One Size Does Not Fit All - International IDEA

IntroductionPolitical participation by all citizens, men and women, is essential for strengtheningdemocratic systems and institutions that claim to be inclusive and representative. AAAAlthough women make up 50 per cent of the world’s population, in the political spherethey remain under-represented as political leaders, party leaders, candidates and electedofficials. This under-representation is one of the main obstacles to a public agenda thataddresses issues of interest to women. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANDI and International IDEA firmly believe that equitable participation by women inpolitics and government is essential for building and sustaining democracy. If democraticgovernments are to respond to citizens, they must betruly representative. This means recognizing that womenmust participate in democratic development processeson an equal footing with men. Women’s contributions‘In my experience, the fact thatI was a leader in congressallowed me to influence certainpieces of legislation and getthem onto the committees’daily or weekly agendas’.are crucial for building strong societies. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaInternational norms, such as the Convention on theCentral American congresswomanSee IPU, Politics: Women’s Insight,Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against2000, pp.30–315Women (CEDAW), the World Action Platform from6 7Beijing and the Quito Consensus, promote parity in representation of men and womenand highlight the role of legislatures in achieving the gender equity required of allsignatory states. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaIn Latin America, women hold 20 per cent of the seats in the lower houses of congressor unicameral legislatures. The process of increasing women’s representation has beenaccelerated in 12 countries by affirmative action measures, especially the use of electoralquotas.12