Governance and gender
Assessing women’s political party programmes: best practices and recommendations
Handbook on women's participation in political parties
Authors:
S. McCollom; K. Haffert; A. Kozma
Publisher:
National Democratic Institute, 2008
This handbook presents the specific elements and approaches that are most effective in encouraging women’s participation and leadership in political parties.
The handbook draws mainly on NDI’s programmes to integrate and advance women within political parties and promote women’s political participation. However, the information gathered in this assessment is intended to be used by both individuals and organisations as a road map to help facilitate women’s political leadership worldwide.
Interviews with women in four countries – Morocco, Indonesia, Serbia and Nepal – provide the basis for the handbook. The interview data captures the character of the countries and reveal how women across regions share both challenges to political leadership and strategies to overcoming those barriers.
The best practices in women’s political participation programmes compiled here include strategic approaches that are widely effective and are also necessary elements of successful women’s political party efforts. These practices include:
- implementing consistent communications trainings
- focusing on building leadership skills
- planning initiatives that unite women across parties
- working with parties on internal reform
- training women to train other women
- developing the capacity and preparedness of elected women
- exchanging information internationally
- engaging youth as a way to change political attitudes and behavior.
Recommendations for strengthened efforts are consistent across a few key areas, which include:
- integrating men into initiatives to promote women’s political progress
- strengthening partnerships between civil society organiations and political parties
- increasing rural and grassroots outreach
- engaging women before and between elections
- creating opportunities for income generation and political financing for women
- providing tools to manage personal and political roles and responsibilities
- facilitating opportunities for networking and advocacy practice
- cultivating women role models
- better preparing international trainers.
