‘Advancing women’s political and economic participation is fundamental to a vibrant and durable democracy’– highlighted SG Thomas E. Garrett in his welcome remarks at the panel discussion on  ‘Women’s Political Participation in Local Government’, held on October 16th by the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies in cooperation with the Working Group on Women and Democracy, chaired by Ms. Audra Čiapienė.  The event was kindly hosted by the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the United Nations in New York.

The panel discussed the role and impact of women in decision-making at different levels of local government, with the aim to highlight the valuable contributions that women mayors, governors and representatives of local governments make to inclusive, representative democracies, as well as the challenges faced by women in such roles. The discussion provided a platform to share best practices and challenges regarding women’s meaningful participation in  politics, highligting possible concerted actions to respond to these challenges.

Thank you to all the panelists for sharing their knowledge and expertise:

• Roheyatou Lowe, Lord Mayor of Banjul, The Gambia
• Yuliya Svitlychna, Governor of Kharkiv Region, Ukraine
• Dr. Sabine Freizer, Chief, Leadership and Governance, UN Women 
• Aroa Santiago, Inclusive and Equitable Development Specialist, Gender Team, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, United Nations Development Programme

The event was made possible thanks to a generous support provided by the Republic of Korea.