2024 is poised to be an unprecedented milestone in the annals of global democracy, heralding the most expansive election year in history. Globally, more voters than ever in history will head to the polls as at least 64 countries (plus the European Union) —representing a combined population of about 49% of the people in the world – will exercise their democratic right to vote. As these billions of citizens consider their votes, ensuring women get to take their place as representatives has never been more important.
We were delighted to attend the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) event which brought together political parties from around the globe to identify how to better support women’s leadership and ensure greater female representation. It was a truly inspiring and motivating gathering. The event was a cross-party initiative, organised by the WFD UK political party programme, and brought together political party representatives from across Africa, South America, the Far East and Europe.
We shared our expertise in building cross-party, civil society coalitions and learnt from others about how they deliver on gender equal representation in their own, sometimes conflict-riven, settings. Participants pledged to take action in relation to networks, positive measures, money and material resources, data and technology, selection processes in fragmented communities, and engaging a diverse talent pool. We look forward to further collaboration and learning.
Image of participants at the Women Lead conference. Credit Westminster Foundation for Democracy