CIWiL Training for Women Electoral Candidates – 2025 Edition
Women’s participation in political leadership is an inalienable right and a prerequisite for inclusive democracy, gender equality and good governance. The right of every person to participate in all political and public affairs is protected in various international human rights instruments. Target 5.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls on governments to ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life. Indicator 5.5.1 specifically requires measurement of the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments and local governments.
CEDAW General Recommendation 23 on Political and Public Life calls on governments to take appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life to ensure that women, on equal terms with men, are able to “vote in all elections and public referendums and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies; to participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government; and to participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country.” CEDAW General Recommendation 40 makes it clear that “equal and inclusive representation” requires no less than 50-50 parity between women and men.
Despite these ideals, globally, women continue to be marginalized from the political sphere, often as a result of discriminatory laws, practices and attitudes and gender stereotypes, low levels of education, lack of access to health care and the disproportionate effect of poverty on women. Moreover, men continue to act as gatekeepers for entry into political spaces while women are primarily deployed as party and recruitment agents (Scatliffe 2012) Additionally, women must navigate a complex socio-cultural system of exclusion which relegates them to traditional caretaker roles. This grim reality is also reflected at the regional level. Even where women have managed to enter the political arena, this has not always translated into an increase of women in other political positions or in the creation of targeted legislation and policy aimed at tangibly improving women’s lives.
One reason is the continued lack of enabling conditions for women politicians to fully exercise the power conferred by their professional roles in the same way as their male counterparts. An IPU study on the experiences of women members of national parliaments found that sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians are very real and widespread and just one of the many factors that contribute to the continued exclusion of women from political decision-making. This is reflected in the numbers of women in our region’s parliaments, none of which have achieved 50-50 gender parity.
Training is one key strategy in combatting gender inequity in parliaments. Caribbean Women in Leadership (CIWiL) is a non-partisan, non-governmental organisation committed to advancing women’s transformational leadership. As an independent organisation, we monitor and strengthen the work of increasing women’s participation and leadership in the region’s political spaces, private and public sectors, and at the community level through advocacy, networking, research and capacity building. Over the years, the CIWiL’s work has included training election candidates, and the organisation has established a reputation for fostering and supporting women leaders from across the political spectrum in countries throughout the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
This year, CIWiL will be offering a training programme in March 2025 to Caribbean women with intentions to run for political office in their country’s general elections. It is currently open to persons from the following countries. * Note, at this time, Anguilla, The Bahamas, Saint Lucia and Haiti will benefit from the virtual training only. Find more details on the application form.
- Anguilla
- The Bahamas
- Belize
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Jamaica
- Vincent and the Grenadines
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Saint Lucia
APPLY HERE: bit.ly/CIWiLElectoralTraining
DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 28th