Strengthening Women’s Political Leadership and Participation

Strategic Objective: Improve women’s representation and participation in political leadership at national and local levels. We will join forces with UN Women and other key stakeholders to support the implementation of the general recommendation No 40. on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems.

As part of our commitment to inclusive democratic governance, Club de Madrid works to advance women’s representation and leadership at all levels of political decision-making. In collaboration with UN Women and other key partners, we support equal and inclusive representation in decision-making systems. Through targeted research, advocacy for parity laws, and engagement in multilateral spaces, we are driving forward initiatives in countries such as  Honduras, Guatemala, Armenia, and Morocco to dismantle barriers and empower women as political leaders.

  • Promotion of Women’s Participation in Honduras

Our work in Honduras promoting women’s political participation to a better democracy

    • At a local level
      • The equality of women’s participation and political representation is essential to building strong democracies and ensuring inclusive decision-making. In Latin America, despite women representing approximately 50% of the population, their presence in decision-making remains unequal across all countries in the region. In Honduras, women make up 52% of the population and 54% of the electoral roll; however, they hold only 27% of seats in the National Congress and a mere 6% of mayoral positions. To advance toward a gender-equal, transparent, and inclusive democracy, it is urgent to develop regulatory frameworks that guarantee gender parity in power. Furthermore, political violence against women remains a serious obstacle, as it seeks to discourage their participation, hindering progress toward more just, equitable, and inclusive societies. For this reason, Club de Madrid, in collaboration with CIPE Honduras, UN Women, and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), is joining the campaign “More Women, More Democracy!”
      • This campaign has been led by the female mayors of Honduras, who, through their testimonies, share the challenges and opportunities they face as women in municipal politics. These leaders share their experiences and invite us to reflect on one of the greatest obstacles on their path to public life: political violence. In this effort, they have joined with other civil society actors to push for the approval of the Law to Prevent and Sanction Political Violence, a key regulation needed to build safer and more inclusive democracies.

Watch here all the vídeos | Women Mayors in Honduras

    • At a national level:
      • Vice-President of Club de Madrid and President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, visited Honduras with the aim of promoting women’s political participation and fighting against gender-based violence in the political arena. Through the Ellas+ programme of the AECID and Club de Madrid in close collaboration with UN Women Honduras, this initiative aims to increase and qualify the levels of citizen participation and advocacy of women in spaces of power and decision-making, fostering the conditions for a more active citizenship that protects and promotes the rights of women and girls.

Michelle Bachelet visits Honduras to promote women’s political participation

 

Vídeo | CdM Vice-President Bachelet visits Honduras