OSCE, Alm.del - 2013-14 - Bilag 2: Joint OSCE PA ODIHR Study on Parliamentary Structures for Women MPs

This study was drafted by Dr. Sonia Palmieri, an international expert on gender and women’sparliamentary representation. The study was commissioned by the OSCE Office for DemocraticInstitutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and the information it contains does not necessarilyreflect the policy and position of ODIHR.The study would not have been possible without the support provided by the OSCE ParliamentaryAssembly (PA) and its Special Representative on Gender Issues, Dr. Hedy Fry. The OSCE PAcommitment has been extremely valuable in the dissemination of a specially designed ques-tionnaire to all OSCE participating States, as well as in the provision of comments and ideas tocontinuously improve this study and to promote women’s parliamentary participation acrossthe OSCE region.The study also benefitted from all those who generously contributed their time to sharing theirexperiences on the establishment and running of women’s parliamentary bodies (a list of re-spondents can be found in Appendix 2). Similar thanks are extended to the National DemocraticInstitute in Ukraine, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and well-known experts on gender issues,including Lolita Cigane, Lenita Freidenvall, Sonja Lokar, Melanie Sully, Kristina Wilfore andOlena Yena. Special gratitude is extended to OSCE field operations for their invaluable supportthroughout the drafting of the study, to the Parliament of Austria for supporting the ODIHRRegional Workshop on Parliamentary Structures for Women MPs in the OSCE Region, heldin Vienna in December 2012, and, last but not least, to the representatives who participated inthis event.

While the goal of gender parity in parliamentary representation has not yet generally beenachieved, women have still managed to make a significant contribution to the political land-scape across the OSCE region. Policy and legislative change on gender equality issues, for ex-ample, has frequently been the result of concerted, collaborative efforts between women insideand outside parliament.As a first of its kind in the OSCE region, this study is concerned with the presence and operationof dedicated women’s parliamentary bodies (alternatively referred to as parliamentary struc-tures for women members of parliament (MPs)) that promote gender equality and women’srepresentation. Women’s parliamentary bodies are a particular form of gender mainstreaminginfrastructure commonly initiated by women parliamentarians in order to promote solidarity,enhance parliamentary capacity, and advance women’s policy interests.1Where they have beenestablished and retained, women’s parliamentary bodies have been recognized as important fo-rums for advancing gender equality issues, for facilitating cross-party co-operation and agree-ment on legislative priorities, and for influencing political agendas from a gender perspectivewithin parliaments.2This study is the result of a research commissioned by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)across parliaments in the OSCE region between June and December 2012 to identify the differ-ent types of women’s parliamentary bodies in existence. Within the framework of the ODIHRproject “Strengthening parliamentary structures for women MPs in the OSCE region”, parlia-ments were surveyed on good practices in establishing and running such structures, as wellas on the international and OSCE support provided to them. The project forms part of, anddirectly feeds into, ODIHR’s broader programming on women’s political participation and par-liamentary strengthening.The study initially identifies the women’s parliamentary bodies that have been established inthe OSCE region. In particular the study finds that, among the 36 OSCE participating States

surveyed, there are 16 structures for women MPs currently functioning.3These bodies appearto be structured and organized in a variety of ways across the OSCE region, indicating thatthere is no one model for success.But what conditions favour the establishment of these parliamentary bodies in the first place?Are there any enabling factors that can support women MPs in establishing such structures?While the type of parliamentary and political system in place does not appear to affect directlythe emergence of a women’s parliamentary body, the study finds that the political environmentcan influence what type of body emerges. Likewise, the existence of legal gender quotas or vol-untary measures to support women’s election to parliament does not appear to be a direct in-dicator of the likelihood that a women’s parliamentary body will be established. Nonetheless,many women’s parliamentary bodies have played a key role in advocating for the introductionof gender quota provisions in electoral laws, in lobbying for amendments to gender quota pro-visions, and/or in monitoring the implementation of quota provisions.As regards potential enabling factors, the study recognizes and highlights the important roleplayed by women’s movements. Women’s movements and organizations often facilitate theestablishment of women’s parliamentary bodies, providing women MPs with expertise andfirst-hand knowledge of gender issues, and connecting them to the electorate. Furthermore,women’s movements often serve as the institutional memory of past achievements, currentrealities, and lessons learned in the struggle for women’s rights and gender equality.Having identified women’s parliamentary structures in existence in the OSCE region, thestudy goes on to map their mandates, structures, activities and memberships. The main find-ing here is the broadly informal nature of these bodies across the OSCE region, with meetingsscheduled only as required, and limited dedicated financial and logistical support provided tothese bodies. Notwithstanding the informal structure of these bodies, their approach towardsleadership and procedure is more commonly observed as formalized. Agendas are typicallycirculated in advance of a meeting, written rules determine meeting procedure, and leadershipterms are often fixed. Membership options differ widely: while some bodies include men, oth-ers prefer to restrict their membership to women only. With respect to objectives, it was foundthat women’s parliamentary bodies are overwhelmingly committed to influencing policy andlegislation from a gender perspective, and to lobbying on gender equality issues.On the basis of these findings, the study outlines good practices, and identifies challenges aswell as lessons learned in relation to the establishment and operation of women’s parliamen-tary bodies. The study finds that political partydisciplineremains a significant challenge forwomen who wish to co-operate across party lines, but does not constitute an insurmountableobstacle per se. Where women’s parliamentary bodies focus on specific gender issues, theyare often able to work within parliamentary environments characterized by strong party dis-cipline. This is particularly evident when they focus on issues where parties themselves donot have conflicting ideological or political stances. By contrast, parliamentary environmentscharacterized by strong politicalpolarizationare shown to render cross-party communicationand co-operation extremely difficult.The study concludes by presenting an eight-step framework for action and a number of rec-ommendations aimed at strengthening women’s parliamentary bodies and the way in which

parliaments work with them. In particular, women’s parliamentary bodies are encouraged towork towards building consensus on issues that can be supported across the political spec-trum, and to develop and maintain strong relationships both inside and outside the parliament– notably with other organizations that work towards the achievement of gender equality.Parliaments, in turn, are urged to support the work of these parliamentary bodies, for example,by implementing pro-active policies to increase the number of women MPs and promote themto leadership positions within the parliament. At the same time, parliaments should provideadequate resources to these bodies. Where resources are not available, they should facilitatethe meetings of women’s parliamentary bodies and encourage the establishment of strongerlinks between these bodies and the more institutionalized organs of the parliament, such asdedicated committees on gender equality, social policy issues or human rights, and/or otherinstitutions of parliamentary leadership.Overall, the study aims to help women MPs in the OSCE region interested in strengtheningtheir role within their respective parliaments through mechanisms such as women’s parlia-mentary bodies, and to promote a greater understanding of the value and functioning of thesebodies. This is intended as a first step towards the implementation of future projects and re-search on the topic, to further advance women’s political participation and their substantiverepresentation within national parliaments.

In 2013, women held just over 20 per cent of the seats in national parliaments worldwide; in theOSCE region, this figure has currently reached 24.4 per cent in lower houses of parliament.4While the march towards gender equality in political life continues, at the very least thisfigure acknowledges women’s now irreversible place in politics. To support this trend, OSCEparticipating States have agreed, through a series of commitments, to “encourage and promoteequal opportunity for full participation by women in all aspects of political and public life, indecision-making processes and in international co-operation in general.”5Nevertheless, scope for even greater change in the way parliamentary institutions themselvesare structured and run still remains. A consistent finding in research on women in parliamentsis that the onus for continued change – in terms of increasing the number of women elected,eradicating the ‘masculine’ culture of parliament, and making ‘substantive’ legislative changein favour of gender equality – is on women.6Where parliaments have made steps towards thesemilestones, more often than not it has been because of the tireless work of women members ofparliament (MPs).As Childs, Lovenduski and Campbell have argued, laying the responsibility for such change atthe hands of women alone sets up ‘unhealthy expectations’ of women parliamentarians.7Whenthese expectations are not met, women’s contribution to the political sphere is questioned:“why do we need women in parliament?”8

Inter-Parliamentary Union,Women in national parliaments,http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm, accessed July2013.Document of the Moscow Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE, 1991, Art. 40.8.Julie Ballington,Equality in Politics: A Survey of Women and Men in Parliaments,Reports and Documents No. 54(Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2008).Sarah Childs, Joni Lovenduski, and Rosie Campbell,Women at the Top: 2005 Changing Numbers, Changing Politics?(London: Hansard Society, 2005).See the 2012 debate on women’s participation in parliament initiated by Joshua Foust and Melinda Haring:http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/22/who_cares_how_many_women_are_in_parliament and theresponse from Susan Markham, Director of the National Democratic Institute: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/29/the_missing_50_percent.

For some researchers, the proportion of women in parliament makes a difference. Based on thework of Kanter, the commonly cited ‘critical mass’ target has presented commentators withthe promise of difference (e.g., that women will change the institution, will introduce moregender-sensitive legislation, will be represented in positions of parliamentary and politicalleadership) once they represent at least 30 per cent of the legislature.9The theory has comeunder pressure, however, considering that women parliamentarians do not act in isolation ofthe institutions in which they work, and that parliaments are ‘gendered institutions’. That is,parliaments, having been dominated by men since their creation, have historically tended toresist the equal participation of women and have often perpetuated established norms aboutwhat is appropriate work for men and women.10A more comprehensive line of inquiry focuses on the role of the parliament itself in addressinggender equality. Not only does this shift the weight of responsibility for change from womento the institution as a whole, but it also provides an opportunity for more systemic and sus-tainable change. The question is now more about the circumstances under which the institu-tion allows for or facilitates change, rather than how many women are needed to achieve it.Parliamentary institutions and procedures – and their level of gender-sensitivity – can play animportant role in supporting MPs in exercising the power entrusted to them by the electorate.One effective way to do so could be through the establishment of mechanisms, or infrastruc-ture, that allow all parliamentarians – men and women – to work towards gender equality.Such infrastructure might come in the form of a women’s caucus, a dedicated committee ongender equality, or an advisory group on gender issues. Accordingly, this study looks in detailat one type of gender mainstreaming infrastructure – parliamentary structures for womenMPs – and how these structures can make parliaments more gender-friendly and enhancewomen’s substantive representation in legislatures.

Rose Kanter, “Some effects of proportions on group life: Skewed sex ratios and responses to token women”,American Journal of Sociology,Vol. 82, No. 5, 1977, pp. 965–990.Drude Dahlerup, “From a small to a large minority: Women in Scandinavian Politics”,Scandinavian PoliticalStudies,Vol. 11, No. 4, 1988, pp. 275–298; Georgia Duerst-Lahti and Rita Mae Kelly (eds.)Gender Power, Leadershipand Governance(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996); Janice Yoder, “Rethinking Tokenism: Lookingbeyond numbers”,Gender & Society,Vol. 5, No. 2, 1991, pp. 178–192. Yoder’s critique of Kanter is premised inthe argument that the critical mass thesis confounds four factors: “numeric imbalance, gender status, occupa-tional inappropriateness, and intrusiveness”. That is, “increases in the number of lower-status members threatendominants, thereby increasing gender discrimination in the forms of harassment, wage inequities and limitedopportunities for promotion” (pp. 178–180).Keila Gonzalez and Kristen Sample,One Size Does Not Fit All: Lessons Learned from Legislative Gender Commissionsand Caucuses(Lima: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and NationalDemocratic Institute (NDI) for International Affairs, 2010); Claire McLoughlin and Seema Khan, “HelpdeskResearch Report: Cross-party Caucuses”, Governance and Social Development Resource Centre, 2009.

ians. Thus far, however, there has been no systematic assessment of parliamentary structuresfor women MPs in the OSCE region.12There is little comparative information in the OSCEregion about the real impact of women’s parliamentary bodies in terms of influencing policyoutcomes, and still less about correlations between impact on the one hand, and structure,mandate and activities on the other. This study aims at beginning to fill this gap.This study takes a comparative approach to women’s parliamentary bodies. It seeks to identifythe range of women’s parliamentary bodies that have been created, the circumstances underwhich they were created, and the extent to which they have become effective mechanisms forpromoting gender equality issues and empowering women parliamentarians in the OSCE re-gion. In particular, the following analysis aims to:•identify parliaments in the OSCE region that currently host such structures, have estab-lished or attempted to establish these structures in the past, or plan to create them in thefuture;map the mandate, structure, membership and activities of these structures;analyse the data collected in order to outline good practices, success stories, challenges andlessons learned; andoffer an eight-step framework for action to support the establishment or re-vitalizationof a women’s parliamentary body, and present a number of tailored recommendations towomen’s parliamentary bodies as well as to parliaments more broadly.

This study is based on data collected from specially designed questionnaires sent to 55 parlia-ments13within the OSCE region, with the support of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA),its Special Representative on Gender Issues, Dr. Hedy Fry, and its secretaries of delegations,between June and November 2012. Responses were received from 36 parliaments14plus oneresponse from the Assembly of Kosovo (producing a response rate of 66 per cent).15As the study will demonstrate, a wide variety of women’s parliamentary structures have beenestablished in the OSCE region. Among all the respondents to the survey, 16 OSCE participat-ing States acknowledged the existence of a body that ‘brings women together’.16Keeping in mind that 11 of the 16 women’s parliamentary bodies surveyed among OSCE partic-ipating States have been established since 2008, the present study can only begin to examinethe impact that such structures may have and to assess the influence of the political environ-ment on their functioning. Accordingly, the study does not aim to derive correlations or causallinkages between women’s parliamentary bodies on the one hand, and the broader politicaland parliamentary context on the other. Nor does it attempt to draw conclusions regardingregional trends in the emergence of such structures, or predict the best environment in whichthese bodies will flourish. Further research will be necessary, in order to better understandpolitical complexities, patterns and regional trends.

Importantly, this study embraces the idea that ‘one size does not fit all’. The functioning ofwomen’s parliamentary bodies is influenced by different external factors; indeed, women’s par-liamentary bodies are shaped by unique political and parliamentary contexts at the nationallevel, the presence of women’s movements or other civil society groups, as well as the influenceof international organizations.17In this vein, the study does not attempt to advocate for onetype of structure to be established over another. Women parliamentarians and their supportersare the best judges of the political and parliamentary context in which they are operating, andthe type of structures that will best suit their environment.Having said this, the study does aim to identify common factors that support the establishmentand running of these bodies, as well as good practices that can possibly be replicated in otherparliamentary contexts. To this end, it introduces an analytical framework for understandingparliamentary structures for women MPs in the OSCE region and the ‘enabling environment’in which these structures implement their mandates and functions most effectively.Following an outline of the research framework and methodology, the study begins with ananalysis of what defines a women’s parliamentary structure in the parliaments of the OSCE

Research framework and methodologyThrough its work, ODIHR has supported initiatives to increase women’s participation in politi-cal and electoral processes, as members of political parties, as political leaders, and as candi-dates for public office. ODIHR also supports parliamentary support programmes (PSP) imple-mented by OSCE field operations. In fact, support to parliamentary structures for women MPsis an important component of PSP programming in different OSCE participating States, for ex-ample, in the Western Balkans. ODIHR has long-standing relationships with these PSPs, actingas a hub for the exchange of knowledge and good practice, including by co-ordinating regionaljoint events and contributing expertise and advice on projects. This study was designed withthe intention of collecting information and good practices, to be disseminated and shared withOSCE field operations, MPs, and other parliamentary stakeholders across the OSCE region.Existing research conducted in recent years18suggests that numerous parliamentary bodies forwomen MPs have been established, and that they vary widely in design, structure, activitiesand degrees of formality. This variety gives rise to the following set of questions:1) Which parliaments in the OSCE currently host these bodies, have established or attemptedto establish these in the past, or plan to create these in the future?2) How are such bodies organized, in terms of mandate, structure and membership?3) What activities do these bodies generally engage in?4) What relationships do they build both internally and externally to the parliament?5) How does the parliamentary regime and level of parliamentary development affect the es-tablishment and efficacy of these bodies?6) Are there any good practices or success stories that can be learned from existing bodies?7) What challenges and lessons can be drawn from them?For the purposes of this study, a parliamentary body for women is defined according to threemain criteria: organization, activities and relationships. Each of these criteria can be under-stood in the following terms:Organization:••Mode of operation and internal organization: including format, status and frequency ofmeetings, staffing and resources;Membership, leadership and procedures: including recruitment of members (nominated,appointed,ex officio),leadership structures, established procedures (agendas, decision-mak-ing process), required documentation for its establishment and renewal; andMandate and objectives of the body.

Recognizing that MPs work within the confines of their parliamentary institution, it is alsoimportant to assess the broader enabling environment for the effective functioning of suchstructures. Where possible, the study has considered the following factors:•Parliamentary regime:Where relevant, distinctions have been made between presidentialor parliamentary systems, bicameral or unicameral parliaments, strong versus weak politi-cal party systems, and proportional representation, majority and mixed electoral systems;Number and position of women in parliament:The relationship between a ‘criticalmass’ of women (e.g. 30 per cent) and the effectiveness and sustainability of a women’s par-liamentary structure has been considered. The position of key women or gender equalityadvocates in the parliament (e.g. in the Executive, or as Committee chairs) has also beentaken into account.Special measures to promote women’s political participation:The prevalence of spe-cial measures in place to promote women’s political participation has been noted, witha focus on legal and voluntary gender quotas.

To identify the women’s parliamentary bodies currently in existence in the OSCE region, ques-tionnaires were developed on the basis of a literature review; the questionnaires also incorpo-rated questions previously used in similar research conducted by ODIHR and other organiza-tions (the questionnaire can be found in Appendix 3).Data collected from the questionnaires was supplemented by additional desk and field researchconducted in the OSCE region. The research began with a review of existing literature onwomen’s parliamentary bodies (see the section on Selected Resources at the end of this study).Selected parliaments, which indicated that a women’s parliamentary body existed or used toexist, were contacted to provide additional information, forming the basis of more detailedcase studies. These case studies, incorporated throughout the body of the study, serve to high-light what aspects of women’s parliamentary bodies have contributed to their successes and topinpoint the challenges encountered in establishing and running these bodies.

policy focused, while others do not specify their activities. Some bodies have resources allo-cated to them by the parliament, while others collect membership fees or are partially fundedby non-governmental or international organizations.There is, then, no single model of organization, and, as Gonzalez and Sample found, ‘one sizedoes not fit all’.22Indeed, women’s parliamentary bodies tend to reflect women legislators’needs and political leverage, as well as the parliamentary system and the political culture ofa specific country. Their purpose, decision-making mechanisms, attributes, operations, andareas of activity are commonly decided by those establishing the structure.23Women’s struc-tures have also evolved over time, for example, by setting rules for the election of leaders longafter their creation, developing a formal agenda previously non-existent, or even becominginstitutionalized as a gender equality committee.24Contrary to permanent parliamentary committees specialized on gender equality issues, thesestructures tend to remain outside the formal organs of parliament and often benefit froma higher degree of flexibility of operation. In some cases, both types of structures find a way toco-operate, combining their strengths to advance policy and legislative initiatives.Importantly, women’s parliamentary bodies do not always restrict their membership to wom-en MPs. Some have included men parliamentarians in a clear attempt to ensure that genderequality issues are not only advanced by women. Other bodies also include the participation ofcivil society organizations or representatives of international organizations.Because of the multiplicity of experiences, scholars have either focused on the formal/infor-mal aspect of women’s parliamentary bodies,25or have developed more restrictive definitionsthat reflect specific national circumstances.26This study maintains that, more important thandefining a women’s parliamentary body, is the process of identifying the different factors thatfacilitate the establishment and running of these bodies.

