UN Women in Action: Leadership and Political Participation

UN Women backs innovative government and community initiatives on women’s leadership and political participation. Some examples:

• In Kyrgyzstan, progress was made in the efforts to increase women’s participation in governance systems through campaigning for improved legislation and strategies on elections. Due to UN Women-supported advocacy efforts, policymakers are discussing the adoption of a 30% gender quota in local councils.
• In Turkey, 87 female political candidates and potential candidates participated in local workshops organized by UN Women that aimed to improve participants’ knowledge and skills as candidates and increase their confidence.
• UN Women continued to facilitate sub-regional networking between women Members of Parliament from Kosovo and Serbia through the Regional Women’s Lobby, which is aimed at improving the participation of women in politics and increasing cooperation between women in politics and civil society.
• In Kazakhstan, UN Women supported the inclusion of rural women in the social and political spheres of 15 villages through advocacy efforts and by increasing women’s capacity to participate in decision-making processes.
• More than 50 CSOs in Moldova are better able to support female political candidates and advocate for women’s equal participation in politics and decision-making through their participation in UN Women trainings.