Gender and Governance

Until women are represented more fully in local, national and international decision-making bodies, their priorities will not receive needed resources. Today, women hold only 17 percent of parliamentary seats worldwide. Women in conflict, post-conflict, and transitional environments are particularly disadvantaged.

CEDPA is dedicated to assuring women’s greater participation in governance as a step to building stronger societies. For 30 years, we have worked together with local organizations to support an equal role for women in their communities and nations.

CEDPA’s programs raise awareness and provide women with the tools to build more just societies. We partner with communities to register voters, raise women’s voices within peace efforts, mobilize advocates for better public policy and increase women’s political participation.

Our Success

Since 1995, CEDPA has managed projects to strengthen the ability of actors for civil society to hold their governments accountable for their issues, priorities and concerns.

In countries emerging from conflict, there is a window of opportunity to ensure that women are involved in the process of creating new policy frameworks, institutional and governing structures, and new democratic cultures. This holds the potential that their issues and concerns are addressed at the earliest possible point.

In Nepal, CEDPA strengthen communities and their response to the decade of conflict by engaging local organizations and activists in conflict mitigation, victim assistance and peace-building. In collaboration with our local partner, community gathering sites were set up to serve as resource centers for victims of conflict, providing support services, youth internship placements, and referrals to informal education to develop skills needed to earn a livelihood.

In Nigeria, CEDPA has spearheaded initiatives to engage civil society organizations and leaders in promoting electoral and constitutional reform, advocating for greater transparency and accountability in government, and averting and managing conflicts among interest groups. We have worked to mobilize women voters in every Nigerian election since the restoration of democracy there in 1999. During the 2003 elections, CEDPA managed the deployment of 4,600 monitors in 19 of Nigeria’s 36 states; this was the largest election monitoring effort involving women and Muslims in Nigeria’s history.

Worldwide, we have strengthened women’s leadership skills through CEDPA's global training programs. Our alumni have gone on to become vice presidents, ministers and parliamentarians in their nations.

Moving Forward

CEDPA will continue to build the leadership of strong women’s groups and other key civil society sector organizations and provide advocacy skills training that will give women a greater voice in developing the political and economic agendas of their countries and communities.

We will develop, support and test strategic tools and interventions in conflict transformation and peace-building, collaborating with and learning from a variety of partners and emerging leaders in the field in response to a strong mandate from our global partners.