The benefits of having a women’s parliamentary bodyRegardless of the way a women’s parliamentary body is structured and/or organized, the find-ings of this and other studies27suggest that these bodies serve a number of purposes and func-tions. The reported benefits of establishing such bodies are as follows:•They promote women’s numerical and substantive representation.As chapter 3 willexplain in more detail, women’s parliamentary bodies often advocate for the introductionof legal or voluntary gender quotas and other special measures in order to increase wom-en’s representation in parliaments. For example, the Women Parliamentarians’ Club of theAssembly of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, established in 2003, achieved anamendment to the Election Code, which ensured that every third place on the political par-

ty’s candidate list is allocated to the less represented gender. This measure helped securethe election of 28 per cent of women MPs in 200628(see Case Study 5 below).•They highlight the importance of gender issues within parliamentary processes. Canada provides a valuable example in this regard. A 2001 article on the effectiveness ofthe Liberal Women’s Caucus stated that many women MPs admit that simply asking ques-tions (for example, on the impact of budget cuts on girls and boys, women and men), ratherthan agreeing with the proposed solution, has contributed to important shifts in the politi-cal culture on Parliament Hill.29They serve to ensure that gender equality issues are mainstreamed into legisla-tive and policy processes. Suchbodies can serve to influence the drafting of legislationand policies in line with gender equality standards, as well as monitor their implementa-tion. Moreover, these bodies can also lobby for the introduction of processes to review leg-islation and policies from a gender perspective.30They can lobby for the development and adoption of gender equality legislation. While most women’s parliamentary bodies do not enjoy the power to initiate legislation,they can nonetheless support the development of legislation on issues of concern to the body,including gender equality. In Ukraine, for example, the parliamentary Equal OpportunitiesGroup, established in 2011, indicated that it would concentrate its efforts on ensuring thatthe Ukrainian legislation related to equal rights and opportunities conforms to Europeanstandards, and on the drafting of amendments to legislation concerning violence againstwomen and domestic violence (see Case Study 4 below).They influence, and sometimes shape, policy and legislative agendas through cross-party co-operation.In some contexts, women’s parliamentary structures can influ-ence legislative and policy agendas by uniting women (and like-minded men) across partylines in the form of a voting bloc. The voting bloc can use the power of numbers to pass orblock the adoption of legislation. Where party discipline hinders the emergence of formalcross-party voting blocs, women’s parliamentary bodies can still bring women (and men)together to develop a stance on specific issues of concern that can be used to influence howparliamentarians vote.They facilitate communication and dialogue within and across parties.In line withthe point above, women’s parliamentary bodies can provide a forum where MPs from dif-ferent parties come together in an informal, neutral environment to discuss interests ofmutual concern. Where political polarization makes cross-party co-operation difficult, ifnot impossible, women’s parliamentary bodies can provide a platform for discussion of top-ics on which party leaders have not adopted a particular stance. Such topics may includegender-based violence, non-discrimination, healthcare, and/or children’s rights.

National Democratic Institute, “Women’s Caucuses Fact Sheet” (Washington: NDI, 2008); Cvetanka Ivanova, “Women’sParliamentary Club in the Assembly of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, iKNOW Politics, 2007.Jackie Steele, “An effective player in the parliamentary process: the Liberal Women’s Caucus 1993–2001”,(Ottawa: Institute on Governance, 2011), www.iog.ca/publications/alfhales2001.pdf.For example, the women’s structure established in the Assembly of Kosovo, the Women’s Caucus Group (GDD),has among its specific objectives the “harmonization, amendment and drafting of legislation with a genderperspective lens”. The GDD has successfully lobbied for the adoption of a policy which requires all draft lawsdiscussed by the Assembly of Kosovo to be screened by the GDD from a gender equality and equal representationperspective (see Case Study 3).

They provide information to their members and engage in advocacy.Such bod-ies can engage in research or advocacy on issues of concern to all women parliamentar-ians, providing support, for example, to individual women parliamentarians engaged inthe drafting or amendment of specific pieces of legislation. They can also raise awarenesson gender equality issues by facilitating dialogue on certain issues between governmentand civil society. For example, women’s parliamentary bodies can liaise with NGOs andmembers of women’s movements, in order to ensure that the priorities of civil society, andwomen’s groups in particular, are conveyed to the parliament. Polish women MPs, for in-stance, have co-operated with representatives of civil society to raise awareness of genderequality issues. Members of the Parliamentary Group of Women established in the PolishSejm participate regularly in the annual Polish Congress of Women, an event gatheringthousands of women (and men) from across all sectors of Polish society to discuss key is-sues of concern to women across the country (see Case Study 8 below).They provide training and support to their membersin the form of mentoring, ca-pacity building, confidence building, networking, discussion and information sharing.This helps women MPs but also parliaments to institutionalize gender equality learning,and, where appropriate, can also facilitate the revival of a previously established women’sparliamentary structure. In this regard, the Network of Women Members of the FinnishParliament organizes seminars and informal events meant to bring together women par-liamentarians. Such events can enhance the individual capacities of women by providinga platform for exchange and training (see Case Study 7 below).31

Presence of women’s parliamentary bodies in the OSCE regionThe study found that a number of parliaments in OSCE participating States have establishedwomen’s parliamentary bodies. As Table 2.1 shows, of the 36 respondents to the survey, 16,or just over 40 per cent, acknowledged the existence of a body that ‘brings women together’.A structure for women MPs used to be present in six of the OSCE participating States, and inanother two, women MPs expressed their desire to establish such a body in the near future.Twelve OSCE participating States responded that there was no such body.Table 2.1 Presence and number of bodies that bring women MPs together in the OSCE region (n=36)Yes, there is one (or more) currently16Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France,Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Norway, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, Tajikistan, Ukraine, United Statesof America33Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Denmark,Latvia, Slovak RepublicHungary, MoldovaBelgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan,Liechtenstein*, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain

According to these numbers, women’s parliamentary bodies have been established in partici-pating States across the whole OSCE region. Moreover, the number of responding parliamentsthat currently host a body (16), have hosted a body in the past (six), or intend to do so in thefuture (two) totals 24, which is double the number of parliaments that indicated that no suchbody has been established (12).It is important to identify the different reasons given as to why women’s parliamentary bodieshave not been established or are no longer functioning. Where such bodies no longer function,an analysis of the reasons why can bring to light lessons learned that may be of use to otherwomen’s parliamentary bodies. In Armenia, Latvia and Slovenia, the parliaments reportedthat the mandate of the body had simply not been renewed, sometimes because there weretoo few women elected to the parliament following elections to justify the continuation of thestructure, or too few women MPs were interested in re-establishing the body. This is particu-larly problematic where the women who created the body are not re-elected, as was the casein Denmark. In Armenia, a body close to being established was ultimately not formed, due todifficulties surrounding the question of leadership. In other cases, the renewal of the body wasnot achieved due to a lack of support from political parties, a lack of sufficient resources, orchanges in the parliamentary environment that rendered a women’s parliamentary body lessrelevant. A further reason was identified in Andorra, where the body’s functions were formallycommissioned to the parliamentary Social Affairs Committee.Understanding the potential challenges to the establishment or renewal of such bodies canhelp women parliamentarians better prepare to address these obstacles.

One size does not fit all: The design of women’s parliamentary bodiesWhile there is a plethora oftypesthat fall under the category of a women’s parliamentary body,differences essentially arise around their organizationalstructure.A core focus for such bodies is the desire to bring women (and sometimes men) parliamentar-ians together with the broad aim of facilitating discussion on issues of concern to them. Theway in which a group is formed to facilitate that discussion, however, can vary greatly. Asoutlined in Table 2.2 below, the differences essentially revolve around seven criteria: mandate,formality, structure (or modes of operation), leadership, resources, membership and activities.Table 2.2 Points of differentiation between women’s parliamentary bodiesCriteriaMandateAlternatives•••••••Formal issue-based advocacy and awareness raisingInformal forum for discussionInformation gathering mechanismPolicy and legislative review mechanismLegislative initiativesEmpowerment and capacity building of women MPsResearch body

Typology of women’s parliamentary bodiesGiven the multiple ways in which women’s parliamentary bodies can be organized and struc-tured, making sense of the diversity of such structures can be a challenge. Therefore, for thepurpose of this study, the seven criteria identified in Table 2.2 – mandate, formality, structure(or modes of operation), leadership, resources, membership and activities – have been com-bined into two groups which form two continuing axes.Structureis a composite of formality,mode of operation, leadership, membership and resources. On this axis, bodies can be classi-fied as predominantly formal or informal. At one end of the spectrum, a formal body is onethat meets regularly with a pre-determined agenda, in accordance with pre-defined meetingrules and is supported (and possibly resourced) by the parliament. It might have a hierarchicalleadership structure and clear procedures by which members are included in the group. At theother end of this continuum, an informal body would meet as required, has no supporting staffor resources provided by the parliament, and can include a loose affiliation of members.The second axis delineates the parliamentary bodies’focus,which combines the mandate andactivities criteria outlined in Table 2.2. At one end of this spectrum, bodies that demonstratea parliamentary focus are those that have as their main goal the scrutiny and influencing of parlia-

Formal, parliamentary focused groupssuch as cross-party women’s caucuses, advisory groups,or issue-focused groups are those established and recognized by the parliament, which may beprovided with resources (including parliamentary staff, budget and/or meeting rooms). They areprimarily concerned with the review of policy and legislation from a gender perspective, support-ing the introduction of amendments to such legislation, or advocating for women’s substantiverepresentation in parliament. These groups tend to restrict their membership to women.Formal, advocacy focused groupsare those that may be similarly resourced by the parlia-ment (although not to the same extent as parliamentary focused groups) and run as formalgroups with clear leadership structures and meeting rules. They are more concerned withadvocacy on a specific issue or profession, or with similar parliamentary groups in other coun-tries (e.g. an international network of women’s parliamentary bodies). These bodies may in-clude the participation of men.Informal, parliamentary focused groupssuch as voluntary associations, clubs or networks,or parliamentary friendship groups, can be differentiated in that they are generally not pro-vided with resources from the parliament (but may attract some funding from internationalor non-governmental organizations). They have less rigid meeting rules and leadership struc-tures (e.g. may rotate their leadership positions), but are still focused on parliamentary activi-ties, such as legislative reviews. These bodies may include the participation of men.Informal, advocacy focused groups tend to be composed of women and men, have a non-hierarchical leadership structure, meet infrequently on an as-required basis, and have no re-sources provided by the parliament. They are primarily focused on information gathering, writ-ing letters, and general advocacy. Platforms involving civil society and research or study groupsare usually very well connected with civil society (and other) organizations outside parliament.

