CIAO DATE: 10/2008
February 2008
This set of ten papers brings together lessons and experience on women's leadership and participation from Oxfam GB and its partners.
The right to participate in decision-making at the local, national, and international level is one which women are often denied, whether as active citizens or as leaders. In particular, women living in poverty often have very little opportunity to influence decisions and policies that will have a direct influence on their lives and livelihoods, and on the welfare of themselves and their communities.
Engaging more women to participate in decision-making will ensure that their perspectives and needs are more likely to be reflected, as these case studies illustrate.
The case studies illustrate methodological approaches and learning points. They cover a range of issues, from women's participation in national elections to female decision-making in community livelihood initiatives.
Women’s Leadership and Participation: Overview
Pa Kite M Deyo! Don’t Leave Me Out!: Haitian women demand their right to participate in public affairs
The legacy of years of violent political turmoil and entrenched ideas about gender roles makes it very difficult for women in Haiti to be active in the political arena, despite the fact that many have already proved themselves to be dynamic and able leaders of their communities. This paper describes the work of women’s-rights organisation Fanm Yo La in mobilising women to vote and to hold their elected representatives to account, and in supporting women candidates before and after election.
Creating the Space to Empower Women Fishers: Lessons from the Philippines
Oxfam GB’s Leadership Development Programme for Women works with four partners in the Philippines. The work involves assessing how far gender is mainstreamed into programme work, and developing action plans to ensure that women working in the fishing industry play a more active role in community-based coastal resource management and in designing fisheries policy reforms. In the course of this work, participants identified the steps necessary to establish a favourable environment for encouraging and supporting more women to become leaders in the fishing sector.
Strengthening the Voices of Women Leaders: Lessons from Cambodia
Recent reforms mean women in Cambodia now have the opportunity to stand for election to local councils. But many women councillors face discrimination and hostility from their male colleagues, and feel that they lack the skills and confidence to carry out their roles effectively. This paper describes the work of Women For Prosperity, which has helped many women councillors in Cambodia to challenge discrimination, forge positive working relationships with their colleagues, and fulfil their responsibilities as elected officials to the people in their communities.
Breaking the Barriers: Sierra Leonean women on the march
Women in Sierra Leone are under-represented in politics and over-represented among poor people. This paper describes the activities of two projects – the Women In Leadership project and its successor, the Promoting A Culture of Equal Representation project – that have aimed to increase the numbers of women in local and national government. In so doing, they have helped female election candidates to overcome some of the considerable barriers facing them.
Raising Voices: Training for empowerment for women experiencing poverty in Britain
The UK may be a developed country, but almost 25 per cent of the population live below the poverty line. Women experience higher levels of poverty than men, just as they do in other parts of the world. Encouraging and supporting poor women to voice their own experiences and speak out to challenge the inequality that they face are vital to overcoming poverty in the UK. Recognising this, Oxfam GB has worked with partner organisations to enable women to meet with and lobby the civil servants and politicians who make decisions that impact on their lives.
Women’s Leadership in Economic Change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel
Arab-Israeli women are one of the most marginalised and invisible groups within Israeli society. Many have been adversely affected by the ‘Wisconsin Plan’, a welfare-to-work programme introduced by the Israeli government in 2005, that Oxfam’s partner, Sawt el-Amel, has been active in opposing. In response to the hardship that the plan has brought to themselves and their families, women have become active in leading popular opposition to the Plan. This is a significant and unprecedented move in their conservative communities, where women’s presence in the public sphere has traditionally not been accepted.
Advocacy and National Elections: Women’s political participation in Honduras
This paper discusses Oxfam’s advocacy work in Honduras on women’s political rights, and women’s leadership and empowerment in the political sphere. Beginning with an overview of the constraints that women face if they wish to participate in politics, the paper then goes on to discuss Oxfam’s advocacy and campaigning activities during and after the 2005 election period. These include lobbying and advocacy on political reform, campaigning to encourage people to consider voting for female candidates, and promoting women’s leadership and political empowerment.
Fighting for Women’s Rights in Chile: Supporting women workers and promoting women’s political participation
Despite being considered one of the most economically successful countries in Latin America, Chile is marked by high levels of social inequality. Women working in the agricultural and fish-farming sectors are particularly marginalised, and often work in unacceptable conditions, with little opportunity to challenge exploitative practices or to influence political decisions. This paper describes Oxfam GB’s strategies to increase women’s leadership and participation in economic and political sectors. It looks at the impact of these strategies and presents lessons learned.
Useful resources
Resource link: Programme Insights: Learning for Action on Women's Leadership and Participation [PDF] - 167K
Secondary Resources: