; Mala Htun, University of New Mexico; Melanie Hughes,
University of Pittsburg; Mona Lena Krook, Rutgers University; Nikki Johnson, Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay; Pamela Paxton,
University of Texas; Pippa Norris, Harvard; Sarah Childs, Bristol University.
Annex I: Researching Womens Political Networks: A Resource Guide | 35

1 Women in Politics: Considerations on Descriptive

and Substantive Representation
Anzia, Sarah F., and Berry, C. (2011) The Jackie Womens Substantive Representation: From
(and Jill) Robinson Effect: Why Do Congresswomen Critical Mass to Critical Actors. Government and
Outperform Congressmen? American Journal of Opposition.
Political Science. Htun, M. and Weldon, L. (2010) When
Archenti, N. and Johnson, N. (2006) Do Governments Promote Womens Rights? A
Engendering the Legislative Agenda With and Framework for the Comparative Analysis of Sex
Without the Quota: A Comparative Study of Equality Policy. Perspectives on Politics.
Argentina and Uruguay. Sociologia, Problemas e Krook, M. (2015) Female Quotas in Parliament:
Prcticas. Do They Make a Difference? International
Beckwith, K. (2007) Numbers and Newness: Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
The Descriptive and Substantive Representation of Krook, M. (2016) Contesting Gender Quotas:
Women. Canadian Journal of Political Science/ Dynamics of Resistance. Politics, Groups, and
Revue Canadienne De Science Politique. Identities
Beckwith, K. and Cowell-Meyers, K. (2007) Krook, M. & Norris, P. (2014) Beyond quotas:
Sheer Numbers: Critical Representation Thresholds Strategies to promote gender equality in elected office.
and Womens Political Representation. Perspectives Political Studies.
on Politics.
Pande, R. and Ford, D (2012) Gender Quotas
Celis, K., Childs, S., Kantola, J. and Krook, and Female Leadership: A Review. Background
M. (2014) Constituting Womens Interests through Paper for the World Development Report on
Representative Claims, Politics & Gender. Gender.
Chattopadhyay, R. and Duflo, E. (2004) Women Swers, M. (2002) The Difference Women Make:
as Policy Makers: Evidence from a Randomized The Policy Impact of Women in Congress. Chicago:
Policy Experiment in India. Econometrica. The University of Chicago Press.
Childs, S. and Krook, M. (2009) Analysing
2 Womens Confidence and Ambition Gap: On

Competition and Political Participation
Back, H., Debus, M. and Muller, J. (2014) Who in Politics: Financing for Gender Equality, in
Takes the Parliamentary Floor? The Role of Gender Falguera, E., Jones, S. and Ohman, M. (eds),
in Speech-making in the Swedish Riksdag. Political Funding of Political Parties and Election
Research Quarterly. Campaigns. Stockholm: International IDEA.
Ballington, J. and Kahane, M. (2014) Women Booth, A. and Nolen, P. (2012) Choosing to

Compete: How Different Are Girls and Boys? W (2006) The Sense of a Woman: Gender,
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. Ambition, and the Decision to Run for Congress.
Political Research Quarterly
Brescoll, V. (2011) Who Takes the Floor and Why:
Gender, Power, and Volubility in Organizations. Lawless, J. and Fox, R. (2013) Girls Just Wanna
Administrative Science Quarterly. Not Run: The Gender Gap in Young Americans
Political Ambition. Washington, DC: Women &
Dargnies, M. (2012) Men Too Sometimes
Politics Institute.
Shy Away from Competition: The Case of Team
Competition. Management Science. Sandberg, S. and Scovell, N. (2013) Lean In:
Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Knopf, New
Fulton, S., Maestas, C., Maisel, L. and Stone.
York.
3 Societal Expectations and Media Coverage of

Women in Politics
Aalberg, T. and Jenssen, A., Gender Stereotyping Available at: http://whomakesthenews.org/gmmp/
of Political Candidates. An Experimental Study gmmp-reports/gmmp-2015-reports.
of Political Communication, Nordicom Review 28 Hayes, D. and Lawless, J. (2016) Women on the
(2007), pp. 17-32. Run: Gender, Media, and Political Campaigns in a
Bhatt, M., Payne, R., Feldt, G. and Polarized Era. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Litzenberger, A. Leadership Actions: Gender, Lake, C., Snell, A., Gormley, C. and
leadership and the media. A report by Fem Inc. and Lethbridge-Cejku, F., An Examination of the
Take the Lead (2013). , Breaking Barriers, and Fosing Impact of Media Coverage of Women Candidates
Campbell, D. and Wolbrecht, C., See Jane Run: Appearance. Findings from an online dialsurvey of
Women Politicians as Role Models for Adolescents. e 1500 likely voters nationwide with an oversample of
Journal of Politics, 2 (2006), pp. 233- 247. 100 young women voters (Lake Research Partners
Washington, 2013).
Campus, D., Women Political Leaders and the Media
(Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave. Macmillan, 2013). Llanos, B. and Fraser, B. (2011) Unseeing Eyes:
Media Coverage and Gender in Latin American
Ducat, S., The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars
Elections. Stockholm: International IDEA.
and the Politics of Anxious Masculinity (Boston, Beacon
Press. Easton, 2004). Murray, R. (ed), Cracking the highest glass ceiling: a
global comparison of womens campaigns for executive
European Institute for Gender Equality
office (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2010).
(EIGE), Women and the Media: methods, tools and
good practices. Policy Review in EU Member States Raicheva-Stover, M. and Ibroscheva, E. (eds.),
(EIGE 2014). Women in Politics and Media: Perspectives from Nations
in Transition. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014).
Falk, E. (2010) Women for President: Media Bias in
Nine Campaigns. Urbana: University of Illinois. Ross, K., Gender, Politics, News: A Game of Three
Sides. (Wiley-Blackwell, 2016. E-book).
Global Media Monitoring Project 2015 (2015).

Siebel Newsom, J. et al., Miss representation. Van Zoonen, L., The personal, the political and
(Film), (2011), <http://therepresentationproject. the popular. A womans guide to celebrity politics,
org/ lm/miss-representation/see-the- lm/buy- rent- European Journal of Cultural Studies (2006), pp. 287-
stream/>. 301.
4 Family Penalty: The Impact of Domestic

Responsibilities on Women in Politics
Arunachalam, R. and Watson, S. (2015) Divorce Quite . . . How Traditional Gender Roles Do Not
and the Political Gender Gap. Working Paper. Affect Womens Political Ambition. Governance
Studies at Brookings, July, Washington, DC:
Iversen, T. and Rosenbluth, F. (2010) Women,
Brookings.
Work, and Politics: The Political Economy of Gender
Inequality. Yale University Press. Fox, R. (2010) Congressional Elections: Womens
Candidacies and the Road to Gender Parity. In
Iversen, T. and Rosenbluth, F. (2006) The
Gender and Elections, 2nd edition, eds. S. Carroll
Political Economy of Gender: Explaining Cross-
and R. Fox. New York: Cambridge University
National Variation in the Gender Division of Labor
Press.
and the Gender Voting Gap. American Journal of
Political Science 50 (1): 119. Thomas, Sue. 2002. The Personal is the
Political: Antecedents of Gendered Choices of
Fox, R. and Lawless, J. (2014) Reconciling
Elected Representatives. Sex Roles 47(7-8):343-
Family Roles with Political Ambition: The New
53.
Normal. In Fox, R. and Lawless, J. (2003) Family
Structure, Sex-Role Socialization, and the Decision Uvuza, J. (2014) Hidden inequalities: Rwandan
to Run for Office. Women & Politics 24(4):19-48. female politicians experiences of balancing family
and political responsibilities.
Lawless, J. (2014) Its the Family, Stupid? Not
5 Gender-Based Violence in Politics
Bardall, G. (2011) Breaking the Mold: International Journal of Security & Development,
Understanding Gender and Electoral Violence. IFES 2(3).
White Paper. Davies, L. (2014) Laura Boldrini: The Italian
Bardall, G. (2013) Gender-Specific Election Politician Rising above the Rape Threats, Observer,
Violence: The Role of Information and February 9.
Communication Technologies. Stability: Hoglund, K. (2009) Electoral Violence in Conflict-

