Equal Participation of Women & Men – Decision-Making – UN
Author: Womens UN Report Network
Date: February 19, 2006
Attachments: EGM UN Final Report 7 2 2006 (2).pdf
United Nations
Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)
Department of
Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA)
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
Equal Participation of
Women and Men in Decision-Making Processes,
with Particular Emphasis on
Political Participation and Leadership
Report of the Expert Group
Meeting
Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia
24 – 27 October 2005
Division for the Advancement of
Women
Department of Economic and Social
Affairs
2 UN Plaza, 12th
Floor
New York, NY 10017
Fax: (212) 963-3463
Email: daw@un.org
Website: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw
I.
INTRODUCTION
1.
In accordance
with its multi-year programme of work for 2001-2006, the Commission on the
Status of Women (CSW) will consider “Equal participation of women and men in
decision-making processes at all levels” as one of two thematic issues during
its fiftieth session in 2006. In order to contribute to a further understanding
of this issue and to assist the Commission in its deliberations, the United
Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) in the Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Union
(IPU) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), organized an Expert Group
Meeting (EGM) on “Equal participation of women and men in decision-making
processes, with particular emphasis on political participation and leadership”.
The EGM was hosted by the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, from 24 to 27 October 2005.
2.
The findings and
recommendations of the Expert Group Meeting will be presented at the panel
discussion on equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes
during the fiftieth session of the
Commission on the Status of Women.
3.
The expert group
meeting analyzed the current situation of women in decision-making
processes, with particular emphasis on women’s political participation and
leadership at the international, national, regional and local levels. It
discussed the conditions that facilitate women’s representation in
decision-making processes within the context of current socio-economic and
political transformations, and examined the linkages between women’s presence in
decision-making and their impact on the mainstreaming of a gender perspective
into policies and programmes. The expert group meeting adopted policy
recommendations to advance women’s participation and leadership through, inter alia, capacity-building,
coalition-building and gender-sensitive institutional policies, programmes and
mechanisms, based on the identification of the most promising practices and
lessons learned to date. The
report that follows is the outcome of deliberations of the independent
experts.
II. ORGANIZATION OF WORK
A. Participation
4.
The Expert Group
Meeting (EGM) on “Equal participation of women and men in decision-making
processes, with particular emphasis on political participation and leadership”
was attended by nine independent experts from different regions and six
observers (three from the United Nations, two members of parliament (MPs) and
one parliamentary staff person from Kenya), one consultant. Two representatives
from the Division for Advancement of Women, four representatives from ECA and
one representative from the IPU also attended the meeting (See annex
I).
B. Documentation
5.
The
documentation of the meeting consisted of:
– a background paper prepared by a
consultant on behalf of the Division for the Advancement of Women
–
an overview
paper prepared by IPU
–
twelve papers prepared by experts
–
two papers
prepared by observers
6.
This report and
all documentation relating to the meeting are available online at the website of
the Division for the Advancement of Women: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw.
C. Programme of
work
7.
At its opening session on 24 October 2005, the meeting adopted the
following programme of work (see Annex III):
–
Opening of the
meeting
–
Election of
officers and adoption of the programme of work
–
Presentation and
discussion of the Division for the Advancement of Women’s background paper and
papers prepared by experts and observers
–
Working groups
on issues and recommendations
–
Introduction of
draft report
–
Adoption of final
report
–
Closing session
D. Election of
officers
8.
The experts elected the following officers:
Chair:
Ms.Leslye Amede Obiora (Nigeria)
Rapporteur: Amy Mazur
(USA)
E. Working
groups
9.
Two
working groups were established:
– Working group I – “Increasing numbers”, rapporteur
Teresa Sacchet (Brazil)
– Working group II – “Women making a difference”,
rapporteur Fiona Macaulay (UK)
F.
Opening
statements
10.
The
meeting was opened by Ms. Thokozile Ruzvidzo, Officer in Charge, African Centre
for Gender and Development, (ACGD), a division of the ECA. In
her welcoming statement, Ms. Ruzvidzo noted the importance of the meeting on
equal participation of women and men in decision-making. She emphasized that the issue of women’s
participation in decision-making in Africa continued to be of serious
concern. However, due recognition
needed to be given to the progress that has been made on the continent. The
Africa Union Constitutive Act is a leading example, as it requires the African
Union to have a 50 percent representation of women commissioners. Such an
approach needs to be emulated in other institutions, including in the UN. She
indicated the full support of the African
Centre for Gender and Development
for the meeting and wished the experts a successful
outcome.
