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and the Netherlands (38.7%). Of the countries withlegislated quotas, Rwanda has a minimum of 30%of their 26-seat Senate and 80-member Chamber ofDeputies reserved for women. They also reserve anotherthree seats for youth and disabled members.Rwanda is the only country with a female majorityin its national Parliament (56.3%). Ireland 23 has recentlyintroduced a bill that proposes to decreasestate funding to parties by half if a minimum of 30%of their electoral candidates are not women at thenext general election. Their required quota will beraised to 40% in the 2019 election.In the Pacific, UN Women Pacific’s GenderEquality in Political Government Programme 24 aimsto promote more representation at the politicallevel. Women’s participation in decision makingand women’s representation in Pacific parliamentsare among the lowest in the world, despite internationalcommitments to gender equality in CEDAW,the Beijing Platform for Action, the Millennium DevelopmentGoals and regional commitments to thePacific Platform for Action.Samoa 25 proposes to legislate for a 10% quotafor women, while Fiji already has a voluntary quotaof about 10%. 26 The Cook Islands does not have aquota system and its representation by womencurrently stands at 12.5%, all in the oppositionparty. Just before the 2010 elections in the CookIslands, the matter of special temporary measureswas raised in a community consultation by the PanPacific and Southeast Asia Women’s Association(PPSEAWA) Cook Islands. 27 Party leaders were noncommittalat the time, but recent actions by theopposition Democratic Party affirm a commitmentto women participants in the election process.The Pacific Regional Action Plan on Women, Peaceand Security (2012-2015) 28 was developed to addresswomen’s role in conflict prevention and peace buildingin the Pacific. Incorporated into the plan is “enhancedcapacity of governments to adopt measures to increasewomen’s representation and participation at alllevels of leadership and decision-making.” The plan iscoordinated by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariatand proposes to increase existing knowledge-buildingand advocacy efforts to support women’s politicalrepresentation in the region, and to introduce new23 www.quotaproject.org/uid/countryview.cfm?country=10224 unwomenpacific.org/pages.cfm/our-programmes/advancinggender-justice/gepg-design25 www.pacwip.org/future-elections/samoa26 www.pacwip.org/future-elections/fiji27 ppseawacookislands.wordpress.com28 www.forumsec.org.fj/resources/uploads/attachments/documents/Pacific%20Regional%20Action%20Plan%20on%20Women%20Peace%20and%20Security%20Final%20and%20Approved.pdfmeasures to support an increase in women’s representationand participation.Women in the Cook Islands do not experiencethe same extreme pressures against standing forelection as those in some other countries, becauseour history has demonstrated that women havebeen elected to leadership roles according to traditionalcustom in the past. So why are women todayless inclined to take on leadership positions in governmentdepartments or in parliament? And how dowe change people’s traditional voting behaviours sothat they will vote for a woman? 29Using ICTs to support the participationof women in Cook Islands politicsThe Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, inSection J, emphasises the need to “[i]ncrease theparticipation and access of women to expressionand decision-making in and through the media andnew technologies of communication.” 30 The GenevaDeclaration of Principles of the World Summit onthe Information Society (WSIS) affirmed that “developmentof ICTs [information and communicationstechnologies] provides enormous opportunities forwomen, who should be an integral part of and keyactors in the Information Society.” It also explicitlymentions the potential of ICTs to promote “genderequality and empowerment of women.” 31One of the key reasons for the reluctance of womento participate in party politics is the lack of informationabout what they might be getting themselves into.They fear the unknown. They do not think that theyare qualified to run for office. They are less competitive,less confident, and more risk averse. 32 Our twowomen members of parliament in Titikaveka (on Rarotongaisland) and Tamarua (on Mangaia) have provedthat women can do it. But what is required is a campaignto raise awareness about women leaders andtheir capacity for leadership. Despite the slow uptakeof the internet as a major ICT tool in the Cook Islands,the internet and related technologies are the means bywhich we can spread messages that will raise awarenessamongst women, as well as the wider community.The community needs to be educated about politicalparties and about the electoral process – how to voteand how to become involved. The Pacific Islands ICTPolicy 2002 33 focused on ICTs being used to inform and29 www.ndi.org/files/Global_Action_Plan_NDI_English.pdf - a set ofpractical recommendations to help political parties broaden theirappeal by becoming more inclusive and representative.30 www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/media.htm31 www.itu.int/wsis/docs/geneva/official/dop.html32 www.american.edu/spa/wpi/upload/2012-Men-Rule-Report-finalweb.pdf33 CROP ICT Working Group (2002) Pacific ICT Policy and Strategic Plan.109 / Global Information Society Watch