Ridden Societies, Terrorism and Political Violence, Political Science Association, Washington, D.C.,
21(3), pp. 412-427. August 28-31.
iKnowPolitics (2007) E-Discussion: Eliminating Krook, M. and Sanin, J. (2016) Gender and
Violence Against Women in Politics (December 10- Political Violence in Latin America: Concepts,
14, 2007), available at: http://iknowpolitics.org/ Debates, and Solutions. Politica y Gobierno 23 (1).
Krook, M. and Sanin, J. (2014) Mapping National Democratic Institute (NDI) (2016)
Violence against Women in Politics, paper Votes Without Violence: A Citizen Observers Guide
presented at the Annual Meeting of the American To Addressing Violence Against Women In Elections.
6 Women and Financing of Political Campaigns
Adams, B. and Schreiber, R. (2011) Gender, Office: Past, Present, and Future. Oxford University
Campaign Finance, and Electoral Success in Press.
Municipal Elections. Journal of Urban Affairs Cigane, L. and Ohman, M. (2014) Political
33:8397. Finance and Gender Equality. IFES. IFES White
Ballington, J. (2003) Gender Equality in Political Paper.
Party Funding in Funding of Political Parties Herrick, R. (1996) Is There a Gender Gap in the
and election Campaigns. Stockholm: IDEA - Value of Campaign Resources? American Politics
Handbook Series. Research 24:6880.
Ballington, J. and Kahane, M. (2014) Women International IDEA (2013) Funding of Political
in Politics: Financing for Gender Equality, in Parties and Election Campaigns: A Handbook on
Falguera, E., Jones, S. and Ohman, M. (eds), Political Finance. International IDEA Handbooks
Funding of Political Parties and Election series.
Campaigns. Stockholm: International IDEA.
Jenkins, S. (2007) A Womans Work Is Never
Barber, M., Butler, D. and Preece, J. (2016) Done? Fund-Raising Perception and Effort among
Gender Inequalities in Campaign Finance, Female State Legislative Candidates. Political
Quarterly Journal of Political Science: Vol. 11: Research Quarterly 60:230.
No. 2, pp 219-248.
Tovar, M. (2007) Women Candidates and
Burrell, B. (2005) Campaign Financing: Womens Campaign Finance. WEDO. New York.
Experience in the Modern Era - Women and Elective

7 Women and Political Leadership
Barsh, J., Cranston, S. and Lewis, G. (2009) Jalalzai, F. (2013) Women Executives. Shattered,
How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Cracked, or Firmly Intact? Women and the
Model for Work and Life. New York: Crown Press. Executive Glass Ceiling Worldwide. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Beaman, L., Chattopadhyay, R., Duflo, E.,
Pande R. and Topalova, P. (2008) Powerful Morris, M. (2016) Womens Leadership Matters:
Women: Does Exposure Reduce Bias? Quarterly The impact of Womens Leadership in the Canadian
Journal of Economics, 124.4 MIT Press. Federal Public Service. Ottawa: Centre for Women
in Politics and Public Leadership, Carleton
Beckwith, Karen (2014) From party leader to
University.
prime minister? Gender and leadership contests in
West Europe. Paper presented at the ECPR. Norris, P. and Inglehart, R. (2008) Cracking
the Marble Ceiling: Cultural Barriers facing
Bohnet, I. (2016) What Works: Gender Equality
women leaders, 13 January 2008, (pp. 1 - 28).
by Design. Harvard University Press
Cambridge, MA, United States of America:
Carothers, T. (2016) Democracy Support Harvard Kennedy School.
Strategies: Leading with Womens Political
Verveer, M. and Azzarelli, K. (2015) Fast
Empowerment. Carnegie Endowment for
Forward: How Women Can Achieve Power and
International Peace. Democracy Support
Purpose. Mariner Books.
Strategies: Leading with Womens Political
Empowerment.
8 Family Penalty: The Impact of Domestic

Responsibilities on Women in Politics
Afkhami, M. and Eisenberg, A. (2010) Leading International Feminist Journal of Politics.
to Action: A Political Participation Handbook for de Silva de Alwis, R. (2014) Womens Voice and
Women. Womens Learning Partnership. Agency : The Role of Legal Institutions and Womens
Ahern P; Nuti P; Masterson JM (2000) Movements. World Bank, Washington, DC.
Development and Population Activities began Htun M. (2005) Women, Political Parties and
working on the Promoting Women in Development Electoral Systems in Latin America, in Women in
(PROWID) grants program. Synthesis Paper. Parliament. Beyond Numbers. A New Edition, eds.
Beckwith, K. (2007) Mapping Strategic Julie Ballington and Azza Karam Stockholm:
Engagements: Womens Movements And The State. International IDEA.

Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (2008) Leadership as a Route to Greater Empowerment:

Equality in Politics. Geneva. Desktop Study (Arlington, VA: Management
Systems International, 2014)
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (2016)
Guidelines for womens caucuses. Geneva. National Democratic Institute, (2013)
Increasing Womens Political Participation Through
Johnson, N. and Josefsson, C. (2016) A New
Effective Training Programs: A guide to best Practices
Way of Doing Politics? Cross-Party Womens
and Lessons learned
Caucuses as Critical Actors in Uganda and
Uruguay. Parliamentary Affairs Norris, P. and Krook, M. (2010) Gender
Equality in Elected Office: A Six-Step Action
Kandawasvika-Nhundu, R. (2013) Political
Plan, Harvard University and Washington
Parties in Africa through a Gender Lens.
University in St. Louis. Report commissioned
International IDEA, Stockholm
for the Programme on Increased Participation of
Krook, M. (2013) Womens Political Participation. Women in Democratic Governance by the Office
Presentation at the Womens Political for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights,
Participation in Asia and the Pacific Meeting Organization for Security and Cooperation in
organized by the Conflict Prevention and Peace Europe.
Forum of the Social Science Research Council,
Organization for Security and Cooperation
New York, NY, June 14, 2013.
in Europe (OSCE) (2015) Creating Mentor
Lovenduski, J. and Karam, A. (2002) Women Networks in the OSCE Region: A Practical
in Parliament: Making a Difference. International Roadmap.
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OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions
Beyond Numbers, Stockholm, International
and Human Rights (ODHIR), (2013) A
IDEA
Comparative Study of Structures for Women MPs in
Markham, S. (2013) Women as Agents of the OSCE Region, Warsaw
Change: Having Voice in Society and Influencing
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Policy, Womens Voice, Agency and Participation
Human Rights (ODIHR) (2016) Compendium
Research Series 2013
of Good Practices for Advancing Womens Political
Mona Lena Krook, Darcy Ashman, Layla Participation in the OSCE Region.
Moughari, and Milad Pournik, Womens

Womens Political Empowerment: Mapping of National and

International Actors
Since Beijing, a great number of networks, organizations and institutions have been created, aimed at
fostering womens political participation and leadership nationally, regionally and globally. While it
does not claim to be exhaustive, this mapping provides and overview of some1 of the most authorita-
tive and reliable institutions, organizations and networks working to promote womens political partici-
pation and leadership all over the world, arranged by geographic outreach.
1 An important caveat needs to be made: this list does not include womens caucuses and parliamentary bodies, neither womens
political party wings. While these bodies are extremely important, their effectiveness varies over time and political context. For more on
this issue: http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/caucus-e.pdf.
International Actors and Global Knowledge Platforms

Agora is a global knowledge platform on parlia- the grassroots, national, regional, and internation-
mentary development. It has been designed as a al levels.
tool and a meeting space used by parliamentar- Global Database of Quotas for Women is a joint
ians, parliamentary staff and the community of project of International IDEA and Stockholm
practice in order to facilitate information ex- University. This website provides information on
change. the various types of quotas existing today, detail-
Apolitical is a website and online forum which ing the percentages and targets in countries where
highlights and shares new ideas, effective solu- they are applicable.
tions and stories of the impactful work of public The Global Fund for Women is a US-based non-
servant everywhere. profit funding womens human rights initiatives.
BRIDGE, Institute of Development Studies It focuses on improving sexual and reproductive
(IDS), supports the needs of policy makers, prac- heath and rights, freedom from violence and
titioners, advocates and researchers in bridging economic and political equality all over the world
the gaps between gender theory, policy and prac- through advocacy campaigns, grantmaking and
tice to make gender equality happen. BRIDGE collaborations.
targets both gender and non-gender specialists in The International Knowledge Network of Women
an effort to ensure gender is central to all develop- in Politics (iKNOW Politics) provides a web-
ment thinking and practice, and to inspire trans- based forum for exchanging information and
formation in attitudes, policies and legislation. debate on member fora on the status of women
Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action in politics around the globe. The project is a joint
(CREA) is a womens human rights organization initiative of the United Nations Development
that empowers women to articulate, demand and Programme, UN Women, the National Demo-
access their human rights by enhancing womens cratic Institute and the International Institute for
leadership and building networks at the local, Democracy and Electoral Assistance (Internation-
regional and international levels. Based in New al IDEA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Delhi, India, it is one of the few international Institute for Inclusive Security (ISS) is a DC-
womens rights organizations based in the global based NGO advocating for full inclusion of all
South, led by Southern feminists, which works at stakeholders (particularly women) in peace and

