Women Leading in Parties and Campaigns International Republican Institute Regional Conference: Kenya, Sudan, Uganda Entebbe, Uganda, April 14-16, 2009 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The International Republican Institute (IRI) is working to advance women s leadership in political parties and elective offices through the Women s Democracy Network (WDN) and its country programs. The regional conference under the theme, Women Leading in Parties and Campaigns took place from April 14-16, 2009, at the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda. The 60 participants at the conference included women leaders from political parties and young upcoming women leaders from Sudan, Uganda and Kenya. The objectives of the regional conference were: 1. To develop strategies to overcome challenges of women in organizing in political parties, achieving leadership in political parties, and campaigning effectively for office both within and outside the party. 2. To build mentoring relations between senior and young women leaders to support the development of these strategies. 3. To establish formal and informal national and regional networks that can provide support and continuity for these strategies. STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING CHALLENGES OF WOMEN LEADING IN PARTIES AND CAMPAIGNS In the course of deliberations, challenges and strategies were identified in five key areas: 1) legal frameworks; 2) forming networks to support women in political leadership; 3) mentoring; 4) managing media relations; and 5) resource mobilization. Legal Frameworks Determine which affirmative action laws are effective and use these to get more women to participate in public political office. Electoral systems such as proportional representation and the list system are more conducive to getting women into power than the constituency based system. Affirmative action laws can also be used to source funding from different stakeholders in the women s movement which will enable women 1
to fund campaigns. Women must ensure that quotas do not merely produce tokens but quality female leaders Forming Networks to Support Women in Political Leadership Women need to get organised within party structures and in the broader political sphere, through women s leagues or other forms of organizations within parties. Women leaders should also create sisterhood networks to offer support, mentoring and practical tips to one another. Women need to stick with women of similar purpose even across party lines. Civil society partners are important as part of networking. They can help in campaign training, research, financing posters and campaign materials, and other areas. Regional networks that are committed to gender mainstreaming should be lobbied by women s groups as has been the case in Southern Africa. This creates policies that are gender sensitive and creates gender parity in decision-making. Participants were encouraged to see women s leagues as a stepping stone and not merely be restricted to working in women s leagues as the case of Southern Africa shows. Despite this, it is important to think of how women s leagues would benefit East African political parties and the place of women in representational and decision making bodies. The importance of women s activism in women s leagues such as the African National Congress (ANC) in getting women nominated by the party was emphasised. Women should also identify progressive men as allies as they build political alliances, keeping in mind that strong alliances are based on mutual benefits and interests. Mentoring Mentoring is critical for women that are making the transition to higher levels of leadership. It is important to draw on the experience of people who will encourage and guide you through your political journey. Mentoring enables senior women leaders to leave a legacy and provides a learning opportunity for young women leaders. The role of professional associations and women s networks, such as the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) in grooming leaders should not be underestimated. Mentors can also act as facilitators for resource mobilisation and campaign support. Media Women have to develop strategies for dealing with the media and negative publicity. Women leaders can work together to own media houses, sign agreements with media houses and publishers, court friendly journalists, use economic sanctions on negative media, and prepare for questions from journalists. Branding is an important tool that women should use to present themselves to the media and to the public. 2
Women should develop friendly media partners that would be available to interview women candidates and present them in a gender-sensitive light. Women leaders should consider inviting friendly media on campaign trips, so that they are able to get to know the women leaders and take them seriously. Women leaders should develop niches on critical issues, on which they can be easily identified by various stakeholders including the media. Resource Mobilisation Blending financial and non-monetary resources is crucial for women as they strive for political leadership. Key non-monetary resources include personnel, a core group of supporters, constructive media relations, partners in civil society, and effective mobilization skills. Fundraising skills need to be developed within political parties to provide women with logistical capacity for contesting elections. Women should also investigate methods like the Women in Local Governance Fund (WILGF) in Ghana that can provide financial support for women contesting for office. MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS In the course of the conference mentoring sessions were held on a wide range of topics. In addition, each country team developed a set of areas where mentoring would be valuable. Those areas were as follows. Sudan Public speaking and handling the media Bridging the gap between young women and senior women members How to be assertive and articulate on issues and priorities Uganda Kenya Resource and financial mobilisation Continuing the struggle for education of women and girls Getting the women s vote How to run an effective campaign amidst cultural challenges Campaign planning and strategising Giving young people a platform in political party activities and decision- making processes Representation in decision-making organs within the party and government Grooming and guidance on engagement with leaders within and outside the party Information sharing with all party organs including the youth leagues Capacity building on leadership skills among others 3
Resource mobilisation to support youth access to leadership Adopting succession and apprenticeship policies within party constitutions At the conclusion of the conference, aspiring young women leaders were encouraged to meet in small groups with a senior women leader who could become a mentor for them. These mentoring relationships will provide longer term support for the aspiring women leaders. IRI country offices and the WDN will provide follow up support for each of the mentoring relationships and track the progress made through mentoring. COUNTRY STRATEGIES To meet the challenges identified during the conference, each country team developed a strategy to support women leadership in parties and campaigns. The draft strategies are as follows: Uganda 1. With regard to legal framework, a political audit should be conducted to assess the performance of affirmative action at local and national level. 2. Ensure cross-party, intra-party and cross-generational networking as well as developing a common women s agenda. 3. Hold regular monitoring of the implementation of the minimum women s agenda. 4. Training in finance, running campaigns and creating a mentoring pool in which women leaders can interact. 5. Resource mobilisation: a manual will be developed and shared with IRI and WDN to be used to train women. 6. On April 22 nd 2009, a joint meeting of women leaders present at this conference will be held to develop a comprehensive work-plan that will be shared with IRI and WDN. Kenya 1. Legal framework: take advantage of current constitutional, legal and institutional reforms. Renegotiate a bill that demanded 50 slots for women representation at the district level. 2. Re-examine the Political Parties Act which was recently enacted to identify gaps that hinder women s participation. 3. Push for representation for as many women as possible in individual political party organs. 4. IRI and WDN were requested to facilitate a joint forum for women leaders in Kenya, to strategise on joint participation. 5. Sign a Memorandum of Understanding among women leaders that will bind visions and purposes of women across parties. 6. Build networks with civil society organisations. 7. Nurture a culture of inclusivity of young women in leadership. 4
8. Regarding media, change attitudes in dealings with media and organising an interactive forum that will cultivate beneficial relationships with the media. 9. IRI and WDN requested to facilitate training sessions on fundraising and resource mobilisation for women. Sudan 1. Teach women to understand the legal framework and electoral laws. 2. Encourage women to get identification documents to enable them to vote. 3. Civic education for women 4. IRI and WDN organise a workshop to build strong women networks. 5. Mentoring: young women leaders should mobilise women to vote and participate in politics. 6. Senior women leaders should be open to communication and sharing information with young leaders. 7. Training for young leaders in Darfur, Blue Nile and Abeyi area 8. Government should allow equal access to media and set aside funds to access airtime on radio and television stations. 9. Women should come up with joint programs across political parties. 10. Create income generating activities and pay membership fees in parties so as to have a small pool of funds. PARTNERSHIP SUPPORT WDN and IRI agreed to provide resource materials on mentoring for each country that will develop a mentoring program. IRI agreed to continue linking senior women leaders aspiring young women leaders with to support the development of their careers. 5