The range of women’s parliamentary bodies was presented to respondents in the question-naire. Each respondent was asked to match the women’s parliamentary body in his or her par-liament with one of the types identified in Figure 2.1 (the results are presented in Figure 2.2).Most respondents identified their body as a cross-party women’s caucus, followed closely bya voluntary association, club or network. A cross-party caucus is particularly prevalent amongthe Western Balkan states. With the exception of Canada, it might be said that the parliamentswhich include a cross-party women’s caucus generally have less disciplined party structuresthan those where an internal party caucus has been identified. The case of Canada, however,is interesting. In practice, the Canadian cross-party caucus generally has not been as active assome parties’ internal women’s caucuses precisely because of the rigid party discipline thatexists in that (Westminster) parliamentary system.33The prevalence of a voluntary association, club or network is also noteworthy. These bodies, bydefinition, are less reliant on the parliament for resources and support, but perhaps their advan-tage is a degree of flexibility to address issues of concern to their members (as is the case withthe Swedish Speaker’s Reference Group on Gender Equality Issues; see Case Study 9 below).The responses reveal that among those parliaments surveyed, there are both formal and in-formal bodies that tend to be focused on parliamentary work (that is, legislative and policy re-view), and informal bodies that are focused on advocacy (that is, raising awareness on specificissues, engaging the community and the electorate in these activities).Figure 2.2 Categorizing structures for women MPs in the OSCE region*

There were no reported bodies that were primarily formal in structure and focused on advo-cacy work, or a body that forms part of a larger international network of women parliamentar-ians. This does not mean that such bodies do not exist at all or indeed that this work is not doneto some extent by any of the bodies surveyed across the OSCE region. Rather, it suggests thatwhen a parliamentary body is formed in this region, it is either more focused on parliamentarywork, or is a more informal body engaged in advocacy work.Finally, it is interesting that some parliaments reported more than one type of women’s par-liamentary body. The case of the United States is illustrative, having both a cross-party andan issue-specific women’s caucus. This may suggest that where one type of body (for example,the Cross-Party Women’s Congressional Caucus) has not catered to the specific needs and ob-jectives of a sub-group of women, that sub-group has simply chosen to form a second caucus(for example, the Pro-Life Women’s Caucus). This also implies that the formation of a women’scaucus is more readily accepted in this parliamentary environment.

ConclusionA number of women’s parliamentary bodies have been established in OSCE participatingStates. Around 68 per cent of the parliaments surveyed noted that a women’s parliamentarybody is currently functioning, had previously been established, or there were plans to createone in the future. Conversely, 32 per cent of the parliaments surveyed indicated that they didnot have one or that they did not have any plans to create one in the future. These bodies ap-pear to be structured and organized in a variety of different ways across the OSCE region. Inparticular, this study noted that these bodies tend to differentiate themselves along seven cri-teria (mandate, formality, structure, leadership, resources, membership and activities), whichcan be further classified along two axes according to their structure and focus.Presenting this typology to parliaments in the OSCE region, the study found a predominanceof women’s parliamentary bodies that are parliamentary focused, such as cross-party women’scaucuses and voluntary networks or associations. At the same time, however, the wide range ofbodies already established and functioning in OSCE participating States indicates that there isno one model for operational success. Rather, the needs and preferences of potential membersare the best guides for deciding what type of body is most suitable for each parliamentarysetting, and for achieving some of the goals and benefits connected with their establishment.Regardless of how they are structured, women’s parliamentary bodies can provide a widerange of benefits to their members and parliamentarians more broadly. These benefits will beexplored in more detail through country case studies in the following chapters.

Women’s parliamentary bodies do not exist in a vacuum. Taken alone, their internal organi-zation and activities do not define their ability to achieve positive outcomes. It is important,therefore, to consider whether and to what extent political and parliamentary systems, institu-tional arrangements, as well as the activities of broader civil society, play a role in facilitatingthe establishment and eventual running of a women’s parliamentary body. In other words,what factors facilitate or hinder the establishment and running of women’s parliamentary bod-ies in the OSCE region?This chapter looks in more detail at the ‘enabling factors’ that can have a positive impact onwhether women’s parliamentary bodies are established in the first place, and what type ofstructure and focus these bodies may have. The chapter focuses on external factors, whilesubsequent chapters focus on the internal dimensions of how women’s parliamentary bodiesfunction.

Parliamentary and political systems in the OSCE regionThe OSCE region is composed of different parliamentary regimes, as defined by electoral sys-tems, parliamentary systems, and political party composition. Thirty-three of the parliamentsin the OSCE region are unicameral; 22 are bicameral. Each of the lower houses and unicam-eral chambers are directly elected. The upper houses of Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia,Canada and Tajikistan are indirectly elected or appointed.Of the 36 OSCE participating States surveyed, proportional representation is used to elect atleast one chamber in 23 legislatures; mixed electoral systems (being those that include ele-ments of both proportional representation and plurality or majority systems)35exist in ten leg-islatures, and majority systems are used in four. Parliamentary systems predominate amongthose States that responded to the questionnaire. Only four of the respondents had presidentialsystems, and another three reported a semi-presidential system. The vast majority of these

States are defined as having a multi-party system; two are defined by the Inter-ParliamentaryUnion as using ‘dominant’ party systems.36Survey results indicate that parliamentary women’s bodies have been established in parlia-ments elected according to all three types of electoral systems (proportional representation,mixed and majoritarian). Furthermore, these bodies have been established in both parliamen-tary and presidential systems, and in systems where certain parties have dominated the politi-cal landscape over long periods of time. It is possible to conclude, therefore, that the type ofparliamentary regime and electoral system in place is not necessarily a predictor of whether ornot a women’s parliamentary body will be established or, indeed, of its effectiveness.By contrast, some respondents indicated that the politicalcontext– for example, the degreeof multi-party co-operation and dialogue that takes place in general, the degree of polariza-tion characterizing the political environment, and the strength of political party discipline –rather than politicalsystems,has a potentially greater impact on the emergence and effectivefunctioning of women’s parliamentary bodies.37Where political polarization creates a level ofpolitical party discipline that makes cross-party co-operation difficult or unlikely, the estab-lishment of formal cross-party women’s parliamentary bodies may prove extremely challeng-ing. This does not mean that cross-party bodies do not emerge under these circumstances, butrather that they may take another form – for example, as an informal network. In these cases,cross-party dialogue can be facilitated from the outside, by non-political actors such as inter-national organizations or civil society.

Inter-Parliamentary Union,PARLINE Database on National Parliaments,http://www.ipu.org/parline/, accessedMarch 2013.Discussions with participants held during the OSCE/ODIHR Regional Workshop on Parliamentary Structuresfor Women MPs in the OSCE Region, organized 11 to 12 December 2012 in Vienna, within the framework of theODIHR project “Strengthening Parliamentary Structures for Women MPs in the OSCE Region”.Inter-Parliamentary Union,Women in national parliaments,http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm, accessed July2013.The UN Economic and Social Council originally proposed the 30 per cent target to be achieved by 1995. In its1995 Beijing Platform for Action, the United Nations recalled that few countries had achieved this goal and urgedmember states to take actions to achieve the target as a means to build a ‘critical mass’ of women’s representa-tion in political and public life. See http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/pdf/BDPfA%20E.pdf.

High numbers of women in parliament are often associated with the presence of special meas-ures to promote women’s political participation. In the OSCE Ministerial Council Decision 7/09on Women’s Participation in Political and Public Life, adopted during the 2009 Athens OSCEMinisterial Council, participating States were called upon to “consider possible legislativemeasures which would facilitate a more balanced participation of women and men in politi-cal and public life, especially in decision-making” (see Appendix 1 for key provisions of thisDecision). In the 18 participating States surveyed where at least one chamber has over 25 percent of women MPs, special measures (most commonly legislated gender quotas) are used inten. Conversely, in those countries where women are least represented, legal quotas have notbeen implemented, although some have introduced voluntary party quotas.Reserved seats, or quotas that legally mandate in a Constitution or an electoral law that a cer-tain percentage or number among those elected must be women, appear to be used sparinglyamong the OSCE participating States, and continue to be marred by some controversy. Morefrequently, political parties have introduced voluntary party quotas – quotas voluntarily de-termined by political parties themselves (see Figure 3.1). In 23 of the States surveyed, oneor more political parties have nominated a target number (or percentage) of women or of theunder-represented sex to be included on party lists or to be elected.3Figure 3.1 Presence of special measures in OSCE participating States

The data suggests that there is no direct correlation between the percentage of women MPs and theexistence of legal or voluntary measures to promote women’s representation on the one hand, andthe existence of women’s parliamentary bodies in OSCE participating States on the other. Indeed,women’s parliamentary bodies have been established in countries with both high and low percent-ages of women MPs, in countries that have adopted legal quotas (for example, Poland, Kyrgyzstanand the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), in countries where some political parties haveadopted voluntary quotas or other measures (for example, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Georgia,Norway, Sweden and Ukraine), as well as in countries that have not introduced any legal or volun-tary quotas per se to advance gender representation in parliamentary structures or political parties,but have introduced other types of special measures, including policy and legal instruments andprogrammes, to promote gender equality and women’s participation in political and public life.Notwithstanding the above, it is worth noting that several women’s parliamentary bodies havebeen actively involved in advocating for the introduction of such special measures and/or inmonitoring their implementation. For example, the Polish Parliamentary Group of Women advo-cated alongside civil society and gender equality organizations for the introduction of an elector-al quota for candidate lists in the run-up to parliamentary elections in Poland in 2011. Likewise,the Women’s Caucus of the Albanian Parliament (see Case Study 1 below), which existed in the2005 to 2009 sitting of the legislature, lobbied together with civil society for the introduction ofa legal gender quota, which was finally achieved in 2008. Alternatively, where electoral genderquotas have been introduced, women have often grouped together to ensure that increased par-liamentary representation translates into increased substantive participation of women in par-liament or to achieve amendments to existing special measures, as was the case of the WomenParliamentarians’ Club of the Assembly of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.Therefore, it is possible to conclude that, while the existence of special measures (legal orvoluntary) is not a pre-condition for the establishment or running of a women’s parliamentarybody, such measures can provide a common purpose or issue around which women MPs, andspecifically women’s parliamentary bodies, can organize and mobilize.