security processes, consulting with governments, cation, and organizing support services to wom-
conducting field research, and providing lead- ens organizations and community groups work-
ership development for women leaders in con- ing to improve the lives of women in Africa, Asia
flict zones around the world. Inclusive Security and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean,
includes the Women Waging Peace Network, a Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
network of more than 2,000 women peacemakers Institute for Womens Policy Research (IWPR)
from conflict areas around the world, launched researches and identifies successful strategies to
in 1999 to connect these women with each other encourage womens participation in civic and
and with policy shapers. political life. IWPR has conducted research with
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the world female activists working in a range of contexts
organization of parliaments, it has a membership including interfaith organizations, unions, and
of 170 Member Parliaments.Since 1985, at the secular social justice movementsabout their
initiative of women parliamentarians from differ- experiences in taking on public leadership roles
ent countries, ithas established aForum of wom- and the sources of motivation that inspired their
en parliamentarians to enhance solidarity among involvement in this work.
women and advance the gender equality agenda. National Democratic Institute (NDI) believes
International Civil Society Action Network that equitable participation of women in politics
(ICAN) is a registered non-profit, US based orga- and government is essential to building and sus-
nization whose mission is to support civil society taining democracy. The Institute trains, educates,
activism in promoting womens rights, peace and and motivates women candidates and elected
human security in countries affected by conflict, leaders, as well as female citizens, in the political
transition and closed political space. It offers a process.
network of activists and women leaders working Socialist International Women is the international
in the space of women, peace and security. organization of the womens organizations of the
International Foundation for Electoral Systems socialist, social democratic and labor partiesaffil-
(IFES) supports citizens rights to participate iated to the Socialist International. It aims to end
in free and fair elections. IFES works to fortify discrimination against women, build relations
women in political and electoral processes as within itsmember organizations and create pro-
candidates and elected leaders, technical experts gramsto foster womens political participation.
in elections, engaged civil society leaders and in- The Global Womens Leadership Initiative
formed voters. IFES implements innovative wom- (GWLI) at the Wilson Center. The Women in
ens empowerment activities to increase womens Public Service Project (WPSP) seeks to build a
political participation and leadership. new generation of global female leaders. Founded
International Institute for Democracy and through a partnership between the US Depart-
Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an ment of State and five leading womens colleges,
intergovernmental organization committed to the WPSP aims to train women to enter the pub-
promoting sustainable democracy worldwide. lic sector by cultivating the strategic leadership
Among their fields of research, IDEAproduces skills, energy, and commitment required to tackle
comparative knowledge on democracy as it relates todays global challenges
to gender, diversity, and conflict and security. The International Research and Training Institute
International Womens Tribune Centre (IWTC) is for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
an international non-governmental organization aims at strengthening womens role in politics and
that provides communication, information, edu- decision-making.

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is a Wikigender is a global online collaborative
DC-based non-partisan, independent, federal in- platform linking policymakers and experts from
stitution that provides analysis of and is involved both developed and developing countries to find
in conflicts around the world. The Institute was solutions to advance gender equality. It provides
established by an act of Congress in 1984. a centralized space for knowledge exchange on
key emerging issues, with a strong focus on the
The Women in Parliaments Global Forum
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in
(WIP)is the global network of female Parliamen-
particular on SDG 5. Both English and French
tarians atnational level, including the European
speakers worldwide can discuss current issues,
Parliament, of whom there currently are around
relevant research and emerging trends on gen-
9000.
der equality. Wikigender places the spotlight on
The Womens Democracy Network (WDN) is an gender data and statistics as a complement to the
initiative of the International Republican Institute Gender, Institutions and Development Database
to increase womens political participation, lead- (GID-DB) and the Social Institutions and Gen-
ership and representation in elected office. WDN der Index (SIGI), both developed by the OECD
accomplishes this goal by linking these women Development Centre.
with their peers in other countries who share sim-
Womankind Worldwide partners with local
ilar struggles, providing mentorship from experi-
organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America
enced women who have are leaders in their fields,
that challenge discrimination and violence.The
and through skills-building trainings designed to
organization aims to enable women to understand
target their identified needs.
their legal rights and ultimately improve their
UN Women provides training for women politi- lives.
cal candidates to help build their capacities, and
Women for Women International provides wom-
offer civic education and sensitization campaigns
en survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts
on gender equality. UN Women backs gender
with the tools and resources to move from crisis
equality advocates in calling on political parties,
and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, there-
governments and others to do their part in em-
by promoting viable civil societies.
powering women.
Women Thrive Alliance, an initiative of Women
U.S. State Departments Office of international
Thrive Worldwide, is a leading voice for global
Womens Issues provides information and fact
womens rights. We work to empower grassroots
sheets on womens situation in several countries.
women so their perspectives and solutions shape
Vital Voices Global Partnership is the preeminent local, national, and global policies to help women
non-governmental organization (NGO) that and their families break free from poverty, vio-
identifies, trains and empowers emerging women lence, and inequality.
leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe
Women Waging Peace Network (WWPN)
and gives them training and visibility to support
believes sustainable peace is possible only when
them in their leadership trajectory.
those who shape policy include women and other
WEDO works on a range of cross-cutting is- affected groups in the prevention and transfor-
suesfrom climate change and natural resource mation of violent conflict. Through networking,
management, to global governance and finance research and recommendations, WWPN aims to
and UN reformtoward three interlinked goals: increase involvement of women in preventing,
womens leadership, sustainable development and resolving and rebuilding after conflicts.
global governance.
Womens Campaign International (WCI) is a

nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to ted to the creation of tolerant, egalitarian, and
increasing the participation of women in political democratic communities developed through part-
and democratic processes worldwide. WCIs mis- nerships based on cooperation, trust, and respect.
sion is to increase the number of female elected InternationalWomens Democracy Center
officials throughout the world, ensure their effec- (IWDC) provides the necessary training for wom-
tiveness once elected and build the capacity of en to increase their participation in local, state,
local organizations working on womens issues. and national politics, policy and decision-making,
Womens Centre for Democracy and Human working in partnership with established NGOs
Rights is a nongovernmental organization aimed and recognized community leaders around the
at developing democratic society based on hu- world.
man rights, gender equity and social justice. The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) com-
organization achieve its goals through education, piled by World Bank researchers, shows that
advocacy and research. many developing-country governments are mak-
Womens Learning Partnership (WLP) is made up ing important gains in control of corruption, and
of WLP International in the USA and 20 WLP some of them are matching the performance of
national and regional partners. WLPis commit- affluent countries in overall governance measures.
United States Organizations, Networks and Institutions

National Organizations and Institutions
Elect Women Magazine is a U.S.-based online butions, organizing campaigns and mobilizing
media site that provides campaign tips, stories, Democratic women voters. Recognizing that
and resources to women running for political of- early campaign money is crucial for establishing
fice or thinking about it. Candidates and elected the viability of a political campaign, EMILY is an
officials provide acronym, which stands for Early Money Is Like
the blog posts, and women candidates can blog in Yeast because it makes the dough rise.
to ask questions, offer advice, and share informa- IGNITE trains young women from high schools,
tion. colleges, and universities across the United States.
EMERGE provides a seven-month program for IGNITE teaches young women how to think
Democratic women who want to run for elected critically about policy and understand where the
office. Emerge gives Democratic women who levers of power to make change actually reside.
want to run for public office a unique opportu- Via our high school curriculum, college chapters,
nity. We are the only in-depth, seven-month, 70- annual conferences, and elected women net-
hour, training programs providing aspiring female work, IGNITE teaches young women to become
leaders with cutting-edge tools and training to civically engaged and ultimately step into public
run for elected office and elevate themselves in service.
our political system.
National Foundation for Women Legislators seeks
Emilys List supports pro-choice Democratic to provide strategic resources to women leaders
women candidates by raising campaign contri- for leadership development and effective gover-

nance through conferences, effective seminars, The Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) is a
educational programs, professional relationships, non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and
and networking at both the state and federal levels ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting
in nonpartisan ways. pro-life politicians, primarily women, through its
SBA List Candidate Fund political action com-
National Organization for Women Political
mittee.
Action Committees supports feminist candidates,
male and female,for federal office. TheNOW Women Under Forty Political Action Commit-
Equality PAC (NEP) supports feminist candidates tee (WUFPAC) is a nonpartisan political action
for state and local office in the US. committee that supports women forty years of age
and under running for state and federal public
National Womens Political Caucus (NWPC) is
office. It aims to represent voices of young women
a non-partisan national grassroots membership
in shaping public policy and tobuild seniority of
organization dedicated to increasing the number
women in Congress by getting them elected at a
of pro-choice women in elected and appointed
office in the US. younger age.
Womens Campaign Fund (WCF) isa nonpar-
Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN)
tisan organization, is dedicated to dramatically
introduces college women to role models, career
increasing the number of women in elected office
paths, and skillstrainingsbefore they enter the
who support reproductive health choices for all.
workforce. PLENs mission is to increase the
WCF provides financial support to its endorsed
number of women in top leadership positions in-
candidates and produces original research related
fluencing all aspects of the public policy process.
to women in politics.
Running Start introduces young women to role
Women Living Under Muslim Law is an interna-
models, talks to young women about the impor-
tional solidarity network that provides informa-
tance of politics in their lives, and gives them the
tion, support and a collective space for women
encouragement and skills to pursue a career in po-
whose lives are shaped, conditioned or governed
litical leadership. Running Starts Young Womens
by laws and customs said to derive from Islam.
Political Leadership Program introduces second-
ary school (high school) girls to the importance Women Waging Peace (WWP) connects women
of women in political leadership and trains them addressing conflict around the world in the belief
in public speaking, networking, on-camera media that they have a role to play in preventing violent
training, and platform development. conflict, stopping war, reconstructing ravaged
societies, and sustaining peace in fragile areas
She Should Run is an online nomination tool
around the world. Women Waging Peace advo-
and resource center that asks women to consider
cates for the full participation of women in formal
a run for office. An individual can submit a form
and informal peace processes. The initiative is
with the information of a woman who he or she
run by the Women and Public Policy Program at
believes should run for office someday, and the
Harvards Kennedy School of Government and
program will guarantee that she gets positive
Hunt Alternatives.
encouragement, connections, and the necessary
resources to take the next step
University Sponsored Organizations

Athena Center for Leadership Studies Bar- nard. The Athena Center aims to be a globally

renowned center for advancing women inleader- education endeavors, publications, and a resource
ship. The Center encourages women leaders to be center.
visionary, bold, and globally aware. Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Se-
Center for American Women and Politics Rut- curity (GIWPS) examines and highlights the roles
gers University. CAWP uses research and data, ed- and experiences of women in peace and security
ucation andoutreach programs to promote great- worldwide through cutting edge research, timely
er knowledge and understanding aboutwomens global convenings, and strategic partnerships.
participation in politics and government and to NYU Womens Leadership Forum New York
enhance womens influence and leadership in University fosters leadership development, facil-
public life. The Rutgers Center for American
itate professional growth, and sponsor opportu-
Women and Politics, for example, runs a number nities for outreach among women in leadership
of programs for women who are interested in run- roles. Through networking, access to electronic
ning for office. The Ready to Run program is di-
resources, and participation in an array of events
vided into two parts, one tailored to women who
such as conferences, guest presentations, and op-
plan to run in the near future, and one for those
portunities for professional development, women
who are thinking about running sometime in the
can exchange information and interact with oth-
future. Additional sessions are targeted towards
ers who have common interests and goals.
African- American, Hispanic and Asian-American
women, to address potential group-specific chal- Wellesley Centers for Women Wellesley College
lenges in the campaign process. is the largest social science organization in the US
dedicated to gender research. The Center con-
Center for Integrative Leadership University of
ducts research and creates programs with wom-
Minnesota. The Center for Integrative Leader-
ens perspectives and experiences at the core and
ship (CIL) is a forum for the study of leaders and
ensures this work reaches a wide audience and
leadership across sectorial and geographic bound-
influences public policies and programs.
aries.CIL engages in collaborative teaching,
community outreach, and research initiatives with Women and Politics Institute American Uni-
other University centers, and external community versity. Based at American Universitys School of
partners. Public Affairs, the Women and Politics Institute
offers courses, training, research and other op-
Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy
portunities to learn about women in the political
University of Massachusetts, Boston. Part of the
arena.
John W. McCormack Graduate Institute of Public
Affairs, the Center seeks to expand involvement Women and Public Policy Program Kennedy
of women in politics and policies affecting them School, Harvard University. WAPPPs primary
through quality graduate education, collaborative activities focus on developing the relationship
research and events, and focusing on intersection between women and public policy through facil-
of race and gender. itating scholarship, encouraging and enhancing
teaching, publishing materials, and influencing
Center for Womens Global Leadership Rut-
the policy process by strengthening womens
gers University fosters womens leadership in
leadership and the advocacy power of grassroots
the area of womens human rights and social
women.
justicethrough womens global leadership insti-
tutes, strategic planning activities, international Womens Campaign School Yale University
mobilization campaigns, UN monitoring, global aims to provide training for women who want to

run for office or who want to move up the ladder personal and professional challenges facing wom-
to higher elective office. For five days, participants en in the 21st century.
are put through an intense political immersion Womens Leadership Initiative Yale University
program designed to teach campaign skills, strate- aims to create a campus culture that encourages
gic assessment, and improvisation. and empowers aspiring female leaders at Yale.
Womens Initiative in Leadership Harvard Uni- Since its inception, WLI has grown to support
versity (WIL) was created to address the interest both small and large forums of discussion, from
and importance of female students at Harvard in WLI Salon Nights to mentorship families, and
developing leadership skills. The program strives Job Shadowing Days to an annual Women in
to explore and understand leadership through Leadership Conference.
seminars, discussions, and interactive workshops Womens Leadership Institute Auburn Univer-
over the course of a semester. sity. The Womens Leadership Institute (WLI)
Womens Leadership Academy University at Al- was established to help women associated with
bany, State University of New York. The purpose Auburn University take a proactive step in closing
of the Womens Leadership Academy (WLA) is to the gender gap of women in politics, corporate
strengthen participants self-efficacy, leadership ca- boardrooms, and the administrations of business
pacity and capabilities to increase female presence and educational institutions. WLI also hosts pub-
in public policy and politics. WLA hosts a week- lic programs to train and inspire a new generation
long summer program for undergraduates and of women leaders.
a six-month fellowship for graduate studentsto Womens Leadership Program George Washing-
foster leadership skills. ton University. The Womens Leadership Pro-
Womens Leadership Conference George gram is a year-long, selective, living and learning
Washington University. Each spring, the Womens program for freshmen women of any school at
Leadership Conference and the Elizabeth Somers GWU. WLP students have the benefit of small
Leadership Center bring together an intergenera- classes, close contact with faculty and women in
tional audience of professional women, many of leadership roles, and strong community ties with-
whom are alumnae and students, to discuss the in the Program.
Regional and National Organizations and Networks
Regional And National Organizations And Networks, Europe

The European Parliamentary Forum on Popula- worlds principal regional human rights bod-
tion & Development (EPF) is a network of mem- ies. Based in Warsaw, Poland, ODIHR is active
bers of parliaments from across Europe who are throughout Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia
committed to protecting the sexual and reproduc- and North America. The Office promotes dem-
tive health of the worlds most vulnerable people, ocratic elections, respect for human rights, toler-
both at home and overseas. ance and non-discrimination, and the rule of law.
ODIHR implements programs on increasing the
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions
participation of women in the political and public
and Human Rights (ODIHR) is one of the
arena, capacity building of womens networks,

combating violence against women and the im- womens leadership within the European Union.
plementation ofUN Security Council Resolution The European Womens Lobby (EWL) is the larg-
1325emphasizing the involvement of women est umbrella organization of womens associations
in conflict prevention, crisis management and in the European Union (EU), working to pro-
post-conflict rehabilitation. mote womens rights and equality between wom-
The Centre for Advancement of Women in Pol- en and men. It has a network of 2500 womens
itics aims to foster an appreciation for womens groups across Europe and provides a number of
contributions to politics, government, and pub- lobbying tools on its website, available in a range
lic decision-making in the UK and Ireland. The of languages, to help ordinary citizens to put
website includes research on womens political pressure on elites in their own countries to take
participation and representation, public attitudes gender balance seriously in their nominations
to women in politics, and women in parliament. The International Gender Policy Network
Women for Election is an Irish not-for-profit, (IGPN) is a non-profit, non-governmental net-
non-partisan organization whose vision is of an work organization aimed at promoting gender
Ireland with balanced participation of women and equitable and gender sensitive public policy at
men in political life. Our mission is to inspire all levels of global society. IGPN advocates for
and equip women to succeed in politics. the inclusion of womens human rights into the
national, regional and global policy agenda and
Engender is Scotlands feminist organization. En-
for full implementation of social, economic and
gender has a vision for a Scotland in which wom-
culture rights of women. IPGN is situated all
en and men have equal opportunities in life, equal
over Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe,
access to resources and power, and are equally safe
Caucasus and Central Asia.
and secure from harm.
The CEE Network for Gender Issues includes
National Womens Council of Ireland (NWCI) is
women from progressive political parties, civil so-
the national representative organization for wom-
ciety movements and parliament from twenty-one
en and womens groups in Ireland. Its purpose is
countries in Easter Europe and the former Soviet
to achieve womens equality in a society where
Union. This network has been extremely success-
women and men can participate effectively as
ful in establishing strong feminist streams within
citizens in all aspects of social, cultural, economic
left wing parties, lobbying for gender quota rules
and political life.
and ensuring high representation of women with-
The European Institute for Gender Equality in parties and parliaments.
(EIGE) is an autonomous body of the European
The Association of European Parliamentarians for
Union, established to contribute to and strength-
Africa (AWEPA) forges cooperation with African
en the promotion of gender equality, including
Parliaments to strengthen parliamentary democ-
gender mainstreaming in all EU policies and the
racy in Africa, and to attain the Millennium
resulting national policies, and the fight against
Development goals by supporting human rights,
discrimination based on sex, as well as to raise
development, and democracy in Africa.
EU citizens awareness of gender equality. Among
other things, EIGE issues reports and studies on

Regional And National Organizations, Africa and MENA Region

African Womens Development Fund is a and building active solidarity among women of
grant-making foundation that supports local, na- different social classes.
tional and regional womens organizations work- BAOBAB for Womens Human Rights (BAO-
ing towards the empowerment of African women BAB) is a non-pro t organization working for
and realization of their rights. womens human rights and legal rights under
AkinaMama wa Afrika is an international, religious laws, statutory laws, and customary laws,
pan-African, non-governmental development with a particular focus on Muslim women. BAO-
organization for African women. It creates a space BAB works with legal professionals and paralegals,
for African women to organize, and build links policymakers, womens and human rights groups,
with African women active in the areas of their other non-governmental organizations, and mem-
own development. bers of the general public. Its programs promote
human rights education, particularly womens
Arab Womens Leadership Institute (AWLI)
human rights. BAOBAB sponsors womens rights
supports the efforts of Arab women to increase
training and education projects, and programs
their participation in public life and the political
that enhance understanding of womens rights to
process throughout the Middle East and North
influence social and government policies.
Africa region. AWLI offers training, networking
and mentorship opportunities to advance women Be-Free Center/Bahrain Womens Association
in leadership positions. (BFC/BWA) is a womans rights and child em-
powerment organization in Bahrain. The orga-
Association Democratique des Femmes du
nization strives to increase awareness of womens
Maroc (ADFM) is an independent association
legal rights, as well as other issues that affect
established in 1985 to defend and promote the
women, such as globalization, information tech-
human rights of women, and to foster equitable
nology, the environment, health care, culture, and
policies and social practices. As one of the larg-
the family. The Be-Free Center focuses on elimi-
est non-governmental organizations in Morocco
nating child abuse and neglect and empowering
focused on the rights of women, ADFM has been
children to be powerful and productive citizens.
successful in forming networks with civil society
Through activities including training workshops
and governmental institutions regionally and
and seminars, radio and television programs,
internationally. The organization guarantees and
advocacy campaigns, and networking, BWA pro-
reinforces the rights of women through advocacy,
motes active citizen participation among women.
awareness raising, literacy campaigns, direct assis-
Officially established in 2001, the vision of BWA
tance, and education, among other activities.
is to empower leaders for the human develop-
Association des Femmes Chefs de Famille (AFCF) ment era.
is a non- governmental organization in Maurita-
Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) is a
nia whose primary mission is to promote human
registered national non- governmental organi-
rights and to defend the rights of women and
zation (NGO) advocating for good governance,
children. AFCF strives
freedom, democracy, and gender equity in Sierra
to bring support to women in precarious situa-
Leone.
tions (particularly female heads of households),
create a network of associations working to Club de Madrid works directly with women
improve living conditions for women and chil- leaders and womens groups in the Greater Horn
dren, and contribute to fostering gender equality of Africa and the Andean Region to promote

interaction and dialogue with national, regional against women. Launched in 1997 by 15 civil
and international decision-making structures and society organizations, FWID advocates for the
mechanisms to engage in conflict prevention, reform of policies and legislation that discriminate
management and resolution. against women. It is made up of groups of activ-
ists, both male and female, from different social
Collectif 95 Maghreb Egalite is a network an-
and professional backgrounds, who work together
chored in the womens movement of the countries
to build a democratic, just, and egalitarian society.
of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The founders
of this network, coordinators of womens organi- Foundation for the Support of Womens Work
zations, intellectuals and researchers, believe that (FSWW) is a non-governmental organization in
the struggle for equality between women and men Turkey seeking to ensure womens equal partic-
is a determining factor in the achievement of full ipation in social, economic, and political deci-
citizenship. sion-making by drawing on the expertise and
potential of local women. Established in 1986, it
The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians
(CWP) was founded by women delegates at the supports low- income womens groups to improve
the quality of their lives, their communities, and
1989 plenary conference so women at future
their leadership. KEDV/FSWW works in Istan-
conferences could discuss ways to increase female
bul, the Marmara earthquake region, and south-
representation in Parliament and work towards
eastern Turkey. The organization also provides
the mainstreaming of gender considerations in all
consultancy, training, and monitoring support
CPA activities and programs. In 2004, the group
to those local governments, non-governmental
was formally recognized in the CPA Constitution
organizations, and other organizations that want
and its elected Chairperson added to the CPA
to integrate FSWW programs into their activities.
Executive Committee.
Kayan Feminist Organization, a feminist organi-
Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS) is an interna-
zation established by Palestinian-Israeli women, is
tional non-governmental organization that works
a capacity-building non-governmental organiza-
to promote and strengthen the role of African
tion devoted to womens development.
women in preventing, managing and resolving
conflicts. KIND stands for the Kudirat Initiative for De-
mocracy, a not-for-profit organization based in
The African Womens Development and Com-
Lagos, Nigeria. We work primarily in Nigeria in
munication Network (FEMNET) is a mem-
the areas of leadership development for young
bership-based pan-African Network set up in
women and on collaborative projects aimed at
1988 to advance African womens development,
removing barriers to womens public participation
equality and other human rights. Over the years
and ending violence against women.
FEMNET has played a central role in sharing
information, experiences, ideas and strategies Mano River Womens Peace Network is an or-
among African womens NGOs in order to ganization with a mission to advocate for and
strengthen womens capacity to participate effec- promote at all decision-making levels the involve-
tively in the development processes on the conti- ment of women and youth in the prevention,
nent. management and resolution of conflict in the
Mano River sub-region, throughout Africa, and
Forum for Women in Development (FWID) is a
the world.
network of Egyptian non-governmental organi-
zations working for the emancipation of women Moremi Initiative for Womens Leadership in
and elimination of all aspects of discrimination Africa strives to engage, inspire and equip young

women and girls to become the next generation human rights activists working to support and
of leading politicians, activists, social entrepre- promote womens rights through education, skills
neurs and change agents. Moremi Initiative is a training, and modern technology. Its programs
non-profit organization based in Nigeria and the include human rights education, initiatives for
United States and operating throughout Africa. combating violence against women and girls,
and a knowledge partnership program that pro-
Mowatinat means Female Citizens. This Ara-
vides ICT training. SIGI/J also sponsors cultural
bic-language site of Sisterhood Is Global Institute/
and educational events that highlight the experi-
Jordan provides news, information and resources
ences of women leaders.
on womens political and public participation in
the MENA and beyond. Thaera network of women, set up in 2013 by
the womens organizations of social democratic
Nigeria Women Trust Fund (WF) was created in
parties in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia,
2011 to increase the representation of women in
has built the capacity of over 150 women politi-
Nigerian governance at all levels and address the
growing concerns about the gender imbalance in cal activist to become trainers for female political
activists at the grassroots level.
elective and appointive positions. It supports fe-
male political aspirants and candidates irrespective The Center of Arab Women for Training and Re-
of political affiliation, providing them with the search (CAWTAR) provides the Arab region with
financial resources and trainings. a center for research and studies related to gender
and womens status, and advocacy for improve-
Program on Governance in the Arab Region
ment of womens status. CAWTAR is committed
(POGAR) is dedicated to the promotion and
to the empowerment of women based on human
development of good governance practices and
rights and gender principles.
related reforms in the Arab states in tandem with
theArab Human Development Reports. POGAR Voice of Libyan Women is a Libyan womens
was developed at the request of Arabgovern- advancement and empowerment NGO based
ments, and therefore specifically addresses nation- in Tripoli, with branch offices in Zawia & Mis-
al needs and concerns. rata, focusing on the political participation and
economic investment of Libyan women, as well
Rwanda Womens Network (RWN) is a nation-
as the elimination of all forms of gender based
al non-governmental organization dedicated to
violence.
promotion and improvement of the socio-eco-
nomic welfare of women in Rwanda since coming Womens Learning Partnership (WLP) is dedicat-
to being in 1997. Over time, the organization has ed to womens leadership and empowerment. At
dedicated its efforts to strategies that empower its essence, WLP is a builder of networks, working
women and has extensive experience in fostering with 20 autonomous and independent partner
womens participation and grassroots responses organizations in the Global South, particularly in
to community challenges. To date, RWN works Muslim-majority societies, to empower women
with various local and international partners, and to transform their families, communities, and
plays a capacity building and facilitating role to a societies.
network of over 52 grassroots associations across Womens Affairs Technical Committee (WATC) is
the country. a coalition of seven womens organizations, three
Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan (SIGI/J) is womens center and individual women activists.
a non-governmental organization established in WATC seeks to eliminate discrimination against
1998. Its founders include lawyers, jurists, and women, develop the role of women in society and

to empower women to assume decision-making nomic empowerment programs and womens

positions in Palestine. capacity-building programs that seek to improve
the lives of disadvantaged women through educa-
Womens Self-Promotion Movement (WSPM)
tion, economic development and leadership. The
is a grassroots organization created in 2001 in
organization primarily works with refugee women
Zimbabwe. WSPM implements womens eco-
and girls in the southern Africa region.
Regional and National Organizations, Asia

All Womens Action Society (AWAM) is an Human Rights Center/Citizens against Corrup-
independent feminist organization committed to tion (CAC) in Kyrgyzstan focuses on the rights of
improving the lives of women in Malaysia. Its vi- women and refugees, provides legal consultation,
sion is to create a just, democratic, and equitable conducts and disseminates research, convenes
society where women are treated with respect, and civic forums, participates in public hearings, and
are free from all forms of violence and discrimina- trains human rights defenders. CAC advocates
tion. To reach this goal, AWAM informs, con- against corruption in the government through
nects, and mobilizes those interested in securing monitoring elections and supporting election
womens rights, bringing about equality between reform, supporting women in Parliament, and ad-
men and women, and supporting women in cri- vocating against the use of torture and the death
sis. AWAMs activities include advocacy, training penalty.
and education, and direct services to victims of International Womens Rights Action Watch Asia
violence, including counseling and legal aid. Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific) is a non-profit
Asian University for Women seeks to graduate international womens organization based in the
women who will be skilled and innovative pro- South. It promotes the domestic implementa-
fessionals, service oriented leaders, and promoters tion of international human rights standards by
of intercultural understanding and sustainable building the capacity of women and human rights
human and economic development in Asia and advocates to claim and realize womens human
across the globe. rights.
Aurat Foundation is committed to working Korean Institute for Women and Politics is a
for womens rights and empowering citizens to non-partisan, non-profit organization that aims
participate in good governance for the purpose of for a greater inclusion of women in politics by
creating a just, democratic, and humane society in taking into account the obstacles facing womens
Pakistan. The organization works in partnership political participation.
with over 1,200 non-governmental and commu- N-Peace is a multi-country network of peace ad-
nity-based organizations on activities related to vocates in Asia seeking to advance Women, Peace
advocacy, activism, and knowledge- and infor- & Security (WPS) issues. It supports womens
mation-building for womens rights and gender leadership for conflict prevention, resolution and
equality in Pakistan. peace building, and promotes the implementation
DidiBahini is a non-profit non-governmental of United Nations Security Council Resolution
organization established with the goal of facilitat- (UNSCR) 1325, and related resolutions, at re-
ing gender mainstreaming into the development gional, national and community levels.
process in Nepal. Online Women in Politics was born out of the

vision of Asian women leaders to explore creative motivates, involves, and mobilizes parliamentar-
ways in organizing a network of Asia Pacific wom- ians on the linkages between increasing popula-
en involved in politics, governance, decision-mak- tion and development issues such as reproductive
ing, and transformative leadership. health, family planning, food security, water
resources, sustainable development, environment,
Shymkent Womens Resource Center (SWRC)
ageing, urbanization, migration, HIV/AIDS, and
is a non-pro t organization in Kazakhstan whose
gender equality.
programs combat trafficking and violence against
women and promote the rights of women and The Center for Asia Pacific Women in Politics
womens leadership. SWRC organizes campaigns (CAPWIP) is a non-partisan, non-pro t and
to combat trafficking, creates self-help support non-governmental regional organization (NGO)
groups for women, provides psychological and dedicated to promoting equal participation of
legal counseling, and manages a women in politics and decision-making.
Sisters in Islam (SIS)is an organization of Mus- The Center for Asia-Pacific Women in Politics
lim women in Malaysia which seeks to articulate (CAPWIP) is a regional organization dedicated
womens rights in Islam by emphasizing the need to promoting equal participation of women in
to interpret the Quran and the hadith in their politics and decision-making. CAPWIP supports
proper historical and cultural contexts. SISworks its network through technical assistance in organi-
in the areas of research, advocacy, legal reform and zational and program planning, training, research
services, public education and publications. and information sharing.
The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Popu- Wedu is a leadership development organization
lation and Development (AFPPD) is a regional that aims to unlock the leadership potential of
non-governmental organization based in Bang- women in Asia, enabling them to become leaders
kok, Thailand. It engages with parliamentarians of their own communities, through leadership
from Asia and the Pacific to champion policies on trainings. Wedu is based in Bangkok, Thailand.
population and development. AFPPD educates,
Regional and National Organizations, Oceania

Women Into Politics (WIP) ensures that Aus- Womens Electoral Lobby (WEL) is dedicated to
tralian governments honor their commitment creating a society where womens participation
to CEDAW to eliminate discrimination against and potential are unrestricted, acknowledged and
women in the public and political sphere and respected and where women and men share equal-
to give women equal opportunity for political ly in societysresponsibilities and rewards.
participation.
Regional and National Organizations, Latin America

Association of El Salvadoran Women Parliamen- The Inter-American Parliamentary Group (IAPG)
tarians and Ex-Parliamentarians (ASPARLEX- is a regional alliance of parliamentarians working
SAL) offers training, networking opportunities across party lines to advance and promote laws
and resources to female political aspirants in El and policies within the framework of a broad hu-
Salvador. man development agenda, which includes health,
and sexual and reproductive health and rights,

and womens empowerment. The IAPG is an in the public sector in Latin America. It aims
independent parliamentary network and the only at strengthening the work of women and men
dedicated toadvancethe commitments made at parliamentarians by providing a space to share
ICPD,Beijing and the MDGs. TheIAPG has and exchange experiences and knowledge from a
supported parliamentarians in moving forward gender equality perspective.
policies and promoting laws to advance and The Bolivian Association of Councilwomen
protect sexual and reproductive health, violence (ACOBOL) is part of the local government sys-
against women, HIV and AIDS and sex education tem for institutional and political representation,
for young people. especially for indigenous communities as there is a
Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) is a re- corresponding mandate in the Autonomous Mu-
gional, permanent organization composed by the nicipal and Indigenous Government (GAM) in
countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. order to build municipal equity. ACOBOL works
It has a permanent commission on gender and with indigenous women mayors and councilors in
youth. the 337 Autonomous Municipal and Indigenous
Governments in Bolivia to support them as wom-
ParlAmericas is an independent network com-
en in their political role and defend their political
posed of national legislatures of 35 states from
rights.
North, Central, and South America, and the Ca-
ribbean. The Group of Women Parliamentarians The Inter-American Commission of Women
is the only permanent working group of ParlA- (CIM) is a specialized organization of the Organi-
mericas. It includes representatives from each of zation of American States and is a forum for gen-
the sub-regions of the Americas: North, Central, erating hemispheric policy to advance womens
South, and the Caribbean. rights and gender equality. It is an intergovern-
mental agency that works to ensure recognition of
Red PROLID is a platform from the Inter-Amer-
the civil and political rights of women.
ican Development Bank that connects women
who hold or aspire to have leadership positions

ANNEX II
ROADMAP AND TOOLKIT

Background & Research Paper
Designing Womens Political Networks:

A Ten-Step Toolkit
Background
According to Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and
Security and first ever US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Womens Issues at the U.S. Department
of State from 2009 to 2013: Womens networks are invaluable in providing female political aspirants
with the tools they need to get elected, despite the many hurdles in their paths. Womens networks
also make an enormous difference in enabling female legislators to meet across party lines, share expe-
riences and tools on how to successfully advance gender equality policies. In order to make significant
progress on womens political empowerment, we need a lot more of such networks.1
If womens political networks are defined as a set of critical actors working to increase womens political
participation, recruitment and leadership and the relations among them, what are the conditions that
make such networks successful?
While guidelines have been developed by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
the National Democratic Institute (NDI) regarding the functioning of womens caucuses and, to some
extent, womens political party wings, much remains to be investigated on the conditions that make
other types of networks successful in promoting womens political participation. Womens civil society
networks and networks including stakeholders across sectors have proven to be vitally important in
fostering, informing and sustaining womens political representation and leadership, but much needs to
be researched on the dynamics that make them successful.
Drawing from the desk research and interviews with experts, coordinators of womens networks, as well
as current and former women politicians interviewed for the paper: Womens Political Networks: De-
fining Leadership, Breaking Barriers and Fostering Change, this toolkit aims to provide women political
activists, gender experts and practitioners in the field of womens political empowerment with a road-
map to design successful networks.
57 | Annex II: Designing Womens Political Networks: A Ten-Step Toolkit

Roadmap: Designing your Womens Political Network

1.The Evidence
Why do we need more women in office?

Why are womens networks helpful to increase female political participation?
In which way will your network meet the most pressing needs of the community?
2.Your Focus
Which barriers will your network focus on?

Why are you focusing on them specifically?
How do they overlap with the barriers women face in other professions?
3.Your Theory
What is the change you are seeking to achieve?

of Change
How will the network contribute to achieving this change?

What are your short, medium and long-term objectives? Which activities will help you
reach your goals?
Who will your members be? Will the network be open or closed?
4. Membership
Will members be required to contribute information, training, advice, mentoring, financial

Criteria
resources, in-kind donations, etc?

How are your membership criteria linked to your theory of change and strategic planning?
Do they allow for breath, connectivity and dynamism?
5. Key Relations
What is the change you are seeking to achieve?

How will the network contribute to achieving this change?
What are your short, medium and long-term objectives? Which activities will help you
reach your goals?
Annex II: Designing Womens Political Networks: A Ten-Step Toolkit | 58

Roadmap: Designing your Womens Political Network

6. Activities
What activities will most effectively enable you to achieve your goals?
Which ones will you invest more time and resources on? Why?
How do these activities link to your mission and vision?
Decision-Making
7. Leadership &
How will the leadership be chosen? For how long will leadership serve?
Who will be responsible for which tasks?
When and how will decisions be made? Will there be a necessary quorum? Will virtual
presence be counted? Will you vote openly or confidentially?
8.Your Budget
Who will work for your network part-time/full time on a paid or voluntary basis?
Do you receive donations? From whom? How much?
What are your expenditures? How are they linked to your outcomes and outputs?
9. Communications &
Fundraising Strategy
Who are your audiences? How will you communicate with them? What is your
individualized Why should I care? message for each one of them?
Which technological tools (social media, website, etc.) will you use and how?
How will you defend your members from online harassment and threats?
10.Your M&E
How do you define and measure success in the short, medium and long term?
Strategy
How often will you re-evaluate and adapt your strategy according to the results you have
achieved?
Do you have quantitative and/or qualitative indicators to measure your success?

1 Why a Womens Political Network?

Know the Evidence.
Historically, womens political networks have bination of both, you should familiarize yourself
served a few key functions: expand womens with evidence-based arguments and data on why
political representation by increasing the supply womens increased political participation brings
and/or demand of women in politics; facilitate a about important change in legislation and society.
dialogue between women elected in office and civ- Finally, your motivations and, if possible, infor-
il society organizations; inform womens political mation should be grounded in your social and
leadership; challenge existing societal norms on political reality and the specific needs you want to
womens political participation and support wom- address.
en in overcoming the barriers that make it diffi- You need to have clear, concise and convincing
cult for them to pursue a political career. Before responses to these questions:
starting a womens political network, you should
get familiar with the best practices from existing Why do we need more women in
networks in achieving each one of these goals, so office?
that you can make an evidence-based argument Why are womens networks helpful to
regarding the importance of womens networks. increase female political participation?
It is also important to know why gender parity
in politics matters: whether you chose the critical In which way will your network im-
mass approach, a rights-based approach or a com- prove, directly and indirectly, the most
pressing needs of the community?
2 What do you Want to Fix?

Define your Focus.
In pursuing a political career globally, women time. Regardless, you will want to know if the
face two kinds of gender-related barriers: struc- barrier(s) you will be addressing coincide with the
tural barriers, reflecting the overall gender gap in ones women face in other professional fields. This
a society (educational, professional, economic and analysis is important as it will help you identify
social differences in the roles and achievements potential allies and will be key in building your
of men and women) and cultural barriers, refer- narrative.
ring to a societal belief of women and mens roles Before moving forward, you will want to have
(acquired early in life through family, community, responses to the following questions:
education and reinforced through media and con-
tinued socialization). When creating a womens Which barriers will your network
political network, you will want to decide very focus on?
carefully which barriers you will be focusing on. Why are you focusing on them specif-
One of the reasons behind EMILYs List success is ically?
its ability to focus on one specific challenge (lack
of funding for womens political campaigns). Oth- How do they overlap with the barriers
er networks take a more comprehensive approach, women face in accessing leadership in
trying to tackle multiple challenges at the same other professions or sectors of society?

3 What are your Mission,Vision, and Goals?

Define your Theory of Change.
A theory of change is a comprehensive illustra- Once you have defined your strategic planning
tion of how and why your desired change (e.g. and theory of change, you should be able to
increased womens representation in parliament) respond to the following questions:
is expected to happen as a result of a set of ac- What is the change you are seeking to
tions. Your theory of change will help you define achieve?
your mission, identify potential allies, as well as
measure success for your short, medium and long How will the network contribute to
term accomplishments. Your theory of change will achieving this change? Through what
also inform your strategic planning, namely the activities and in what timeframe?
set of goals, objectives, activities, outcomes and What are your short, medium and
outputs expected within a very defined timeframe. long-term objectives? What activities
will help you reach your goals?
4 Who will Be Part of your Network?

Identify Membership Criteria.
Whether a network is formal or informal, big different backgrounds, languages and world
or small, membership criteria must be weighed regions, producing experiences that are extreme-
carefully according to the desired outcome. ly invigorating and sometimes life-changing for
According to Susan Markham, USAID Senior the women who take part in them, opening their
Gender Coordinator, being specific and conscious minds to totally new ideas and possibilities.
about the networks mission and scope and mak- Your theory of change should guide you in decid-
ing sure that they fit with its composition are very ing which kind of membership criteria will best
important decisions.
help you accomplishing your mission. You will
Some networks, like the one developed by Vi- also need to decide if you want an all-women net-
tal Voices Global Partnership, invest in a few, work or a mixed one. While female-only political
high-potential women leaders because they networks are important and might be preferable
already have the vision and connections to change for training, they might lack the breadth (inclu-
their communities. Other networks, like the sion of diverse perspectives), connectivity (the
Central and Eastern Europe Network for Gender capacity to link people and groups that wouldnt
Issues, empower large cohorts of women, many otherwise connect) and dynamism (ability to
of whom will not necessarily start a political evolve as your goals evolve) that are so important
career, as their aim is to foster long-term societal in the passage from a simple support network
change around women, politics and power. Some to one that truly helps people advance in their
networks involve women from similar regional, careers. In addition, when it comes to achiev-
societal, professional, ideological and political ing policy change that tackles societal norms on
backgrounds, as they will understand each other gender identity and roles, the inclusion of men,
and strategize more easily for specific campaigns is key, as in the message of the #HeForShe Cam-
or issues. Other networks convene women from paign.

Your membership criteria should provide clear ute (information, training, advice,
responses to the following questions: mentorship, financial resources, in-
kind donations, other)?
Who will your members be (demo-
graphic, geographic composition)? How are your membership criteria
Will the network be open (unlimited linked to your theory of change and
membership) or closed (restricted strategic planning? Do your member-
number)? Will it include men? ship criteria reflect the breath, con-
nectivity and dynamism you want to
Will members be required to contrib-
have?
5 Who are your Allies and Opponents?

Build Strong Relationships.
Once you have decided your membership and are being sidelined. For women from civil society,
defined your strategy, its important you identi- it provides a channel to influence policies and
fy and map your potential allies in government, promote lasting change. Womens networks can
political parties and civil society (including busi- play a vital role in facilitating a dialogue between
ness networks); list the relationships you would womens organizations and women policymakers.
need to build to define a broad coalition with the Your mapping should enable you to respond to
most important stakeholders you identified. Also, the following questions:
try to identify what kind of resistance/opposition
you will be facing and from whom, in order to Who are your allies? What would you
devise timely response strategies. like the networks relationship with
them to be (support, coalition, other)?
Finally, remember that the relationship between
women in politics and womens civil society Are there events where these different
organizations and associations is a very important stakeholders meet? Can you leverage
one: for female politicians, it keeps them connect- them to foster interest and member-
ed with their female constituency, informs and ship to your network?
grants legitimacy and public support to their pol- From whom will you be facing oppo-
icy-making, and supports their voices when they sition?

