Stories
- Women’s movements (35)
- Leadership and political participation (31)
- Political empowerment (21)
- Citizen engagement (10)
- Electoral systems and processes (9)
- Decision-making (8)
- Gender equality and women’s empowerment (7)
- Parliamentary development (6)
- Constitutions and legal reform (6)
- Civil society participation (6)
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Tuesday, September 7, 2021
“Women’s political participation is a fundamental prerequisite for gender equality and genuine democracy. Women’s participation in all walks of life is essential for an inclusive, strong, and prosperous society in Afghanistan, both to meet the many challenges the country faces today and to succeed tomorrow. It is therefore critical that political decision-making processes are participatory, responsive, equitable, and inclusive,” stated Pramila Patten.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
UN Women will host the first all-Black, all-women global selling exhibition and auction titled “A Force for Change”, with proceeds benefiting Black women across the world and the participating artists. The exhibition will be open to the public in New York City from 27 to 31 July 2021, with an online auction hosted on Artsy from 16 to 30 July 2021, closing at 2pm EDT.
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Elena Crasmari decided to run for office so that the local administration could meet the needs of all members of her community. She won a local councillor seat, making her the only woman on a nine-person team, and one of six local councillors with a disability in Moldova, out of 10,472 local councillors.
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Building back better from COVID-19 needs investment in feminist, grass-roots leadership. Yet, direct funding to women’s organizations accounts for less than one per cent of the global official development assistance provided for gender equality. In six stories, learn about the critical support that grass-roots women leaders and their organizations bring to their communities.
Women leaders galvanize for UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign
Friday, September 27, 2019
At a high-level event during the 74th UN General Assembly, UN Women and the Council of Women World Leaders came together to lend their voices and power to the Generation Equality campaign.
Press release: To accelerate gender equality, UN Women launches a Call to Action to parliamentarians
Thursday, June 27, 2019
In the lead up to the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+25) and UN Women’s ground-breaking campaign commemorating the anniversary, “Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights for an equal future”, UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, today called upon global parliamentarians to build on the experiences and best practices from Member States on how to achieve a gender equal world via legislation and parliamentary work.
Women rising: Women’s activism that has shaped the world as you know it
Friday, March 1, 2019
On International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating women activists around the world who have insisted on a better world and persisted in the face of adversity.
Across Latin America, women fight back against violence in politics
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Currently, Latin America is leading globally in local and parliamentary positions held by women. But the journey to political participation is fraught with rising violence and intimidation against women in politics. In the age of #MeToo, we bring you the voices of Latin American women who are raising their voices and running for office, against all odds.
Monday, April 30, 2018
Remarks by Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka at the African Women Leaders Network: Second Women Leaders Forum for Africa’s Transformation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Monday, April 23, 2018
The “Second Women Leaders Forum for Africa’s Transformation” of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) will run from 24 to 26 April at the African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, under the theme, “Women Working Together for the Africa We Want: From Commitment to Action”.
Local women’s networks drive gender equality in rural Serbia
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
In rural Serbia, where the political and economic landscape is primarily dominated by men and few women participate in decision-making, local Women Councilors Networks set up with support from UN Women are challenging the status quo.
Editorial spotlight: International Day of Democracy 2017
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Democracy, sustainable peace and conflict prevention cannot be achieved if women—half of the population—are left behind. This year's International Day of Democracy (15 September) theme, “Democracy and Conflict Prevention”, calls for “strong leadership to support democracy, strengthen civil society, empower women and uphold the rule of law”.
Liberia elections: Making 2017 count for women
Monday, August 7, 2017
In October 2017, Liberians will head to the polls to vote, as President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female Head of State, completes her second and final term tenure this year. Women constitute half of the over two million people who have registered to vote, according to Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC). UN Women is working with Liberian civil society organizations, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the NEC and the media to boost...
In Kenya, women gear up for county elections
Monday, July 24, 2017
UN Women is working with community elders to break the cultural barriers to women’s political participation. For the upcoming general elections on 8 August, hopes are running high among women candidates. A total of nine women are competing for Governors, 115 as members of the National Assembly, 25 as senators’ and 261 as members of the County Assemblies.
Press Release: New platform launched to galvanize and boost women’s leadership of Africa
Friday, June 2, 2017
UN Women, the African Union Commission, and the Permanent Mission of Germany today launched the African Women Leaders Network, a ground-breaking initiative that seeks to enhance the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa with a focus on governance, peace and stability.
Women’s political participation gains momentum in Moldova
Monday, September 26, 2016
As of 2015, Moldova ranked 64 in terms of women’s representation in the Parliament, with women holding only 22 per cent of seats in the lower house. UN Women-UNDP collaboration with the government and the Parliament contributed towards the adoption of a new law on 14 April, 2016, which for the first time, introduced gender quotas for party list candidates and cabinet nominees. Law No. 71 says that women and men must each make up a minimum of 40 per cent of every political party’s candidates and of cabinet nominees, and amends 15 other national laws.
Tunisia moves closer to achieving gender equality in politics
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Tunisia’s Parliament has approved an amendment ensuring that women have greater representation in local politics. This amendment, which applies to both municipal and regional elections, includes a proposal for “horizontal and vertical” gender parity in Article 49 of the electoral law.
Calming tensions and spurring women to vote in Haiti
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Nadege Beauvil reflects on her work with local grass-roots women's organization on projects to spur women to vote in Haiti.
Local budgets in Albania respond to community feedback
Thursday, May 5, 2016
A UN Women-led campaign results in Albania’s first-ever community budget consultations and brings immediate benefits to those in need.
"In Brazil, women will be at the forefront of ending racism" — Executive Director
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Speech by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka at the March of Black Women in Brazil on 18 November.