WUNRN
iKNOW Politics
E-Discussion - Working with Men to Promote Women in Politics
We are pleased to launch the iKNOW Politics E-Discussion on Working with Men to Promote Women in Politics to be held from March 16-31, 2009.The E-Discussion will create an opportunity for both men and women in politics to share their experiences, strategies and examples in building partnerships and addressing the imbalance for society as a whole when women are not involved in political processes. This E-Discussion will also seek to hear from men in politics on how they are supporting women in public life.
In the Beijing Platform for Action (1995), more than 180 governments agreed that ‘achieving the goal of equal participation of women and men in decision making will provide a balance that … is needed … to strengthen democracy and promote its proper functioning” (UN para.181). In most democracies these steps towards democracy centre on political parties, the channel of entry to national legislatures. Political parties around the world have been established, organized and dominated by men, who acted in their own interest and established rules and procedures that served their convenience. Azza Karam and Joni Lovenduski, state that, “until recently, this ‘institutional masculinity’ has been an invisible characteristic of legislatures; it is embedded, pervasive and taken for granted” (IPU, pp.188). However, the increase in the world average of women in parliament from 11.3 in 1995 to 18.4 in 2008 is an indication of the slow but steady efforts by women to devise strategies and take action to increase their numbers and promote issues relevant to women.
Women are running for public office in growing numbers, and are focusing on shaping ‘public policy-making and democratize[ing] power relations’ (Progress 2008,p.17). There are examples from Western Europe that show that where women MPs have a mission to effect change even small numbers can produce significant results to elicit the active participation of their male counterparts. According to a study by Mercedes Mateo Diaz of Belgian and Swedish legislators that as the numbers of women MPs increase it positively impacts their social representativeness and their legitimacy both within and outside the party. In the Nordic countries women have successfully worked with men to make parliamentary timetables, places of meeting, childcare provisions, working hours and travel arrangements more suitable for both women and men.
Similarly, there are countless examples from around the world that present invaluable strategies on women and men working together to address social issues by fostering cooperation between men and women in politics. Considering both the importance and value of this issue for increasing the numbers of women in politics, iKNOW Politics is pleased to launch this E-Discussion. The E-Discussion will be structured around the following general questions, which can be further developed by the participants.
http://www.iknowpolitics.org/en/ediscussion
To participate in the E-Discussion, you need to become an iKNOW Politics member. Click here to create an account.
Already a Member? Click here to log-in.
================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com.
Thank you.