Gender Equality

The Community of Democracies (CoD) is committed to the advancement of women’s participation in public life, in line with its Strategic Plan 2018-2023, which sets gender equality as one of the cross-cutting themes mainstreamed into all activities undertaken by the CoD, and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda that recognizes Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality, as crucial to the achievement of all SDGs.

In the recent years, the CoD efforts towards advancing gender equality in public life focused on two important areas: improving women’s political participation at all levels and engaging women in sustaining peace.

 

Examples of Activities

 

Action Plan on Gender-Responsive Budgeting

The purpose of a gender responsive budgeting is to promote accountability and transparency in fiscal planning and management, as well as to increase gender responsive participation in the budget process.

The Action Plan is intended as a voluntary tool to inform and assist member states in drafting their own gender responsive budget. It can be used to support national and local governmental initiatives on gender budgeting. It is recommended that the Action Plan is used in parallel with training or workshops on gender budgeting for public officials.

The Action Plan was launched in March 2023 at a side event of the CoD Working Group on Women and Democracy on the margins of the 67th Committee on the Status of Women.

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Policy Brief: Afghanistan and SDG5

The Taliban resurgence affected the lives of millions of Afghan women and girls. The Policy Brief: Afghanistan and SDG5, developed by Ms. Clare Hutchinson, former NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace, and Security, outlines the progress and challenges to implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Afghanistan until August 2021, particularly SDG5 on gender equality. Based on conversations with Afghans in the country and the diaspora, it also provides recommendations and actions.

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Women Leading in Crises: Interview Series

To shine a spotlight on women leaders, the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies developed a series of articles about women tirelessly working at the frontlines of crises, including in the pandemic, during natural disasters, political and economic crisis, and conflict. This interview series brings together a diverse set of voices of established and emerging women activists and politicians to discuss their experiences of leadership in each region of the world.

Go to the Stories

Women in Peacebuilding: Stories

Continuing the conversation on the importance of women’s involvement in peace efforts, the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies conducted interviews with women leaders in peacebuilding and peacekeeping to present their stories to the public and highlight the many achievements of women in sustaining peace as well as challenges to their participation in these settings.

Go to the Stories

Engaging Women in Sustaining Peace: A Guide to Best Practices 

Evidence shows that peacebuilding and reconciliation processes have higher rates of success, and more likely to last, when women are meaningfully involved. Echoing the seven commitments of the action plan for gender-responsive peacebuilding outlined by the UN Secretary General in 2010, the publication identifies best practices in women’s participation in conflict resolution and peacebuilding from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as challenges that women face in these post-conflict settings.

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The Working Group on Women and Democracy 

The Working Group brings together governments and civil society committed to the common goal of achieving gender equality and ensuring meaningful women’s participation in public life and is determined to take concrete actions towards that aim. The Working Group is co-chaired by Finland and Lithuania.

 

Strengthening Civic and Political Participation of Women in The Gambia 

Implemented by a project partner Westminster Foundation for Democracy and generously supported by CoD Member State the Republic of Korea, the project aimed to support participation of women in public life in The Gambia. Read more 

Advancing Women’s Political Participation project

Gender equality and political empowerment of women are key elements for the consolidation of sustainable democracies worldwide. To support women’s participation in politics, the Community of Democracies, in cooperation with International IDEA and the UNDP, organized regional consultations on women’s political empowerment. The consultations were followed with the regional reports on advancing women’s participation: Asian Regional Report, MENA Regional Report, African Regional Report, Americas Regional Report and European Regional Report.