Electoral Justice for All: A Practitioner’s Guide to Increasing Women’s Access to Electoral Justice
“The achievement of democracy presupposes a genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of affairs of society….”
- Universal Declaration on Democracy
A prerequisite for global and national peace and justice is the full and equal participation of women in all areas of political and public life. The active engagement of both women and men is also necessary for a resilient democracy. IFES supports women to increase their voices in democratic and electoral processes and works with governments, civil society organizations, and independent institutions so they are better prepared to advance women’s leadership.
While 2022 marked the first year that women held seats in the national legislatures of every country in the world, they constituted only 26.7 percent of parliamentarians, and only one-third of United Nations member states have ever had a woman head of state or head of government. Further, in 2022, only 22 percent of electoral management bodies (EMBs) worldwide were chaired by women.
The different needs of men, women, and people of diverse gender identities are often overlooked in the analysis, planning, implementation, and adjudication of electoral activities. The lack of gender-sensitive elections negatively impacts women’s participation as voters, candidates, and election administrators. Closing the gender gap in women’s political participation will require efforts by all electoral stakeholders – including to understand how electoral dispute resolution processes can better meet the needs of women. Gender-sensitive electoral justice sends an important message to prospective women leaders and all future political candidates about respect for the rule of law and is essential to increasing women’s representation.
In developing this practitioners’ guide, IFES analyzed the existing (if limited) research on women’s access to electoral justice as well as women’s access to justice generally. IFES also conducted original research, in the form of case studies and key informant interviews, to better understand women’s experiences with the electoral justice system and to inform a set of recommendations for a variety of electoral stakeholders. A brief summary of these recommendations, organized by stakeholder, is included in the table below and detailed in Section 4 of this guide.
