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The empowerment and
autonomy of women are essential for achieving a society in which
women and men are equal. Such empowerment must permeate political
structures at all levels. Women make up at least half of the electorate,
have obtained the right to vote in almost every country in the
world, and have proven their capabilities as decision-makers in
public life. However, they continue to be under-represented in
most levels of governments and in legislative bodies. Some countries
have even seen an alarming and significant decrease in the number
of women in legislative bodies. Women's equal participation in
political life is instrumental in enhancing the position of women
in society as a whole. It is a precondition not only to ensuring
that women's interests are taken into account by governments and
society but also to strengthening and making democracy work effectively
for the common good.
The traditional working
patterns, mechanisms and practices of most political parties and
parliamentary structures, as well as the political culture and
electoral systems that relegate women to the margins continue
to be barriers to women's proportionate and effective participation
in political life.
Socialisation, particularly
the stereotyping of women and men reinforce the notion that political
decision-making is the domain of men.
While Socialist International
Women welcomes the steps that have been taken by some political
parties and governments to increase the participation of women
in politics, it also recognises that much more needs to be done
and reiterates that an equal opportunity policy requires a strategy
for long-term change which involves a thorough review of the conception
and implementation of political policy, as well as the adoption
of affirmative action measures.
SIW, therefore, encourages
its member organisations to:
- encourage
and actively promote alliances among women's organisations
in order to coordinate activities and to give support to women
in political and elected positions;
- offer mentoring
programmes for young women, making use of the experiences and
examples of women in political positions which will assist young
women to acquire the knowledge needed for public office;
- strengthen
networking and co-ordination between the women politicians in
both developed and developing countries;
- share experiences
and develop co-operation through common activities and
projects.
Moreover, SIW calls
on Socialist International member parties to:
- examine
party structures, mechanisms and practices that discriminate
against the participation of women and replace these
with alternatives that will enhance women's interests, potential
and capabilities in politics and in governance;
- develop
and implement policies and adequately resourced programmes
to integrate, train and encourage women to participate in political
activities and elections. These policies would aim to implement
organisational measures (establishment of a women's section
within a political party), educational measures (organisation
of courses aimed particularly at preparing women for the role
of candidate or elected office holder) and logistical ones (provision
of child-care services and holding political meetings at times
compatible with family responsibilities);
- promote,
when non existent, the public financing of electoral campaigns,
to ensure that expenditures are transparent and increase the
participation of women;
- ensure that
party programmes and platforms adequately address issues and
concerns affecting women in specific ways to facilitate a higher
level of women's appreciation of the relevance of political
parties and governance in their lives;
- introduce
strategies for achieving equality between women and men, which
include positive actions such as quota and targets based on
gender-segregated data within a specific timeframe and establish
indicators and benchmarks to allow regular evaluation;
- implement
equal opportunity programmes which guarantee gender balanced
democratic representation in the composition of all decision-making
bodies and which incorporate gender-mainstreaming as a tool
designed for equality between women and men as a general aim
of the parties of the Socialist International; which help their
members towards a better work-life balance; and which definitively
strengthen the commitment to equality of the Socialist International
and its member parties.
Finally, Socialist
International Women urges governments to:
- ratify the
Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination
against women (CEDAW) and sign and ratify the
Optional Protocol to CEDAW where they have not done so;
- implement
the Beijing+5 Programme of Action adopted in June 2000 in New
York;
- review the
impact of electoral systems and political cultures on the political
representation of women and make progress towards gender parity,
a condition for granting subsidies;
- implement
the dual approach of gender-mainstreaming and positive action
in all policies, programmes and budgets, in order to clearly
identify their effects on women and men;
- review the criteria
for recruiting and appointing candidates to decision-making
bodies to ensure that such criteria do not discriminate against
women but promote their full and effective participation.
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