Pathways of Women’s Empowerment links academics, activists and practitioners who are working to advance women’s empowerment through local, regional and global policy processes, thus allowing policy actors, researchers and civil society organisations to engage in dialogue collaboratively.
Four common themes have emerged through this work in relation to women’s empowerment and the diversity of pathways women take on their road to empowerment: empowerment and women’s work; politics, equality and voice; women, representation and sexuality; and understanding and evolving empowerment. These themes form the basis for education and learning within this online platform, and have been developed into four different study modules.
This particular module – Politics, Equality and Voice – explores factors which enable or constrain women from participating in politics. Case studies provide multiple examples of women who have been successful in engaging with politics and women’s rights in three different countries and contexts: post-conflict politics in Sierra Leone, gender-related law reform in Egypt, and participation in local politics in Ghana.
The module examines ways that greater fairness for women participating in politics can be achieved, highlights what it takes to successfully build a political structure committed to gender equality and justice, and details what is needed in order to hold those who make commitments for gender equality and justice to account.
There are many layers to female political participation, but a conclusive finding showed that there needs to be a broader focus on transforming the landscape of opportunities women have access to, while addressing restrictions in politics, the economy, and society. The module contains a wide range of resources and activities, including interactive comics, films, infographics, timelines, photo galleries and age appropriate texts.
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