Case Study 1: The Albanian experience of a Women’s CaucusAlbanian women MPs first established a Women’s Caucus in 1995. In 2005, with the support of theOSCE, the Caucus was renewed, gathering ten women MPs from the main political parties. TheCaucus forged an effective and co-operative relationship with the Sub-Committee on Juveniles andEqual Opportunities, which formed part of the Committee on Health, Labour and Social Issues.Between 2007 and 2009, the Caucus focused its activities on advocating for the adoption of theLaw on Gender Equality in the Albanian Society, which was passed in 2008 with the support ofthe national women’s movement, as well as on the reform of the Electoral Code, advocating for theintroduction of a 30 per cent legislated party quota for the less represented gender on party lists.The Electoral Code was successfully changed in 2008 to require, “for each electoral zone, at leastthirty per cent of the multi-name list and/or one of the first three names on the multi-name list [to] befrom each gender.” In the parliamentary elections of 2009, 23 women were elected, increasing wom-en’s representation in that chamber from 7 per cent to 16.4 per cent. It has been suggested that oneof the reasons why more women were not elected was the differing interpretations of the electorallaw, with “weaknesses in the formulation of the legal provisions undermin[ing the quota] objective”.40

In addition to the quota, the electoral law was also amended in 2008 to introduce a list pro-portional representation system, whereby the 140 members of parliament are elected across 12constituencies corresponding to the country’s 12 administrative regions. Under this electoralsystem, the lists of candidates are prepared by the political parties. It has been argued thatthe change in the electoral system resulted in MPs becoming more loyal to their political par-ties, and less able to pursue political issues independently, outside their party. Political partytensions following the 2009 elections eventually culminated in a six-month parliamentaryboycott by the Socialist Party.In this context, women MPs found it extremely difficult to leave behind their party politics.Women elected for the first time in 2009, who had actively campaigned on gender issues whileworking in the civil society sector and were passionate about those issues, were unable to putparty loyalties aside and find a space for cross-party dialogue. In this political climate, there-establishment of a women’s caucus proved too challenging. Nonetheless, it is clear that theWomen’s Caucus that previously functioned in the parliament played a key role in introducingspecial measures to promote women’s political participation in Albania.While women MPs have found it difficult to raise the profile of gender issues and women’spolitical representation at the national level, at the local level, several women networks havehad more success. In this regard, the National Platform for Women (NPfW), a network of1500 women politicians active in local and national-level politics, and supported by the OSCEPresence in Albania, has successfully raised awareness of gender issues in recent years. Inaddition, the main political parties have formed their own internal party women’s leagues/forums operating at the local level, lobbying for an increased presence of women and theirempowerment within the respective party structures.In 2012, the Electoral Code was the subject of further reform.41With the support of several in-ternational organizations, different women’s networks pulled together to advocate for a strong-er quota provision, and stronger enforcement provisions. Lack of political will from the mainpolitical parties, however, together with divisions among the women’s groups and their inabil-ity to find a united position, meant that no substantial amendments were introduced. As a con-sequence, there were concerns that the gender quota would not be enforced by electoral bodiesduring the parliamentary elections in June 2013, and that again this would affect the numberof women elected to the Albanian parliament. In this environment, women parliamentarianscontinue to seek ways in which to co-operate across party lines, acknowledging the role thatthe previous Women’s Caucus played in lobbying for women’s representation in the past.

In the Western Balkans, for example, strong women’s movements functioned before, duringand following the transitions to democracy. In fact, many of the women eventually elected toparliament in this region were leaders or members of the civil society women’s movement.Several members of women’s parliamentary bodies in the Western Balkans noted that women’sparliamentary bodies are more likely to be successful where they maintain strong links to andrelationships with the broader women’s movement.42This is because women’s movements of-ten constitute the ‘institutional memory’ of the struggle for women’s rights and gender equal-ity in a country or region, and, as such, also tend to enjoy the support of society more broadly.Women’s parliamentary bodies that capitalize on this knowledge and experience are morelikely to be perceived as legitimate by the electorate. The Women Parliamentarians’ Club ofthe Assembly of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is one example of a parliamen-tary body that has maintained strong links with women civil society activists; the Club ofteninvolves these activists in its activities and outreach. A similar relationship with the women’smovement was noted by the Women’s Caucus of the Assembly of Kosovo.Likewise, gender equality outcomes in Slovenia have been achieved, in large measure, due tothe work of a coalition of women from both inside and outside the parliament. In fact, whenpartisan competition and personal divisions between women MPs became too strong for a par-liamentary caucus to function, a broad-based national Parity Coalition was formed, includingindividual leaders of women’s organizations, trade unions, experts and leaders of politicalparty women’s organizations from the left, centre and right wing parties. The Coalition also in-cluded three highly prominent men. This Coalition is credited with having lobbied successfullyfor the introduction of a gender quota in the law on the election of members to the EuropeanParliament (MEPs), requiring at least 40 per cent of the under-represented sex on party lists.As a result, the first delegation of Slovenian parliamentarians to the European Parliament wascomposed of 42 per cent women.The Coalition also pressured competing political parties during the 2011 elections to increasethe number of women candidates selected. Two parties which collectively won 35 per cent ofthe vote in these elections ran women in 50 per cent of their eligible constituencies.

A question of timingTiming itself can be an important enabling factor facilitating the establishment of a women’sparliamentary body. While women’s parliamentary bodies can be established at any point dur-ing a parliamentary session, it is fair to say that there exist ‘windows of opportunity’ wherethe impetus to formalize relations across party lines in the interest of promoting women’ssubstantive representation reaches a peak. For example, in the immediate aftermath of parlia-mentary elections, women parliamentarians may be motivated to capitalize on or formalizegains in women’s political representation by establishing bodies in which to continue lobbyingon gender equality issues.Serbia offers an illustrative example in this regard. In Serbia, parliamentary elections in 2012resulted in a clear gain in women’s representation in the legislature, increasing from 22 percent to 33 per cent. A record number of new women MPs took up parliamentary mandates fol-lowing these elections, many of whom were eager and motivated to establish mechanisms for

Case Study 2: Towards the establishment of a Women’s Parliamentary Body in SerbiaFollowing parliamentary elections held on 6 May 2012, the proportion of women elected to theNational Assembly of Serbia reached 33 per cent, an increase from 54 to 82 representatives.The increase is in part attributed to amendments to the legislated gender quota, which nowrequires that the lists of political parties contain at least one representative of each sex amongevery three candidates (the previous quota provision required one representative of each sexamong every four candidates). Capitalizing on the momentum created by the positive resultsof the 2012 elections, women elected to a parliamentary mandate seized the opportunity todiscuss the feasibility of establishing a women’s parliamentary body.The high number of new women MPs taking up parliamentary seats for the first time con-tributed to a renewed interest in establishing a cross-party women’s body, mainly as a meansto pursue a legislative agenda in support of gender equality and women’s rights. Preliminarydiscussions among interested women MPs highlighted the limited support of political partyleaders for women’s political candidacy and the low level of turnout among women voters;women MPs recognized the value of cross-party dialogue in developing strategies to addressthese issues.Levels of support for the establishment of a cross-party body varied among Serbian womenpoliticians – not only between members of different political parties, but also between womenwith different years of experience in politics and in the broader women’s movement in thecountry. In order to learn more about what type of body would best suit the Serbian parlia-mentary context, women MPs consulted international organizations and NGOs committed toempowering women within political parties and parliaments. Benefitting from the support of-fered by the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence (BFPE) and the OSCE Mission to Serbia, theMPs organized and participated in dedicated seminars as well as in peer-to-peer exchangeswith parliamentarians from other countries. Male parliamentary colleagues, such as the Chairof the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, attended several ofthese events, demonstrating broader parliamentary support for the initiative.These activities facilitated an exchange between more and less experienced Serbian womenpoliticians, thus building inter-generational solidarity and understanding. Moreover, womenMPs were exposed to different models of parliamentary bodies (ranging from very formal tovery informal structures) and to successful examples and good practices of women parliamen-tary structures established in other countries. The exposure to such a range of models andtypes helped the MPs come to a consensus about how they wished to proceed and what type ofparliamentary body they wished to establish.Thus far, developments have been encouraging, with all 82 women MPs establishing a cross-party Network in February 2013. The MPs decided to establish a Network that is informal innature, with no leadership structure per se. Instead, the members agreed to introduce a ‘troika’co-ordination system, whose members are rotated from among the political parties represent-ed in the Network, starting with the political party with the most number of seats in the par-liament. Furthermore, the members committed to develop Terms of Reference for the Network

Serbian women MPs have decided to proceed by building cross-party co-operation, opting fora more informal structure with a shared leadership system that has garnered support amongstthe majority of members, instead of a formal cross-party caucus advocated by a more limitedgroup. To this end, Serbian women MPs have also capitalized on support and expertise fromcivil society and international organizations in the initial phase of designing and establishingthe structure. The exposure to successful experiences and alternative models established inother countries has resulted in a practical exchange of good practices and sharing of knowl-edge. At the same time, by focusing on select, politically-uncontroversial objectives of interestto all members, the Network was able to come to a rather quick agreement on programmaticgoals and activities. All these elements should create a solid basis for the Network’s futureactivities and challenges.

ConclusionThis chapter has analysed the potential impact of political systems and special measures onthe establishment of women’s parliamentary bodies, and highlighted several external enablingfactors that can facilitate the establishment of these bodies.It appears that, while the type of parliamentary and political system in place does not directlyaffect the emergence of a women’s parliamentary body, the political context can influencewhether and what type of body may emerge. Likewise, while the existence of legal or volun-tary measures can influence the number of women elected to parliament, such measures donot appear to be a direct indicator of the likelihood that a women’s parliamentary body will beestablished. Nonetheless, the study has found that women’s parliamentary bodies have playeda key role in advocating for the introduction of gender quota provisions into electoral laws,in lobbying for amendments to these provisions, and/or in monitoring the implementation ofquota provisions. In addition, topics such as special measures can bring women (and men) fromdifferent parties together, creating opportunities for issue-based, cross-party dialogue.Women’s movements can also serve as an enabling factor facilitating the establishment of wom-en’s parliamentary bodies, providing women MPs with expertise and connecting them to theelectorate. Women’s movements often serve as the institutional memory of past achievementsand lessons learned in the struggle for women’s rights and gender equality. A last factor thatcan influence whether and when a body is established is timing. Women MPs may be more mo-tivated to establish bodies in the immediate aftermath of parliamentary elections, for example,in order to capitalize on gains in women’s representation or, alternatively, in order to cometogether to ensure that future elections result in more women taking up parliamentary seats.

As outlined in chapter 2, a primary consideration in the analysis of women’s parliamentarybodies is the way in which they are structured, particularly in terms of their internal organiza-tion, their membership and modes of leadership. The way in which a body is organized oftencontributes to its ability to achieve the objectives it sets itself. Indeed, challenges faced bywomen’s parliamentary bodies are often a consequence of their structure and organization.A second, but no less important consideration, is the body’s objectives; what it intends to doonce it is established.This chapter presents the results of the survey in terms of theorganizationof women’s par-liamentary bodies. The chapter is also concerned with the question of whether organizationalfactors – namely, mode of operation, membership, leadership and objectives – have any per-ceived impact on the overall effectiveness of women’s parliamentary bodies.

Mode of operation and internal organizationThe survey results suggest that women’s parliamentary bodies, where they exist, are organ-ized fairly informally (see Table 4.1). Meetings are scheduled only when they are required in11 of the 17 bodies, and formal minutes are kept in half of them. This tends to indicate that thebodies operate on an ‘as needs’ basis, rather than according to a formalized schedule.Table 4.1 Organization of women’s parliamentary bodies: Meetings, staffing and resourcesMeetings (n=17)Meetings scheduled only as requiredRegular meetings scheduled during each parliamentary sessionFormal meeting minutes are keptStaffing (n=17)Administrative staff provided by ParliamentThe body has no permanent staffResearch staff provided by ParliamentSupport staff provided by civil society/international organizationsResources (n=17)76331186

Almost half of the bodies surveyed were allocated administrative staff by the parliament, butonly three were allocated research staff. In six (Albania, Armenia, Estonia, Finland, Kyrgyzstanand Ukraine), the parliament provided no staff at all. In the case of Estonia, this was linked tothe broader capacity of the Estonian Parliament:The Estonian Parliament is small and resources are limited. Significant financial support to un-ions and associations has not been possible. Also, information on gender equality issues and re-search data are supplemented by universities and research centres, where necessary (Estonia).Parliaments provided resources to half of the women’s parliamentary bodies surveyed, al-though they were more likely to provide only a meeting room. The Women Parliamentarians’Club of the Assembly of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia created its own website,hosted on the website of the Assembly, which may be regarded as a type of in-kind supportfrom the legislature. Another form of in-kind support by the parliament could be the provisionof an intern for the parliamentary body, to assist in organizing meetings, implementing activi-ties, or taking minutes.Lastly, only one of the bodies surveyed required their own members to pay a financial contri-bution (United States of America), and none were funded by political parties. A number of thewomen’s parliamentary bodies in the Western Balkans are jointly funded by the parliamentand international organizations. In most of these cases, activities of the body could not be or-ganized without the financial contribution of international organizations.The Women’s Caucus of the Assembly of Kosovo is an example of a body that has paid a greatdeal of attention to modes of operation and internal organization, operating in a highly struc-tured manner in order to maximize its impact, as demonstrated in Case Study 3 below.

Case Study 3: Women’s Caucus (GGD) of the Assembly of KosovoEstablished in 2005, the Women’s Caucus is composed of all 40 women MPs that sit in theunicameral Assembly of Kosovo. The Caucus comprises members from all the political partiesand ethnicities currently represented in the Assembly. Thanks to a gender quota which re-serves one third of the seats (33 per cent) for the less represented gender, the Caucus has beenable to make effective use of its numbers to raise the profile of women MPs within nationalpolitical and social debates, promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in variousfields (such as women’s entry into, and participation in, parliament, as well as the economy,the environment and health sectors). Its internal organization as well as the commitment anddedication of its members, have been keys to its success.Although it is not recognized formally by the Assembly, the Caucus functions in a highlystructured manner. It has established a Board of seven members – one per political grouprepresented in the Assembly – from which a President is then elected by secret ballot at the

beginning of every legislative term. The Caucus has adopted its own internal procedural regu-lations. Meetings are held at least twice a month, supported by an assistant provided by theAssembly who circulates a set agenda and takes formal minutes.Two main factors seem to account for this level of organization: first, political parties havebeen supportive of the Caucus, or, at the very least, have not opposed its activities; and second,the Caucus has developed a strong degree of co-operation with all committees (especially withthe Committee on Gender Equality) and the Speaker of the Assembly.Respect for and attention to the Caucus’s activities has been earned not least through the or-ganization of highly effective actions that have helped demonstrate the potential impact of theCaucus. For example, in a demonstration of cross-party unity, all 40 women MPs once left thechamber, blocking a plenary voting session, due to the fact that their concerns had not beentaken into account. As Ms. Teuta Sahatqija, current President of the Caucus, explained, ‘Whenasked about their positions within the political parties, women realise that regardless of the party theyare always under-represented at the decision-making levels. And the common interest for changingthis situation is what ultimately unites us, and makes the work of the Caucus effective.’The Caucus has also focused on formalizing its activities by adopting a Strategic Action Planand elaborating an Annual Action Plan. The plans are drafted with the active involvement ofcivil society organizations and international organizations, in order to identify priorities andthe most effective ways to achieve them. Co-operation with partners is sustained through jointimplementation of the Caucus’s activities.As the figure below shows, the action plans of the Caucus are developed through a multi-levelapproach: input is provided at the local level, at the national level through the Assembly andthe Government, and at the international level through the involvement of international or-ganizations.

of Kosovo. At thenational level,the Caucus is concerned with lobbying for greater women’srepresentation and articulating women’s interests and gender equality issues within all theAssembly’s committees. For example, Caucus members attend meetings of committees thathave no female representation – as observers – and provide advice on legislation from a genderperspective. The Caucus has also implemented a media strategy – including an agreement withthe national television broadcaster to air gender-sensitive programs on a regular basis – whichhas resulted in the Caucus attracting good coverage in the media. In addition, the actions ofthe Caucus benefit from input at theinternational level,as the Caucus often co-operates withother structures for women MPs in the region, and engages in knowledge exchange with simi-lar structures established in Europe.Given the informal nature of the Caucus, funding remains a considerable problem for the im-plementation of its activities. In this respect, co-operation with partners such as the OSCE,the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, the National DemocraticInstitute (NDI) and others is extremely important. Such co-operation can increase the body’s le-gitimacy, demonstrate its adherence to international gender equality standards, as well as resultin the provision of financial or technical expertise by international actors. For example, the OSCEMission in Kosovo is currently providing a gender expert/advisor (former MP) to the Caucus,who acts as a liaison between women’s caucuses at the local level, and the national-level Caucus.The most recent achievements of the Caucus include:•In 2012, the Caucus concentrated its activity on the reform of the Rules of Procedure of theAssembly. The support of several committees was sought on four amendments:1) more gender-sensitive language shall be adopted in all Assembly documents, includingthe rules of procedure, and in Assembly debates;2) the President of the Assembly shall request the Women’s Caucus to propose a candidatefor the Deputy President of the Assembly;3) the Chair and Deputy Chair of each committee shall not be of the same gender;4) the composition of committees shall reflect the political power of political groups, andgender equality.The Caucus articulated its concerns regarding the list of ambassadorial candidates pre-sented to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, which included only male candidates. TheCaucus therefore called for greater gender balance, resulting in the appointment of severalqualified women to ambassadorial positions.A national programme to raise awareness among women on breast cancer prevention wasdeveloped in co-operation with the local caucuses and municipalities, and implemented inco-operation with local public health services.

Interestingly, in 65 per cent of cases, the parliament has not resolved or formally decided toestablish a women’s parliamentary body, or to renew that body on a regular basis. Furthermore,the parliament rarely confers on these bodies the kinds of investigative or legislative reviewpowers of parliamentary committees or commissions – that is, they are not commonly recog-nized as an ‘organ’ of the parliament.For the most part, parliaments do not require onerous information or details for the registra-tion of women’s parliamentary bodies (see Table 4.2). In most parliaments, however, a nameis required. A membership list and organizational chart were expected in Austria, Estonia,Georgia and the United States of America, while in Finland and France internal rules were alsorequired.43None of the bodies presented financial declarations from members to parliament,including in the United States, where members are required to pay a membership fee. In theparliaments of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Kyrgyzstan, the women’s par-liamentary body was not formally recognized.

MembershipNine of the parliamentary bodies surveyed included all women MPs, while in another nine,membership was voluntary, and did not necessarily involve all women members of parliament.It was reportedly uncommon for bodies to have a formal or written procedure for acceptingmembers (25 per cent noted the existence of such procedures, and 75 per cent did not). TheSwedish case provides an example of a group with a formal mechanism to appoint members.The Speaker’s Reference Group on Gender Equality Issues is headed by the Speaker of theRiksdag, and consists of eight other members, one from each party represented in parliament.The members are nominated by their respective parties and appointed for one parliamentaryterm. In the current 2010–2014 term, all members of the Reference Group are women. In orderto promote a more gender-balanced group, however, each party is asked to nominate two mem-bers, one regular member and one deputy member, with the deputy sometimes being a man. Asa consequence, the body today consists of eight regular members (all women) and eight deputymembers (three men and five women). Thus, the current gender composition of the body is 100per cent female permanent members, 62.5 per cent female deputy members and 37.5 per centmale deputy members.In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, representatives from political parties not elect-ed to parliament are entitled to become members of the Women Parliamentarians’ Club. InGeorgia, the women’s parliamentary body includes representatives of civil society; representa-tives of international organizations are also allowed to join.Almost half of the bodies surveyed reported that men could become members (Armenia,Austria, Canada, France, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine). The number of men included insuch bodies varied from one to ten (in Ukraine). As the case study on Ukraine below demon-strates, the engagement of men can be critical to the effectiveness of parliamentary bodiesin lobbying for greater gender-sensitivity and gender awareness within parliamentary set-tings. Not all bodies agreed, however, on the need to include men. The Women’s Caucus of theAssembly of Kosovo, for example, was established in order to provide a space where womencould come together to articulate their priorities and concerns in a safe environment, and tobuild their capacity and confidence to voice these priorities before the parliament as a whole.In some cases, the restriction of membership to women only is a deliberate design decision.

Case Study 4: The Equal Opportunities Group of the Verkhovna Rada of UkraineIn late 2011, Parliamentary Speaker Lytvyn officially announced the launch of a “cross-faction deputy association Equal Opportunities”, more commonly referred to as the EqualOpportunities Group, in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Its announcement was met with somescepticism. Indeed, the Verkhovna Rada has witnessed several attempts to establish a cross-party group of parliamentarians with the aim of promoting gender equality issues. Obstacleshave included deeply-rooted divisions between political parties in Ukraine, the low level ofwomen’s representation in the Verkhovna Rada (eight per cent from 2009 to 2012), and a lim-ited culture of women’s solidarity.Members of the group attribute the success of its current incarnation to several factors. First,all members of the Equal Opportunities Group, regardless of their party affiliation, were inagreement on the need to protect benefits to single mothers, which a draft law by the Cabinetintended to cancel; issue-based solidarity was key to defeating the proposed cancellation ofbenefits. Second, public awareness about gender inequality has steadily increased in Ukraine.At the same time, the prospect of parliamentary elections in 2012 created a ‘window of oppor-tunity’ for women’s groups, politicians and gender experts to join forces to highlight Ukraine’spoor record of women’s representation in public office.The Equal Opportunities Group was formally registered in the Rada as a ‘voluntary associa-tion’ on 6 December 2011. The status of association means that the Group has no formal powersto influence or vote on legislative initiatives, nor does it receive budgetary resources from theparliament. Nonetheless, the Group has played a role in the development of the draft law “OnAmendments to the Code of Administrative Offences for settlement of the question of respon-sibility for violence in the family”, and has also held a roundtable on reproductive rights. TheGroup is entitled to propose drafts or amendments to legislation that may then be submittedby individual MPs. Furthermore, members of the Group advocate within their political par-ties on various issues, including for the active engagement of women in political life, and forthe introduction of voluntary quotas in party lists. Co-operation between the Group and theSub-committee on Gender Equality (a sub-committee of the Committee on Human Rights andEthnic Minorities) is limited, partly stemming from the different mandate, objectives and ac-tivities of these two bodies.When it was first established, the Equal Opportunities Group adopted an innovative systemof leadership. Until recently, the Group had been co-chaired by three MPs from three differentpolitical parties, with the aim of sharing ownership across party lines and of building cross-party consensus on gender issues. Unfortunately, more recently, the Group has not been able toovercome the ideological differences existing between political parties on key issues, resultingin one party recalling all its members from the Group.In Ukraine, combating gender-based stereotypes is key to enhancing the role of women inpolitics and decision-making, and advocating for increased political participation of womenforms a central part of the Group’s activities. For example, in May 2012, the Group hostedthe high-level conference “Women’s Participation in the Parliamentary Elections of 2012 inUkraine”, in co-operation with the OSCE/ODIHR and NDI Ukraine, and with the support of theCanadian International Development Agency (CIDA). In this respect, the participation of menin the Group has been critical; men have been actively engaged in promoting gender equalityand in combatting gender-based stereotypes.

Likewise, the Group has sought to forge partnerships and alliances with external stakehold-ers, namely civil society. The media has been both a target of the Group’s activities, as well asa key partner. For example, the Group regularly writes a column in the publication “BusinessUkraine” about issues the Group is working on. This partnership serves a dual purpose: raisingthe profile of the Group and its activities as well as raising awareness on key gender-related is-sues of importance to the public – both men and women. Importantly, the Equal OpportunitiesGroup was established with the support of NDI Ukraine, who continues to assist it in develop-ing its strategic objectives and activities.The Group has continued to face several challenges, some of which are similar to the obstaclesconfronted by such groups elsewhere in the OSCE region, while others reflect the particularpolitical culture of Ukraine. These include a high level of political polarization, limited re-sources, continued gender-based stereotypes regarding women in politics, limited cross-partyco-operation within the Rada, and an insufficient culture of women’s solidarity in Ukraine.Following parliamentary elections in October 2012 (where women’s parliamentary representa-tion increased by two per cent), the Equal Opportunities Group was formally re-established aspart of the new convocation of parliament on 25 December 2012. Now with 28 members fromthree different political factions, among them ten men, the Group has elaborated a plan ofactivities focused on two objectives: the promotion of gender equality, including the participa-tion of women in all spheres of political and social life, and the development and/or reform oflegislative initiatives in the spheres of domestic violence, protection of the rights of womenand children, and ensuring equal opportunities of men and women in all spheres of life. To thisend, the Group has already elaborated three draft laws relating to prevention of domestic vio-lence, prohibition of trafficking in children, and provision of equal social protection to singlemothers and fathers. Between January and March 2013, the Group also held several meetingswith a number of NGOs in order to draft a Memorandum as a more solid ground for future co-operation.As noted, whilst the Group itself, as an association of MPs, does not have the power to initiatelegislation according to the Rules of Procedures of the Rada, it can elaborate drafts or amend-ments to legislation which can then be submitted by individual MPs. Furthermore, within theirpolitical parties, the members of the Group will advocate for the active engagement of womenin political life, as well as support the introduction of voluntary quotas in political parties.

As noted in Case Study 4 above, men’s participation in the Equal Opportunities Group inUkraine has been particularly helpful in acknowledging and highlighting men’s contributionsto achieving gender equality. The number of men involved increased (from three to ten) in theparliamentary term following the October 2012 elections, attesting to the growing influence ofthe Group. Importantly, men help to combat negative stereotypes prevalent in the communityabout women’s political participation and women’s broader role in public life.Notwithstanding the above, ultimately, the membership and composition of a women’s parlia-mentary body should be linked to the mandate and objectives of the body. The engagement ofmen and/or of external actors such as civil society, academia, or international organizationsmay be helpful in achieving objectives related to advocacy, awareness-raising, and partnershipon key legislative initiatives or reforms, while a women-only composition may be preferableif part of the aim of the body is to provide a safe space for women to voice their needs andconcerns.

Leadership, decision-making and procedural issuesWhile the internal mode of operation of the bodies surveyed varied in terms of degrees of for-mality, the approach to leadership in particular appears to be quite formal. Chairs and DeputyChairs are more often elected for a fixed term than rotated amongst MPs from different par-ties or chambers. In Ukraine, a third approach to leadership can be discerned, as the statutorydocuments of the Equal Opportunities Group state that the leadership of the Group shouldbe shared among the three parliamentary political party factions, so as to foster cross-partysolidarity.The length of a leadership term differs across structures. Respondents noted that allowingone person to serve as head of the body for the entire sitting provides stability and strategicdirection to the body. This is the case where parliamentary bodies are led by those occupyingpositions of leadership within the parliament, for example, the Speaker’s Reference Group onGender Equality Issues of the Swedish Parliament and the Gender Equality Council of Georgia,which is headed by the First Deputy Speaker of the Georgian Parliament. At the other end ofthe spectrum, the positions of Chair and Deputy Chair of the Women’s Union of Estonia arerotated every two months. This approach allows every member of the Union the opportunityto exercise leadership. In between these two models, the Women Parliamentarians’ Club of theAssembly of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia selects a Chair to serve a one-yearmandate from among a co-ordinating body, allowing for both strategic direction and the op-portunity for more than one member to hold a position of leadership. In Serbia, members ofthe Network established in February 2013 opted not to establish a fixed leadership mechanism.Instead, the Network is co-ordinated by a rotating troika (one representative of each parlia-mentary party faction, starting with the largest) that changes every one to two months; thetroika will be supported by liaison officers from each political party.Other women’s parliamentary bodies have established decision-making or executive entities tosupport the strategic development of the body. In Kyrgyzstan, the process of decision-makingitself operates on the basis of consensus among all members. The Women Parliamentarians’Club of the Assembly of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has established a co-ordi-nating body of Deputy Chairs, one representative from each political group. The Chair of theClub is elected from this co-ordinating group, which meets regularly. Likewise, the Women’sCaucus of the Assembly of Kosovo includes a Board of seven members that is empowered toelect the President by secret ballot and provide direction and strategic guidance to the Caucusas a whole.It is also worth noting that in Finland, France and Poland, there are positions such as Treasurer,Secretary or Public Relations Officer.Just like parliaments themselves, women’s parliamentary bodies in the OSCE region com-monly have internal rules, circulate agendas before the meeting, and require decisions to betaken by a vote rather than consensually. Unlike other parliamentary bodies, however, thesebodies are not as commonly given the power to inquire into policy and legislation, draft theirown legislation, or report to the parliament. Parliaments’ responses to the questions of leader-ship structure and whether parliaments had conferred any particular powers on the body arereported in Table 4.3.

Table 4.3 Organization of women’s parliamentary bodies: Leadership and powers Leadership and procedure (n=17)Leadership positions (Chair, Deputy Chair) elected by bodyLeadership positions rotated across different parties, different chambers, old/new MPsFixed term for Chair (e.g. 1 year)The body has established positions (e.g. Treasurer, Secretary, Public Relations Officer, etc)The body has internal procedural rulesGoverning organ establishedSub-committees can be establishedAgenda prepared and circulated to all members before each meetingNo agenda circulatedDecisions are taken by a voteDecisions are taken by consensusPowers and functions expressed in rules of procedure (n=17)The body may report to ParliamentThe body may inquire into policy and legislation, and may call witnesses and request expert submissionsThe body may draft legislation55410773863112108

Case Study 5: Women Parliamentarians’ Club of the Assembly of the former YugoslavRepublic of MacedoniaEstablished with the support of women’s civil society organizations within the frameworkof the Stability Pact – Gender Task Force programme for South Eastern Europe in 2003, theWomen Parliamentarians’ Club of the Assembly of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedoniahas managed to assert itself as an influential group within the unicameral parliament. Allwomen Members of Parliament belong to the Club.The Club has established highly-developed leadership and decision-making structures, witha co-ordinating body composed of representatives from each political group (Deputy Chairs)among which a rotated Chairperson is appointed for a fixed period of one year. Meetings of theco-ordinating body are frequent – two to three times a month – while the entire Club meetsseveral times during the year; the Club has also adopted internal procedural rules agreed uponby its members. A Strategic Plan is adopted by consensus after each member has discussedit with, and received approval from, her political party. At the end of each year, the Club re-views the activities in the Plan. The Club also has its own website hosted on the website ofthe Parliament, which serves to inform parliamentarians and the public of its activities andachievements.

