Women in Parliament

The new and updated edition of Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. A Revised Edition (2005) covers the ground of women’s access to the legislature in three steps: It looks into the obstacles women confront when entering Parliament – be they political, socio-economic or ideological and psychological. It presents solutions to overcome these obstacles, such as changing electoral systems and introducing quotas, and it details strategies for women to influence politics once they are elected to parliament, an institution which is traditionally male dominated.

Key findings include:

• It is not all about numbers - While a critical mass of women is necessary to ensure women’s representation, the quality of the representation is just as important. Training is crucial to avoid the trap of electing “token women”.
• Gender perspectives, not gender issues - Women elected to parliament change politics globally: they introduce a women’s perspective into all areas of political life, they are not limited to gender issues.
• Representation means more than elected politics - It means that more women must have seats at the Cabinet table, more women must be appointed to senior decision-making positions, and more women’s voices must be heard and included when major political reform or transformation is undertaken.

The original Handbook on Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers was produced as part of IDEA’s work on women and political participation in 1998. Since then, the picture regarding women’s political participation has slowly changed. The second edition of the Handbook incorporates relevant global changes in the past years and presents new and updated case studies.

• President Johnson-Sirleaf opens International IDEA seminar on “Women in Parliament”, 28 September 2006
  On the occasion of the release of the new updated Handbook “Women in Parliament – Beyond Numbers”, International IDEA in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Liberia hosted a seminar on “Women in Parliament” in Monrovia, Liberia. The keynote speech was held by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first woman president in Africa, who also wrote the foreword to the new Handbook.
  
  
• Women in Politics in Latin America, Caracas, Venezuela, 23 October 2003:
  IDEA co-hosted an event on Women’s Participation in Politics on 23 October 2003, with a panel of six Venezuelan experts and other experts from the region. Organized with the Mujeres Democrata-Cristianas de America (MUDCA), the meeting highlighted the Venezuelan and Latin American experiences on the issue of female participation in politics.
  
  
• Workshop held at the Liberal Internationals 52nd Congress: Islam and the West, Dakar, Senegal, 23 October 2003:
  International IDEA convened a workshop to present the handbook Les Femmes au parlement: Au-delà du nombre (Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers) and its key findings at the Liberal Internationals 52nd Congress. The workshop took place within the session “Enhancing Participation of Women in African Politics” shared with The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD).
  
  
• “Women’s Citizenship Week”, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 6 September 2003:
  IDEA participated, at the invitation of the Social and Political Institute for Women (ISPM) of Argentina, in the “Women's Citizenship Week of 2003”. The week's activities sought to commemorate Women's Citizenship Day (on 6 September). IDEA Board member, Ms Lourdes Flores Nano, presented the Spanish version of the handbook and IDEA's project on gender quotas.
  
  
• Celebration of International Women’s Day: Challenges to Women’s Participation in Politics and Public Life in Indonesia, 8 March 2003:
  International Women’s Day 2003 was celebrated in Jakarta at an event jointly organised by International IDEA and National Democratic Institute (NDI). The celebration, Challenges to Women’s Participation in Politics and Public Life provided opportunities for Indonesian MPs, political party members and civil society activists to share experiences and to promote women’s issues as an integral part of Indonesian political life.
  
• Les Femmes au parlement: Au-delà du nombre, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 4 March, 2003:
  An event on women in politics in Burkina Faso was organised by IDEA and the Centre for Democratic Governance (CDG). The workshop promoted and disseminated key findings of the French version of the handbook, ensured its appropriation by Members of Parliament, leaders of political parties, civil society activists and the media. See also Summary Report of Proceedings
  
  
• Congress of Peru, Lima, 24 February 2003:
  Jointly organised with the Second Vice-Presidency of the Congress of the Republic, International IDEA presented the Spanish version of the handbook to parliamentarians and civil society.
  
  
• Women in Political Parties, OAS Forum on Political Parties, Vancouver, Canada, 4-6 December, 2002:
  International IDEA was invited to present the Spanish handbook Mujeres en el Parlamento. Más allá de los números(Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers) at the Second Meeting of the OAS Forum on Political Parties held in Vancouver, British Colombia on December 4-6, 2002. The presentation took place in the session on Women and Party Finance Reform.
  
  
• Journada de reflexión sobre la participación política de las mujeres, Guatemala City, Guatemala, 12-14 November 2002:
  IDEA participated in a three day event on “The Participation of Women in Politics” jointly organised by IDEA, the Organisation of America States (OAS) and the Participation and Democracy Programme (PPD) in Guatemala.
  
  
• Strengthening Women’s Political Participation in Indonesia, September-October 2002:
  In 2002, International IDEA’s gender track included a National Conference and regional workshops on Strengthening Women’s Political Participation in Indonesia. The events were arranged in partnership with the Centre for Electoral Reform (CETRO), Women’s Political Caucus in Makassar and United Federation of Independent Women of North Sumatra.
  
  
• Women in Politics in Latin America Seminar, Women and Public Policy Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard, 19 March 2002:
  International IDEA, represented by Myriam Mendez-Montalvo, gave a seminar to faculty staff and students at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. The seminar focused on the political status of women in Latin America, and provided an overview of the major challenges that women face en route to political power in the region. 
  
  
• 50-50 by 2005: Get the Balance Right!, Manila, the Philippines, March 2001:
  Key findings of the Handbook, especially related to special measures available to increase the representation of women, were presented at this workshop on gender balance in political representation. Press release
  
   
• Les Femmes au Parlament-au Delà du Nombre, Benin, May 2000:
  A workshop and launch event was in Cotonou, co-hosted by IDEA and the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Press release
  
  
• Women in Politics in Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, May 2000:
  Co-organised with YJP (Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan) and the Centre for Legislative Development in the Philippines, a forum was convened to discuss how to increase the effective representation of women by articulating their own visions of, and agenda for, development and capacities required to implement it.
  
  
• Women in Parliament: Her Journey,  Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 1999:
  At this conference organised by Kyrgyz NGO, the Development of Human Space (DHS),International IDEA presented on the theme “Obstacles to women’s participation in parliament.” The conference drew together 50 participants including representatives of government, the Central Electoral Commission, women’s NGOs from across the country, political parties, mass media and members of parliament. Conference participants adopted a draft strategy for women, voters, the president, deputies of Zhogorku Kenesh (Kyrgyz Parliament), political parties, and mass media to work towards the introduction of quotas for women to the parliament and local government; the introduction of quotas for candidate nomination into the Law on Political Parties, and for electoral system reform (from a majoritarian to a proportional system).
  
  
• Reform is for Us Too: Politics for Women and Women for Politics, Jakarta, Indonesia, 11-12 May 1999:
  This meeting was jointly facilitated by International IDEA and YJP (Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan).By drawing participation from significant women's networks, International IDEA was able to convene a dialogue whereby many of the political issues as well as practical problems associated with limiting women's effective political participation in Indonesia were discussed, and proposals for reform were highlighted.
  
  
• The Women in Parliament Handbook was launched at the Fifth International Conference of Women Presiding over National Parliaments, held in Cape Town, South Africa (1998).
  
  Press Summary
  Press Release