CREATED BY SUSAN MARKHAM NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE OCTOBER 2013 VIRGINIA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE WOMEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT LUNCHEON Women as Equal Partners in the Process of Democratic Development Education Maternal Health Employment Early Marriage Peace Land Ownership Violence Against Women Women in Parliament Women as Ministers and Heads of State Why Women? The political participation of women results in tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and more sustainable peace. ~ Madeleine Albright Why Women? Higher standards of living Why Women? Marginalized voters represented Why Women? Collaborative leadership styles Why Women? Party lines crossed Why Women? Responsive to constituency needs Why Women? Peace builders Conditions for Womens Participation Reasonable access to positions of power Conditions for Womens Participation Transparency in political and legislative processes Conditions for Womens Participation Citizens must be willing to accept new ideas about gender roles in society Conditions for Womens Participation Ability of women to attain financial autonomy or access to economic resources Conditions for Womens Participation Political will National Democratic Institute NDI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that has supported democratic institutions and practices in every region of the world for more than two decades. Womens Political Participation at NDI NDI believes that equitable participation of women in politics and government is essential to building and sustaining democracy. NDI Program Areas Citizen Participation Political Parties Governance Elections Special Initiatives and Partnerships Information and Communication Technologies Monitoring and Evaluation Key Concepts Sex vs. gender Key Concepts Women are not a homogeneous group Key Concepts Gender mainstreaming Key Concepts Engaging men to empower women Why not more women? The future Thank you Susan A. Markham Director, Women's Political Participation | National Democratic Institute (NDI) Tel: (202) | | Skype: smarkham63|| Twitter: ndiwomen