11.
Ms. Roselyn
Odera, Chief of Gender Analysis Section at the Division for the Advancement of
Women, presented a statement on behalf of Ms. Carolyn Hannan, Director of the
Division. She thanked IPU and ECA for collaboration in the preparation of the
meeting, and the ECA, in particular, for hosting the meeting. She
welcomed the international experts, members of Parliament, United Nations
system representatives and observers from governmental and non-governmental
organizations. In her statement, Ms. Hannan identified
major achievements and challenges in promoting women’s equal participation in
decision-making processes at all levels. She indicated that the expert group
meeting had a special significance for the fiftieth session of the Commission on
the Status of Women, and noted that the
conclusions and recommendations of the meeting would assist the Commission
in its deliberations on the thematic issue.
III.
BACKGROUND
A. Plan of the
report
12.
This report maps out various facets of the complex issue of the equal
participation of men and women in decision-making identified by the
experts. The report begins with a
section which presents the international policy framework, followed by the
conceptual framework for the report. Experts’ views in support of increasing
numbers of women in decision-making, the status of women in positions of power,
and the importance of going beyond numbers to assess the impact of women in top
positions are then discussed. The
issues of increasing the number of women and the quality of participation and
representation are examined in sections IV and V of the report. The report
concludes with the presentation of recommendations made by the experts in these
two key areas.
B. International policy
framework
13.
The Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, drew attention to the persisting inequality
between men and women in decision-making. The Beijing Platform for Action
reaffirmed that women’s persistent exclusion from formal politics, in
particular, raises a number of specific questions regarding the achievement of
effective democratic transformations, in practice. It undermines the concept of democracy,
which, by its nature, assumes that the right to vote and to be elected should be
equally applied to all citizens, both women and men. The absence of women from
political decision-making has a negative impact on the entire process of
democratization. In addition, democratic institutions, including parliament, do
not automatically achieve gender equality in terms of representation, or in
terms of policy agenda setting and accountability.
14.
The Beijing Platform for Action emphasized that “women’s equal
participation in decision-making is not only a demand for justice or democracy,
but can also be seen as a necessary condition for women’s interests to be taken
into account. Without the perspective of women at all levels of decision-making,
the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved.” (Para
181)
15.
The Beijing Platform for Action defined two strategic objectives in its
critical area of concern on women in power and decision-making:
-
to ensure women’s equal access to and full
participation in power structures and decision-making; - to increase women’s capacity to participate in
decision-making and leadership.
16.
The following measures were recommended by the Beijing Platform for
Action for the implementation of the first strategic objective: to achieve
gender-balanced composition in governmental bodies and committees, as well as in
public administration and in judiciary, including through setting specific
targets and, if necessary, establishing a positive action policy; to integrate
women into elective positions in political parties; to promote and protect
women’s political rights; and to reconcile work and family responsibilities for
both men and women.
17.
For the second strategic objective, the Platform for Action recommended
the organization of leadership and gender awareness training; the development of
transparent criteria for decision-making positions; and the creation of a system
of mentoring.
18.
To accelerate the implementation of action in these areas, the Commission
on the Status of Women, at its forty-first session in 1997, adopted Agreed
Conclusions (1997/2), which emphasized that attaining the goal of equal
participation of men and women in decision-making was important for
strengthening democracy and achieving the goals of sustainable development. The
Commission reaffirmed the need to identify and implement measures that would
redress the under-representation of women in decision-making, including through
the elimination of discriminatory practices and the introduction of positive
action programmes.
19.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, in its Article 7, called upon States parties “to take all appropriate
measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public
life of the country”. At its sixteenth session (1997), the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted general recommendation 23
regarding the participation of women in political and public life. It emphasized
that States parties should ensure that their constitutions and legislation
complied with the principles of the Convention and that they were under
obligation to take all necessary measures, including temporary special measures,
to achieve the equal representation of women in political and public
life.
20.
In its resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, the Security
Council also reaffirmed the important role of women in the prevention and
resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and stressed the importance of
their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the
maintenance and promotion of peace and security, as well as the need to increase
their role in decision-making.
21.
