Equality in Democracy

Högskolan Väst celebrates International Women's Day and as part of this, the Centrum för Hållbarhet (CFH) invites you to a lecture with Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, Senior Advisor in Democracy and Inclusion at International IDEA, on 8 March  2022, 12:05 -12:55  Stockholm time, via Zoom. 

The lecture theme is EQUALITY IN DEMOCRACY 

In its effort to advance and strengthen democracy worldwide, International IDEA affirms that "inclusive and accountable democratic institutions and processes are only possible if gender equality and inclusion of marginalised groups in democratic processes and institutions is attained".  In many parts of the world, gender inequalities and marginalisation remain deeply entrenched as societies are characterised by processes and systems marked by gender-based discriminatory practices and processes.  

Global evidence abounds to attest that equal rights that exist in law can be denied in practice as these rights are not always translated into substantive gains/reality. For instance, in several countries, women’s ability to stand for elective positions of power and decision making is restricted by political violence and conflict, gender-based violence as well as cultural barriers, which are sceptical about women’s decision-making capacity and are unsupportive of women’s participation and leadership. The Global Gender Gap report highlights that the gender gap in political empowerment remains the largest and at the current rate of progress, it is estimated that it will take 145.5 years to attain gender parity in politics. In 81 countries, there has never been a woman head of state, as of 15 January 2021.