One Size Does Not Fit All - International IDEA

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ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL: LESSONS LEARNED FROM LEGISLATIVE GENDER COMMISSIONS AND CAUCUSESGraphic 1: Percentage of women in parliaments (lower house or unicameral), February 201050%40%30%20%10%38.536.8 32.328.2 27.5 25.420.8 20.7 19.7 19.0 18.0 18.015.0 14.1 13.0 12.0 9.0 8.58.40%ArgentinaCosta RicaEcuadorMexicoPeruBoliviaLatin AmericaNicaraguaDominican RepublicEl SalvadorHondurasVenezuelaChileUruguayParaguayGuatemalaBrazilPanamaColombiaSource: See Inter-Parliamentary Union (www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm)The impact of women’s participation in various spheres of public life, especiallyparliament, has become increasingly evident in recent decades. Many examples fromacross the world show that women can help to ensure that politics are: AAAAAAAAMore representative, by introducing new issues and different perspectives.Although having more women in elected office does not guarantee that they willrepresent women’s interests, it is an essential first step. Gender issues or matters ofparticular interest to women, such as domestic violence, sexual and reproductiverights, non-discrimination in the workplace, and childcare policies, which havetraditionally been excluded or considered non-priority issues by male legislators,have found a place on legislative agendas through the efforts of women legislators,often with support from women’s civil society organizations. Studies in countriessuch as India, Norway and the United Kingdom have shown that increasing genderequality in government can lead to public policies that are more responsive to8women’s needs. Women have also promoted gender mainstreaming in key areas ofnational policy other than those traditionally considered women’s issues, such as peaceprocesses, arms control, financial regulation, the environment and economic policy.IntroductionMore democratic, by promoting laws that foster gender equality and serve as the basisfor the design of public policies that promote a culture that accepts and facilitateswomen’s empowerment. Prominent women can serve as models to encouragecitizens to take ownership of their rights and participate more actively in a country’spolitical life. Studies in the United Kingdom have shown that in districts withfemale representatives, women also seemed to be more active citizens, demonstrating9greater political interest and willingness to help in campaigns. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa13
ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL: LESSONS LEARNED FROM LEGISLATIVE GENDER COMMISSIONS AND CAUCUSESMore transparent, because, as some studies indicate, women can be particularly10effective at promoting openness and accountability in government. According toone analysis, data from several countries show lower levels of corruption when there11are more women in parliament. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAThese concerns and an analysis of women’s contributions to building more effectiverepresentative democracies led us to re-examine the results of the regional conferenceof women parliamentarians, ‘Women Working Together: Promoting GenderMainstreaming in the Legislature’, as well as prior work undertaken by <strong>International</strong><strong>IDEA</strong> and NDI with women parliamentarians from different countries and existingstudies, to develop this guide and highlight the importance of defining mechanisms forcomparing and understanding what is happening in other countries. This guide has twogoals: to provide information about gender commissions and caucuses; and to serve as atool to help legislators, both male and female, implement best practices for promotinggender equality. It does not pretend to address all mechanisms for mainstreaminggender in parliaments or to serve as an academic study of commissions and caucuses. Onthe contrary, because one size does not fit all for such groups, the goal is to provideinformation and ideas about initiatives in which legislators have jointly promotedgender equality in their respective parliaments. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWe hope the best practices described in this guide will:AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAProvide more detailed information about establishing cross-party venues for dialogueand consensus building. aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPromote discussion and reflection on best practices for the establishment andworking of gender commissions and caucuses. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAInspire legislators to use some of the best practices, adapting them to the needsand processes of their own parliament. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaAChapter 1 presents arguments for the organization and participation of women in crosspartylegislative venues and describes options for achieving this, highlighting experiencefrom Latin America and a few countries from other regions of the world. Chapter 2describes experiences and best practices related to gender commissions and caucuses,based on actual cases. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA14
Page 5: One Size Does Not Fit All: Lessons
Page 12 and 13: Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledge
Page 16 and 17: Chapter 1WOMEN WORKING TOGETHER IN
Page 18 and 19: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL: LESSONS
Page 28 and 29: Chapter 2BEST PRACTICES:IDEAS FOR G
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Page 40 and 41: AppendixBibliographic sources for c
Page 42 and 43: National Democratic Institute for I
Page 44 and 45: International IDEAWhat is Internati
Page 46: Women make up 50 per cent of the wo

One Size Does Not Fit All - International IDEA

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