6 What will you Do?

Define the Networks Activities.
Womens political networks increase womens In designing your activities, you should ask
political participation and leadership through yourself:
various activities, including: training and men- Which activities will most effective-
toring of female political aspirants; facilitating ly enable you to achieve your short,
the discussion across sectors and among various medium and long term goals? Which
stakeholders on important policy issues related to ones will you invest more time and
gender equality; and advocacy to raise visibility resources on?
for certain issues.
Why are you prioritizing this set of
Your networks activities can include some or all activities?
of the above mentioned, or totally different ones.
Activities can also vary over time, in response to How do these activities link to your
the changes in the political situation and as you mission and vision?
modify your strategic plan. In all cases, however,
your activities must be clearly linked to your theo-
ry of change.
7 Who Decides?
Leadership and Decision-Making as Tools and Processes.
In order to ensure a networks sustainability When defining the leadership structure of the
over time, its extremely important that there network, you will need to make sure that you
be clear leadership structures, inclusive deci- have clear responses to the following questions:
sion-making and transparent criteria for accessing How will the leadership be chosen?
positions of power. Also, because political partici- What terms of service or time limits
pation is not only an outcome, but also a process, apply to the leadership?
leadership changes provide foundational training
opportunities for women who aim at engaging in Who will be responsible for which
a political career. tasks (including fundraising, commu-
nication, political outreach, research
Whether you rely on volunteers or salaried mem- and office administration)?
bers, make sure you take into account and period-
ically evaluate their availability and their capacity When and where will decisions be
to perform the required tasks. made? Will there be a necessary
quorum? Will virtual presence be
counted? How? How will decisions
be made? Will you vote openly or
confidentially on issues and leadership
positions?

8 How will you Sustain your Activities?

Draft your Budget.
Adequate human and financial resources need ger and richer than you think! Also, consider a
to be allocated, even for relatively small or results-based budgeting framework for your activ-
virtual networks. List all the agencies, services itiesit offers a much more compelling argument
and programs that might be available to support for donors!
your work and reach out to them. If you receive Your budget should provide transparent an-
international funding, you should encourage swers to the following questions:
international donors to consider developing a
holistic approach to supporting womens networks Who will work for your network part-
through the political cycles, overcoming old prac- time/full time on a paid or voluntary
tices of dividing funds into categories that do not basis? How much would the services
reflect the continuous nature of political empow- provided voluntarily by your members
cost you, if you had to pay for them?
erment work (for example, separating legislation
and election related funding). Do you receive donations? From
When preparing your budget, make sure to high- whom? How much?
light the in-kind contributions you are receiving What are your expenditures? How
from members: you might realize (and be able to are your expenditures linked to your
communicate) that your network is much stron- outcomes and outputs?
9 What do you Want to Say?

Develop your Communication and Fundraising Strategy.
Define a simple, proactive and clear message Successful networks are also savvy in using digital
explaining the reason to be part of your net- technologies to share information, publicize their
work. You should try to find answers to the ques- work, launch advocacy campaigns, and build
tion: Why should I care? from the perspective the skills of their members on defense strategies
of the different audiences you will be addressing. against online harassment and threats. Once you
have a strong message, it will be easier for you to
Extremely important are the norms and poli-
use it to raise funds among potential allies, pro-
cies ruling the networks external and internal
grams and agencies you identified above.
communications. Internally, its important that
networks invest time and effort in in-person In order to build a successful communication
meetings where relationships of trust, mentoring and fundraising strategy, you will need to re-
and mutual validation are developed. External- spond to the following questions:
ly, its key that they show unity: part of why the Who are your audiences? How will
Bancada Femenina in Uruguay was so successful you communicate with them (online,
was because its leaders would only hold press in-person, etc.)? What is your individ-
conferences together, giving an image of strength ualized Why should I care? message
and cooperation. for each one of them? How will you

publicize your successes? for which purpose?

Which technological tools (social How will you defend your members
media, website, etc.) will you be using from online harassment and threats?
10 How do you Define Success?

Outline a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework
Using the goals set in your strategic plan, you You want a monitoring and evaluation frame-
will need to measure effectiveness on the basis of work that can help you respond as easily as
the progress made towards your goals, taking into possible to the following set of questions:
account timeframe and resources spent. Several How do you define and measure success in
manuals can help you in defining a monitoring the short, medium and long term?
and evaluation framework that works for you, on
the basis of your level of familiarity with evalua- How often will you re-evaluate and adapt
tions, your sophistication in data collection, etc. your strategy according to the results you
have achieved?
Do you have quantitative and/or qualita-
tive indicators to measure your success?

Further Resources: Manuals and Toolkits for Designing Womens

Networks
How to Revive a Tired Network Creating Mentor Networks in the OSCE

Herminina Ibarra, Harvard Business Review Region: A Practical Roadmap
Ibarra, H. (2015) How to Revive a Tired Network. Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr. Europe (OSCE)
org/2015/02/how-to-revive-a-tired-network. Organization for Security and Cooperation
How Leaders Create and Use Networks in Europe (OSCE) (2015) Creating Mentor
Networks in the OSCE Region: A Practical
Herminina Ibarra and Mark Lee Hunter, Harvard
Roadmap. Available at: http://www.osce.org/
Business Review secretariat/163006
Ibarra, H. and Hunter, M. (2007) How Leaders
Create and Use Networks. Harvard Business Leadership 101
Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2007/01/how- The National Democratic Institute (NDI)
leaders-create-and-use-networks. The National Democratic Institute (2010).
Leadership 101. Available at: https://www.ndi.org/
Guidelines for Womens Caucuses dcc-leadership101.
Inter-Parliamentary Union
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (2016) Tracking Impact: A Handbook for High
Guidelines for womens caucuses. Geneva. Available Quality Data Collection
at: http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/caucus-e. Vital Voices Global Partnership
pdf Vital Voices Global Partnership (2016). Tracking
Impact: A Handbook for High Quality Data
Toolkit: How to Build an Effective Social
Collection. Available at: http://www.vitalvoices.org/
Network sites/default/files/uploads/HANDBOOK-FINAL-
National Womens Business Council SINGLE%2520PAGE-2-11.pdf
National Womens Business Council (2015).
Toolkit: How to Build an Effective Social Network. Advocacy & Running for Office: A Training
Available at: https://www.nwbc.gov/sites/default/ Manual for Women
files/NWBC_ToolKit_508.pdf. Vital Voices Global Partnership
Vital Voices Global Partnership (2009). Advocacy
Gender Equality in Elected Office: A Six-Step & running for office: a training manual for
Action Plan women. Washington, DC. Available at: https://
Pippa Norris and Mona Lena Krook, Organization www.vitalvoices.org/sites/default/files/uploads/
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Advocacy%20Training%20Manual.pdf
Norris, P. and Krook, M. (2010) Gender Equality
in Elected Office: A Six-Step Action Plan, Harvard
University and Washington University in St. Louis.
Report commissioned for the Programme on
Increased Participation of Women in Democratic
Governance by the Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights, Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe. Available at:
http://www.osce.org/odihr/78432

www.50x50movement.org
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza wpsp@wilsoncenter.org
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW facebook.com/wpsproject
Washington, DC 20004 @WPSProject

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Womens Political Networks

Defining Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Fostering Change

WOMENS POLITICAL NETWORKS

Womens Political Networks: Defining Leadership, Breaking

Women in Politics: Considerations on Descriptive and Substantive Representation 4

Womens Political Networks: Definition, Role, Membership and Key Relations 6

Womens Networks as Barrier Breakers 12

Womens Political Networks: Suggestions for Further Investigation 24

Annex I: Researching Womens Political Networks: A Resource Guide.............................................................33

Women in Politics: Key Bibliography 35

Womens Political Empowerment: Mapping of National and International Actors 42

Annex II: Designing Womens Political Networks: A Ten-Step Toolkit.................................................................56

Roadmap: Designing your Womens Political Network 58

Tools and Key Questions for Designing a Womens Political Network 60

Further Resources: Manuals and Toolkits for Designing Womens Networks 66

WOMENS POLITICAL NETWORKS

Womens Political Networks: Defining Leadership, Breaking

Annex II: Designing Womens Political Networks: A Ten-Step Toolkit

Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

Women in Politics: Considerations on Descriptive and Substantive Representation 4

Why Does This Matter? Going Beyond Sheer Numbers............................................................................................................................. 5

Womens Political Networks: Definition, Role, Membership and Key Relations 6

Womens Networks as Barrier Breakers 12

Gender-Based Violence in Politics:Womens Networks as Advocates and Womens Rights Defenders........................................ 20

Womens Political Networks: Suggestions for Further Investigation 24

3 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

Introduction ceilings of UN Secretary-General and United

Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks | 4

5 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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qualified female political aspirants or

7 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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9 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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sidelined. For womens civil society

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13 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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The She Should Run initiative offers

15 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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17 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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19 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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21 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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well as refine and implement their

23 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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25 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

There is a great need to increase the dialogue Conclusion

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27 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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29 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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31 | Background and Research Paper on Womens Political Networks

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Womens Political Networks: Defining Leadership, Breaking

Annex I: Researching Womens Political Networks: A Resource Guide

Researching Womens Political Networks:

Women's Political Networks Complete Guide

Women's Political Networks Complete Guide