Taking into account the importance of increasing women’s participation in
positions of power and decision-making, the General Assembly, at its
fifty-eighth session in 2003, adopted resolution 58/142 on women and political
participation which urged Governments, the UN system, NGOs and other actors to
develop a comprehensive set of policies and programmes to increase women’s
participation in decision-making, including in conflict resolution and peace
processes by addressing the existing obstacles facing women in their struggle
for participation. The resolution
also addressed the importance of supporting and generating political will,
serious commitment to the promotion of the advancement of women and the goals of
gender equality through the organization of awareness raising campaigns. The
resolution requested the Secretary-General to include information on the
political participation of women in his report to the fiftieth session of the
Commission in 2006, when the Commission will consider the theme on equal
participation of women and men in decision-making processes at all
levels.
22.
The ten-year review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action culminated at the forty-ninth session of the
Commission in March 2005. Member States reported on the introduction of measures aimed at
increasing the participation of women in decision-making at different levels.
The Declaration adopted during the ten-year review and appraisal, while
recognizing progress made, noted remaining gaps and challenges and called for
accelerated implementation.
23.
The outcome of the September 2005 World
Summit also reaffirmed commitment to the equal participation of women and men in
decision-making. Member States resolved to promote the increased representation
of women in Government decision-making bodies, including through ensuring their
equal opportunity to participate fully in the political process.
C. Conceptual
Framework
24.
The experts discussed key issues arising from theoretical and
empirical insights made by scholars and activists working on issues of women’s
empowerment, political participation and representation. To understand equal
participation of women and men in decision-making processes, the following four
inter-related concepts were discussed:
·
Political participation, which allows for political agendas to
be developed by women ‘taking part in politics’ through a range of activities
such as discussion and debate, lobbying and activism in formal and informal
ways;
·
Political
representation,
which consists of the articulation and presentation of
political agendas of given groups by various actors in decision-making arenas
and key social forums in democratic societies. A range of actors and agencies can speak
for various interests and audiences, including political parties, members of
parliament, social movements and groups, as well as specific statebased agencies
promoting particular interests, such as national machineries for the advancement
of women. Group representation can be based on a variety of dimensions; for
example constituency interests, ascribed interests such as sex, ethnicity,
religion, and ideological interests – conservative, liberal or
socialist.
·
Political leadership, which cuts across both political
participation and political representation, by key individuals shaping political
agendas, taking the lead in articulating these and participating in their
translation into policy. The context in which these concepts are unfolding today
also needs to be taken into account.
·
Political accountability,
which is the requirement
for representatives and representative organizations to be responsible for their
decisions and mandates as defined by their positions. It also includes
representatives and leaders listening to and, when appropriate, acting upon
criticisms, requirements and demands of their publics, constituencies or the
electorate.
25.
The experts
agreed that women’s participation and representation in decision-making bodies
involves their enhanced presence as well as their empowerment through such
participation. They emphasized that women’s political leadership and
accountability are key cross-cutting issues. On the one hand, women’s political
leadership allows them to set agendas and, on the other hand, it is in such
roles that they are made responsive to constituencies and publics. This
accountability becomes the cornerstone for not only numerical enhancement of
women’s presence but also their ability to transform outcomes, the content and
the ways in which policy actors make public policy.
26.
The expert
group also emphasized the importance of studying these four concepts
systematically at all levels of governance: local, sub-national,
national, regional, sub-regional, transnational and international. In order to achieve women’s full
participation and representation at all levels, the establishment of mechanisms
to promote women’s presence in public office is of crucial importance. In addition, to fully achieve women’s
representation in political life, there must be gender equality across a full
range of decision-making levels:
·
the three branches of government – the legislature,
executive and judiciary—at all territorial levels including women’s policy
machineries;
·
non-state contexts such as trade unions, political parties,
interest groups, professional associations, and businesses/private sector;
·
Beyond national governance, women need to have a
decision-making presence in regional, sub-regional and international
organizations;
·
trans-national social
movements;
·
forums for the prevention and resolution of conflict and
peace building.
27.
The meeting
considered the importance of gender equality not only in decision-making arenas,
but also the interplay between the political and economic empowerment of women.
That is, how more women in positions of power can influence policies and
strategies for enhancing women’s economic opportunities and how, in turn, the
related enhancement of women’s economic status can provide better conditions for
accessing and ensuring effective participation in decision- making institutions.
D. Why more
women: Rationale, numbers, and beyond numbers
28.
Rationale
—
Both
practitioners and scholars agree that it is of utmost importance to have equal
numbers of women and men in political office. The meeting considered the following
arguments for this position:
·
The justice argument – women account for approximately
half the population and therefore have the right to be represented as
such.
·
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