One Size Does Not Fit All - International IDEA

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Chapter 1WOMEN WORKING TOGETHER IN PARLIAMENT:FORMS OF ORGANIZATIONObjective: to provide descriptive information about different ways in which womenparliamentarians organize to advance their interests more efficiently. AAAAAAAAA1. Why do women organize in the legislature? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAs is noted in the introduction, it is important that there is a significant number ofwomen in the legislature, because they can influence the issues on the agenda and thedraft legislation that is presented. Nonetheless, the presence of women in the legislaturedoes not guarantee changes in the visions and practices of parliaments, which areinstitutions designed by men and which remain dominated by men in areas including12their structure and internal functioning. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIn addition, in many Latin American countries, the number of women legislators remainstoo small to substantially or effectively change the agenda and dynamics of the legislature.This leads us to ask whether it is possible for women to bring about change in thelegislature even when they are a minority. How can women legislators have an impacton their parliaments, especially when they are few in number? AAAAAAAAAAAAResearch in various countries around the world show that major changes often dependon the collective efforts of parliamentarians who have decided to work together topromote specific reforms. At the same time, gender commissions and caucuses have13expanded their influence in many areas. When we refer to commissions, we mean thoseinstitutionalized legislative groups with functions that include detailed analysis of draftlegislation, proposing new policies and laws, issuing opinions and monitoring publicadministration. When we speak of caucuses, we refer to informal groups of womenlegislators who channel the women’s interests and concerns within parliament. Thesegroups have a variety of functions. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAACommissions and caucuses: AAAAAAAAAAAAAqqqqqqqqqqqqqAAAAAAAAAAaHelp define the issues on the political agenda and set priorities, carry out detailedanalysis of draft legislation and propose new policies and legislation. They raise publicawareness and keep citizens informed. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA15
ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL: LESSONS LEARNED FROM LEGISLATIVE GENDER COMMISSIONS AND CAUCUSESFacilitate the participation of civil society organizations in the development of thepublic and political agenda. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAct as a safeguard to ensure that affected groups and individuals are aware of anylegislation being debated that affects them; in particular, they are a visible andaccessible contact point for women on issues that affect them. AAAAAAAAAAAAMonitor compliance with legislation and executive branch actions on gender issues.The work of many gender caucuses goes beyond developing and promoting publicpolicies. They often sponsor programmes, meetings, activities and workshops to helpwomen in parliament become stronger political actors, acquire skills and legislateefficiently, understand and work within internal parliamentary rules, bring about changein male political cultures and practices, and build solidarity and gender awareness. Forexample: aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAThe Women’s Caucus of Uganda holds workshops for women delegates onspeechmaking, building a voter base, forging coalitions, parliamentary procedures14and related matters. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIn Morocco, the Parliamentary Women’s Network organized a workshop to train15participants on conflict resolution and negotiating techniques. AAAAAAAAAAAIn Uruguay, the Bicameral Women’s Caucus has held seminars on gender and genderbudgeting and has proposed ways to mainstream gender in reforms of criminaland procedural legislation. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAThe best-practices section of this guide provides more detail about these and otherinitiatives. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA2. What are the options?AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWomen in legislatures have found organizing across party lines to be useful for advancingissues of interest to them in parliament. Different experiences around the world showthat there is no single model of organization. Instead, there are multiple options forstructuring the cross-party venues for consensus building. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIn their broadest sense, cross-party forums of women legislators comprise a spectrumfrom formal, structured bodies, such as gender commissions, to informal, possibly lessstructured bodies, such as gender caucuses. Along the spectrum are many variedpermutations of ways to build consensus. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA16
Page 5: One Size Does Not Fit All: Lessons
Page 12 and 13: Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledge
Page 14 and 15: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL: LESSONS
Page 28 and 29: Chapter 2BEST PRACTICES:IDEAS FOR G
Page 38 and 39: Notes123456910111213141516171819202
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

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