Who works on WIP

Improving the representation of women in political leadership is an issue that cuts across CDI’s entire work program. This work recognizes that Pacific Island countries have repeatedly committed to promoting the advancement of women in different spheres of life, including that of political representation. The main goal of the CDI’s gender and political participation program is to work with focus countries to create an environment in which women can advocate on matters of policy, run for political office, be elected and govern effectively, and participate meaningfully in every facet of civic and political life. This requires a focus on gender relations: men’s and women’s roles, responsibilities and decision making in different areas of life, issues of power and control. Engaging men in this process is of utmost importance. CDI seeks to identify and engage with emerging leaders in its focus countries, namely, the countries of Melanesia. CDI works to identify and invest in future leaders who can act in the national interest of their countries, with a strong emphasis on nurturing and encouraging women and up-and-coming younger political leaders as a cross-cutting goal across their entire work program. For more information, click here.

UNDP is a global organisation committed to supporting UN member states and their people to achieve their national development goals. UNDP's mandate is strongly committed to promoting gender equality in all its work, including through support for women in politics. In the Pacific, UNDP has three country offices - the UNDP Fiji Multi-Country Office (which covers Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu), the UNDP Samoa Multi-Country Office (which covers Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau) and the UNDP PNG Country Office. Technical advisory services are provided to these offices by the UNDP Pacific Centre.

The Pacific Centre's Democratic Governance Team works closely with UNDP Country Offices, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and national stakeholders to support women in politics (including through the development and management of this website). UNDP worked closely with PIFS to support Mock Parliaments for Women. More broadly, UNDP Pacific offices support a number of national parliamentary strengthening projects, which offer opportunities for also promoting legislative and other reforms regarding women in politics. UNDP also supports candidates training, in collaboration with other partners, such as the Centre for Democratic Institutions.

The Gender Equality in Political Governance Programme (GEPG) is UN WOMEN Pacific’s major regional project in the key focus area of "Leadership and Participation". GEPG is a flagship programme for UN WOMEN Pacific and the AusAID Pacific Leadership Programme. It provides the community of practitioners working in governance in the Pacific with high-level gender expertise and experience and new strategic approaches to incorporate gender equality in governance in the region. The programme also provides the capacity to conduct quality research and develop and disseminate new knowledge to inform and strengthen work on gender equality in the context of governance across the Pacific Island countries.

GEPG is funded by AusAID with a contribution of AUS$6.2 million over a period of five years and also part-funded with UN WOMEN core funds. GEPG is supported to work regionally, sub-regionally, nationally and sub-nationally, and locally, serving 15 Pacific Island countries (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu). Additional presence and intensive outreach is provided to sub-national level in three Melanesian countries - PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu - where the status of women is low, the gender gap in all aspects of politics is high and the challenge to incorporate gender equality in governance is greatest.

GEPG provides technical assistance and training at all levels of society, and across key stakeholder groups and partner agencies, that share and contribute to building broad-based understanding of the democratic system of government; the role of elections, political parties, parliaments, local governments; the importance of constitutional provisions, laws, policies; and budgets related to governance institutions, mechanisms and processes. UNIFEM brings a gender perspective to this community of practitioners’ specialization, emphasizing, for example, the need to understand and focus on how different electoral systems limit or facilitate the inclusion and participation of women as both citizens and as leaders. For more information, click here.