How to gender-proof your electoral programme: A checklist for practicioners

A checklist for gender-proofing electoral assistance and programming

Voter registration:

In most electoral contexts voters must be registered and appear on a voter list to be eligible to participate in an election. Such lists must be compiled in a clear and transparent manner to ensure inclusiveness. In some cases, voters are automatically registered by local authorities on the basis of residency, making it less likely that women are left off the lists, i.e. passive voter registration. However, active voter registration requires an eligible voter to actively register, which requires effective communication to ensure awareness including specific messages targeting female voters because registration-related challenges may be specific and different from challenges facing their male counterparts. Generally, it is important to ensure that women do not risk removal from the list if they change their name or address when they marry, for example. Wherever the civil registry is linked to the voter register, it is pertinent to consider the extent to which post-conflict societies tend to experience issues with voter lists due to high numbers of displaced people and refugees, a high proportion of whom are often women. Special procedures might be necessary to target such hard-to-reach populations to ensure inclusion and that no one is left behind.

• Ensure accessible and gender-sensitive voter registration procedures.
• Implement measures to reach out to marginalized and underrepresented groups, including women, youth and indigenous peoples.

Voter education:

In post-conflict societies where women traditionally might not have played a key or active role in electoral processes, voter education plays a strikingly critical role in enhancing women’s political participation. This often includes dissemination of information about voter’s rights, the political system and about available candidates.

Understanding the importance of privacy in electoral processes and secrecy of the vote is particularly important, especially in situations where one family member might attempt to cast ballots for the entire family.

• Develop educational materials that are gender-inclusive and address the specific needs of women voters.
• Conduct outreach programmes targeting women to enhance their understanding of the electoral process.

Political participation:

Women play a number of different roles in electoral processes beyond voting, including as candidates, political party members, advocates or staff. The role of political parties is particularly important in determining the prospects for women aspiring to run for office. In order to ensure a fair, equal and balanced representation, political parties may adopt Temporary Special Measures (TSMs), such as quota systems.

In post-conflict societies, women tend to take an active part in civil society,  grassroots movements and communities. These are also key arenas for women’s political participation that should be considered.

• Encourage women’s participation in political parties and leadership roles.
• Support initiatives that empower women to run for political office.
• Consider supporting TSMs as applicable and relevant.

Ensuring safe and accessible polling stations:

Practical measures, such as ensuring safety during polling, are critical aspects in any electoral process.

• Establish safe and accessible polling stations, taking into account the needs of pregnant women, nursing mothers and persons with disabilities.
• Ensure a gender-balanced representation among polling station staff.
• Ensure opening times of polling are accessible for women to vote, especially since midday voting hours may hinder women from voting due to care responsibilities.*

* Care responsibilities often refer to tasks related to caregiving in support of another person’s well-being, health and safety. For more information about the global care economy, which refers to the paid and unpaid labour related to caregiving such as childcare, elder care and domestic chores, read more here: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/care-economy/lang–en/index.htm.

• Dialogue with national security forces to ensure adequate measures are taken to keep women safe during elections. Measures can include crowd control, setting up safety focal points where women can report violent incidents, or an increased number of security personnel in identified hotspot areas.

Ensure adequate mechanisms are available for reporting harassment:

Violence against women in electoral processes is a global issue but one which remains underreported due to lack of data, stigma and the general ‘silence culture’ in which victims tend to not report cases because of lack of trust in reporting mechanisms and legal procedures. It is critical for any gender-responsive electoral assistance to ensure adequate reporting mechanisms, also considering online and offline violence.

• Implement measures to ensure the safety of women participating in the electoral process, including protection against harassment and violence.
• Consider different reporting mechanisms, including hotlines to which incidents of both online and offline violence can be reported.

Media and communication:

Electoral practitioners report on the critical role media play in promoting inclusive and peaceful elections. In light of that, it is key to establish strong partnerships between media platforms and Electoral Management Bodies to ensure that messaging on the criticality of women’s participation in electoral processes is being broadcasted online and offline.

• Promote gender-sensitive reporting in the media.
• Encourage media outlets to feature diverse voices, including women’s perspectives on electoral issues.
• Work with both online and offline media. In many rural areas, radio continues to be the key medium, pointing to the need to not forget offline media despite increased digitalization globally.
• Ensure thorough analysis of what media platforms and spaces are being used by different constituencies, such as women and youth.

Legal framework:

A wide variety of laws can affect women’s prospects for full participation in elections. Although the most evident one is the election law, other laws relating to political parties, citizenship, gender-based violence, personal status, the family and identity documentation for internally displaced peoples and returnees can also have significant impacts.

• Work to promote the design of gender-inclusive policies, laws and regulations.
• Consider the type of electoral systems in place since this can have a major impact on the number of women elected to office. Different aspects of elections systems, such as candidate lists and district magnitude, will also affect women’s electoral prospects.

Capacity-building:

Trainings, educational events and awareness-raising on the importance of not only ensuring inclusion in elections, but specifically promoting women’s full participation, are critical throughout the electoral journey: pre-, during and post-elections.

• Provide training for electoral officials on gender sensitivity and responsiveness in electoral assistance.
• Build the capacity of civil society organizations to advocate for gender-inclusive electoral processes.
• Build the capacity of female candidates and/or work with women wings or caucuses of political parties and national assemblies/parliaments.

Monitoring and evaluation:

Evaluating electoral assistance and electoral programmes against clear objectives and criteria related to gender-sensitivity is pivotal for improving their gender-responsiveness. Having robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks cleared and ready at the onset will help the programmes to ensure timely evaluation, as it otherwise risks being sidelined. Collecting gender-disaggregated data by Electoral Management Bodies on all aspects of the electoral process, to the extent possible – including voter behaviour, registration and participation – is critical to highlight any gaps and assess the impact of electoral assistance.

• Establish mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the gender responsiveness of electoral processes.
• Collect and analyze gender-disaggregated data to identify areas for improvement.

Post-electoral support:

Post electoral periods may be moments when violence, intimidation and harassment continue to take place. It is therefore important to keep monitoring such incidents and keep reporting mechanisms open.

• Support initiatives that address the specific needs of women candidates and elected officials.
• Monitor and address any post-election gender-based violence or discrimination.