The Cohort on Gender equality as a pre-requisite for democracy was established to highlight and promote the connection between gender equality and democracy and to develop policy recommendations to bolster women’s participation in and contribution to democracy. The intent to launch the Cohort was announced at the first Summit with the high-level initiative on gender equality and women’s empowerment as the basis for democratic progress, co-hosted by Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

Research shows that the ability of women and girls to participate fully and equally in economic, social and political life is central to ensuring healthy, stable, prosperous and inclusive democracies. Their under-representation in positions of power and decision-making processes remains a serious challenge that undermines the legitimacy of any country’s democratic ideals. Inequality in gender representation was mirrored at the Summit for Democracy: of the 98 official statements made by countries, only 11 were made by women - 12 when taking into account the statement by the European Commission.

The expected outcomes are to produce a statement of commitments and policy recommendations for the Summit for Democracy. The recommendations will look at the issues of inclusion (economic, social and political), justice (formal laws and informal discrimination) and security (at individual, community and societal levels). In addition, the Cohort will serve as a global platform to call attention to the importance of gender equality in rebuilding societies after crisis and conflict. It is crucial that states address the harmful and rigid gender norms that hinder the full participation and representation of women in building innovative and resilient democracies. The recommendations were issued on 24 March 2023 and can be found in the documents on the right-hand side of the page. Recommendations were made relevant to each of the topics covered at the regional Summits. A roadmap for governments and civil society to implement the recommendations made will be released soon.

The Cohort conducted four regional dialogues between 7 and 14 December 2022, which focused on barriers for reforming democratic processes, institutions and legal frameworks, as well as sociocultural practices that prevent gender equality and women’s political empowerment. Reference groups on inclusion, justice and security were convened to provide input for the statement of commitments and policy recommendations.

Relevant documents released by the cohort can be found in the links on the righthand side of the page, and any public events are listed below. We invite you to use the contact form on this portal if you have any contributions or corrections regarding this cohort.

Co leads

• 
  Romania
• 
  Sweden
• 
  International IDEA
• 
  Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace & Security

Documents

• November 2022 Meeting Summary
• December 2022 Update
• Summary of Cohort Deliverables
• Statement of Recommendations