Gender equality and elections modular workshop in Ukraine

Gender equality and elections modular workshop in Ukraine

On July 2-4, 2024, IFES conducted a “Gender in Elections” BRIDGE workshop. It was the second modular workshop on gender in elections conducted in Ukraine since 2019. The module explores the key governmental and societal issues that must be taken into consideration to ensure women’s ability to effectively participate in political and electoral processes, including the legal framework, social and political opportunities, openness to political participation, access to voter registration and voter education, and election management and election observation opportunities. Special attention is paid to gender quotas and how various electoral systems impact women’s political representation. The event gathered 25 participants (3 men and 22 women) representing the main stakeholders, including CEC Secretariat staff, local deputies, gender organizations, and academicians working within the field. In Ukraine’s current effort to become a part of the EU, each state institution must establish special internal divisions to address gender issues, including promoting women’s political participation. BRIDGE module on Gender equality and Elections is most suitable to provide leaders, key specialists, and public activists with an in-depth understanding of the main global trends and challenges and practical tools for drafting and implementing activities promoting women’s electoral rights and gender equality in politics.

“I hope this training will help raise awareness about the importance of gender equality in elections. With the representation of the participants who attended, I believe we can push this issue forward at the legislative level and advocate for it across all regions. It’s important for women to have better representation in our elected bodies, for legislation to be changed, and for the public to have oversight over these processes,” stated Natalia Berikashvili, a member of the Kyiv City Council.

“I am a big fan of BRIDGE workshops. I believe that the interactive method used throughout the training days is the most effective approach to training. I have a lot of experience as an organizer and a participant in many training sessions, so I have much to compare.” – Oleksandr Venger, CEC representative.

“I always find your training initiatives well thought out and meaningful. As a teacher, I pay close attention to the learning methodology, how the material is presented and illustrated, and how the facilitators work. Undoubtedly, this seminar was useful for me.” – Victoria Dubas, Lecturer at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.