Building Blocks for Gender Equality: What political parties can do to strengthen the participation and representation of women

Building Blocks for Gender Equality: What political parties can do to strengthen the participation and representation of women

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women, in partnership with the governments of Samoa and Australia, advocate for women’s political rights and through the implementation of the Increasing Political Participation of Women in Samoa (IPPWS) programme are providing training for those women who want to run for office. IPPWS’ trainings aims at supporting women to overcome the barriers they face by strenghtening their skills to exercise leadership and contribute to political life for the benefit of the entire nation.As part of the programme, UNDP and UNWomen launched a handbook titled “Building Blocks for Gender Equality: What Political Parties Can Do to Strengthen the Participation and Representation of Women.” The publication was written by Elizabeth Weir, Canadian national and senior international parliamentary expert, that is also facilitating the IPPWS trainings in Samoa. The publication identifies targeted interventions for promoting the stronger presence and influence of women in political parties. It highlights the benefits for the parties of taking action on Gender Equality, indicate effective measures for ensuring women’s participation in the operations of the party and provide ideas on how to offer financial and mentoring support to candidates during the election process.