No Democracy without Gender Equality?

To celebrate the International Women’s day, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland invites you to join the discussion “No Democracy without Gender Equality?”. Register here.

Gender equality is one of the fundamental elements of democracy, and democracy support is an effective vehicle to drive gender equality in societies. How can we best utilize the link to promote both democracy and gender equality?

The seminar provides the latest analysis from International IDEA on current trends and challenges to democracy, looking especially into the topic of gender equality. Canada and Finland – as the 2022 Chair and Vice-Chair of International IDEA – will share their approaches to supporting democracy and gender equality. We will also hear experiences from two democracy support practitioners, Demo Finland and the Rule of Law Centre.

Program  

• Opening words by Ms. Titta Maja, Director General for Development Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (TBC)
• Global State of Democracy 2021 and Gender equality: facts and figures, by Dr Seema Shah, Head of Democracy Assessment, International IDEA
• Discussion
• Comments:
  • A feminist approach to strengthening global democracy – the Canadian experience in supporting democracy and gender equality, by Jason Tolland, Ambassador of Canada to Finland
  • Strengthening the rule of law – its role for gender equality and democracy, Tuija Brax, Director, Rule of Law Center
  • Promoting inclusivity and gender equality in democracy support in Zambia, by Gary Klaukka, Executive Director, DEMO Finland
  • Discussion
  • Closing words by Katri Viinikka, Ambassador for Equality Issues, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Moderator: Lotta Valtonen, Senior Adviser, Democracy and Good Governance, Department for Development Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland