Women’s Political Participation (WPP)
The evidence about women’s important role in political decision making is clear. Studies show that female politicians place greater emphasis on basic public services and set priorities that also reflect the concerns of disadvantaged population groups and those of women. At local level, it is often women who contribute significantly to better results in the sustainable management of natural resources, and they play important roles in preventing and overcoming conflicts in their community as well as in peace building processes. Their involvement is therefore important when it comes to deciding on the use of public budget funds, the distribution of public resources or proposed legislation and policies. Nevertheless, worldwide only 1/4 of members of parliament, 1/7 of heads of government/state and around 1/3 of local governments are women. At the current rate of progress (since 2006), it will take another 162 years to close the Political Empowerment Gender Gap.
The SDC is committed to change this imbalance with the political empowerment of women as well as the removal of institutional barriers, restricting laws, entrenched social norms and stereotypes that obstruct their equal participation in the political and public space. It takes into account that women’s life is influenced by many different factors (e.g. age, ethnicity, social status, etc.) and they face different forms of disadvantage and discrimination. This requires adapted solutions. More specifically the SDC promotes:
- Women’s political and leadership skills
- The representation of women in political institutions, civil society organizations or media, and their meaningful participation in political decision-making processes
- The empowerment of women’s organisations, networks or collective initiatives
- Awareness raising and dialogue to overcome restricting social norms and institutional barriers
- Women’s, role in conflict prevention, peace building processes and violence reduction