Strengthening Democratic Inclusion, Leadership and Empowerment

The challenge of achieving gender equality and inclusive representation of all people in electoral processes still faces significant barriers such as the under-representation of women, the persistence of gender-biased stereotypes, and the lack of comprehensive inclusion policies. These challenges underscore the urgent need for initiatives that not only empower women but also ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background or abilities, have equal access and participation in electoral processes. 

Responding to these multifaceted challenges, IFES’ Regional Europe Office (REO) launched the Regional Europe Network for Empowering Women in Elections (RENEWE). RENEWE’s mission is to enhance the participation and access of women in all aspects of election administration, recognizing their essential role in democratic governance and a holistic society. The creation of RENEWE aims to foster empowerment through experience-sharing and interactive workshops, strengthening women's leadership skills, and supporting mentorship and knowledge exchange. Moreover, the network focuses on building soft skills and developing tools, strategies, and good practices for electoral management bodies in the region to address challenges such as work-life balance, the lack of women representation, gender-biased stereotypes, and online hate speech. 

On the inclusion front, through various brainstorming sessions with organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), complemented by further research, IFES REO has identified that election management bodies (EMBs) in the region, lack a standalone inclusion policy. In response, REO partnered with IFES inclusion experts to develop a step-by-step guide for EMBs on how to create a customized equitable policy for wider participation. This initiative aims to support EMBs to become more inclusive and develop electoral practices that allow every citizen to participate safely in the election process.