This level of organization requires a high degree of co-operation among the members of theClub in pursuing the aim of gender equality across party lines. Most of the Club’s memberscome from the political majority represented in the Parliament, and therefore have consider-able success in attracting the Government’s support. However, there have been occasions whenconsensus reached among Club members has required them to take a different stance to mem-bers of their own political party on some issues.The Club has established a close relationship with the Committee on Equal Opportunities forWomen and Men. The President of the Committee sits on the co-ordinating body of the Club.This relationship is reciprocated: the Chair of the Club is officially invited to all sessions of theCommittee. This strong relationship results in strategic co-operation between the two bodies.The Club serves as an informal forum where gender-related policies are debated and agreed uponacross party lines. The policies are then formally discussed within the Committee, giving theminstitutional value and providing for the possibility to bring these policies to the attention of theMinister/Government (see figure below). This policy-formulation process has proven effective: forexample, a number of amendments proposed by the Club have been accepted by the Committee,and then presented at the ministerial level. The Law for Equal Opportunities of Women and Men(2012) and the Law on Maternity Leave were passed following this deliberative process.

Co-operation between the Club and NGOs and civil society organizations has also proven fruit-ful. NGOs assist the Club in organizing trainings, hearings and projects, as well as in the pri-mary drafting of the Club’s Strategic Plan, giving civil society a voice inside the Parliament.Local committees on equal opportunities, established in each municipality, are also invitedto discuss their priorities on gender issues. Through these discussions, NGOs and the localcommittees on equal opportunities are able to channel their concerns into the Strategic Planof the Club. This political strategy to advance gender-related policies is then completed byCoordinators on Gender Equality present in all Ministry offices.The most recent activities of the Club have included the promotion of three National StrategicPlans addressing (i) gender budgeting, following the implementation of a Council of Europeproject on this topic in 2006, (ii) domestic violence and violence against women, and (iii) theimplementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

Objectives and mandatesRespondents were presented with a list of possible objectives guiding the work of their par-liamentary body, and asked to rank these in order of priority (on a scale of one to ten, withten being the most important); the findings are captured in Table 4.4 below. The results showthat almost all respondents prioritized the objective of influencing policy and legislation froma gender perspective. This result suggests that women’s parliamentary bodies in the OSCEregion have been formed because there is a specific role for parliaments in gender mainstream-ing. Only in Finland was the body concerned with gender budgeting, but here it was a highlyranked objective.Table 4.4 Objectives and mandates of women’s parliamentary bodies9.998.28.17.77.2776.565.65.55.25.5To influence policy and legislation from a gender perspective (n=14)To implement and/or monitor gender budgeting (n=1)To lobby for support on gender equality issues (n=12)To add items to the parliamentary agenda (n=9)To draft legislation and introduce it into the Parliament (n=8)To raise awareness both inside and outside the Parliament on gender equality issues (n=11)To review legislation (n=3)To conduct advocacy with civil society organizations (n=5)To ensure Parliament’s compliance with international obligations such as CEDAW commitments (n=10)To build capacity and empower women (n=5)To create a social space for women and men MPs and foster a sense of solidarity (n=6)To hear from relevant stakeholders on gender equality issues (n=6)To monitor policy implementation (n=8)To conduct or commission research (n=4)

A second set of objectives relate to lobbying and advocacy on gender issues (lobbying forsupport on gender equality, adding items to the parliamentary agenda, raising awareness ongender issues). Not only did a number of bodies regard this as one of their objectives but theyrated it as one of their most important objectives (with a rating of 8 or 7).Interestingly, few parliamentary bodies prioritized the empowerment of their women mem-bers, although this may be ultimately a corollary of their stated priorities. Regardless of thespecific objectives and mandate of the parliamentary body, it is clear that women’s parliamen-tary bodies are established to serve a common, shared goal of their members. The existence ofa unifying goal or purpose serves not only to provide strategic direction to the body, but is alsoimportant in building cross-party trust and co-operation.

Does structure and organization impact on effectiveness?When asked whether the structure and organization of the body contributed to its effective-ness, some women’s parliamentary bodies responded that there was a positive association:The structure and the arrangement of the Forum allow it to work with a high degree of efficiencyas the rules and regulations were developed by women MPs. Because decisions are made by con-sensus, all suggested changes can affect the decision-making process (Kyrgyzstan).Yes, the structure and organization of the Network of Women Members of the Finnish Parliamentcan work quite effectively. As evidence of this it could be mentioned that the Network has been ableto influence policy and legislation from a gender perspective (Finland).In Kyrgyzstan, the structure and consensual decision-making process facilitated women’s em-powerment. In Finland, and to some extent in Sweden, the informality of the Network is under-stood as one of the keys to its success. In a similar way, in the Assembly of Kosovo, the formalstructure of the Women’s Caucus, with its executive Board and regularly scheduled meetings,is regarded as a contributing factor to its effectiveness.Other respondents to the ODIHR questionnaire, however, noted that the structure and organi-zation were not the decisive factors when considering the bodies’ effectiveness. Instead, broad-er institutional factors, such as the partisan make-up of the parliament, played a stronger role:The former model of the Caucus was very effective because it was decided in a very consensualway. It needed a longer period, to create experience and effectiveness, to be reinforced and to cre-ate tradition. The situation of the parliamentary mandate 2009 till now has not produced a goodclimate for the existence and sustainability of the Caucus. There were efforts by some women MPsbut they did not succeed (Albania).In a minority government, everything is politicized, and it doesn’t change much in a majoritygovernment. The principal barrier to achieving meaningful action in Canada’s all-party women’scaucus appears to be a lack of participation by parliamentarians from the governing party. Atthe same time, women’s commitment to working together is small. On gender issues, female gov-ernment MPs usually vote according to their party’s position. Sometimes the minister for womenwill ask her members to do a particular study, and it will be done, as the government party hasthe majority. This may lead to legislation. Of course, as there are two government members on thesteering committee, the government controls the witness list! And that impacts what is said in thestudy. The ultimate commitment is to party, not to women (Canada).It is interesting to note that, in the cases of Albania and Kyrgyzstan, both emphasized theconsensual nature of decision-making as a factor that contributed to the effectiveness of thebody. In other cases, however, women’s parliamentary bodies may wish to create mechanismsto allow for the articulation of dissenting opinions or may deem consensus as too difficulta condition to achieve.Two other factors are important in determining the effectiveness of a women’s parliamentarybody. First, the commitment of members to work together across political divisions and bringconsensus-based legislative or policy change on issues that are really important to them, andsecond, the relationships they form both within and outside the parliament. These factors arethe subject of the next two chapters of this study.

ConclusionThis chapter has focused on findings and observations with respect to the organization andstructure of women’s parliamentary bodies in the OSCE region. For the most part, these bod-ies are broadly ‘informal’ in nature, associated loosely with the parliament and rarely estab-lished by formal resolution. Bodies tend to meet as required. While half of those surveyedhave administrative staff provided by the parliament, very few are given research staff, whichin some cases is a function of the general capacity of the parliament itself. Given that a lack offinancial and logistical support has been noted as one of the most significant challenges to theestablishment and sustainability of such bodies, this support has to be secured from a reliablesource. It is not surprising, then, that women’s parliamentary bodies are often supported byinternational organizations.Notwithstanding the ‘informal’ structure of these bodies, their approach to leadership and pro-cedure can be characterized as quite formal. This need not be surprising, given the institutionsfrom which they are sprung. Agendas are typically circulated in advance of a meeting, rulesdetermine meeting procedure, and leadership terms are often fixed. The more organized a par-liamentary body, the more likely it is to have developed a Strategic Plan, and/or Plans of Action.The case studies presented in this chapter demonstrate the importance of sharing leadershippositions among the party groups. In Ukraine, until recently, the leadership was shared amongthree co-chairs, each also a member of a different parliamentary party faction. This exercise inpower sharing was aimed at enhancing cross-party collaboration in a politically challengingenvironment. Conversely, the seven-member governing Board of the structure established inthe Assembly of Kosovo is comprised of a member from each party group, while a President iselected to serve as head of the Caucus for the entire parliamentary term.Membership options also differ: while some parliamentary bodies try to ensure that all womenparticipate (for example, the Women Parliamentarians’ Club of the Assembly of the formerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia), some are happy to cater only to those who are interested(or of ‘like mind’, for example, the Pro-Life Caucus in the United States). Men participate ina number of parliamentary bodies, although to differing degrees. The case study from Ukraineillustrates the important role men have played in the Equal Opportunities Group to combatnegative stereotypes of women in public office. Elsewhere, restricting membership to womenonly allows women to articulate their policy priorities and concerns in an environment that isperceived as more conducive to the body’s objectives.Lastly, this chapter identified the mandates of different bodies. It was found that women’s par-liamentary bodies are overwhelmingly committed to influencing policy and legislation froma gender perspective, and to lobbying on gender equality issues. Importantly, these bodies tendnot to have the same kind of powers of parliamentary committees, which would enable themto initiate or amend legislation.Notwithstanding the organizational and structural diversity of women’s parliamentary bodiesin the OSCE region, some conclusions can be drawn. First, it is critical that the parliamentarybody articulates a common goal or purpose that its establishment is intended to achieve; sec-ond, there are benefits in establishing leadership processes that serve to strengthen cross-par-ty trust, co-operation and dialogue; and third, membership provisions (that is, who is entitledto join) should be linked to the ultimate mandate or goal of the body.

ActivitiesMost commonly, women’s parliamentary bodies surveyed in the OSCE region reported ac-tivities aimed at influencing policy and legislation and considered these to be ‘fairly effective’(see Table 5.1). In Albania, for example, the Law on Gender Equality in Albanian Society wasconsidered as an important law adopted after sustained lobbying from the Women’s Caucus, incollaboration with the Government and women’s coalitions. In 2008, after 18 years of lobbyingfor a quota, the Women’s Caucus was able as well to introduce an amendment to the electorallaw, requiring at least 30 per cent women and men in all legislative, executive and other publicorgans and at least 30 per cent women and men on all political party candidate lists.Table 5.1 Activities engaged in by women’s parliamentary bodiesInfluencing policy and legislation (n=13)Coalition building around an issue (n=12)Raising awareness on gender equality issues among constituents (n=13)Holding press conferences (n=13)Holding discussions with civil society, business groups, academia, and government departments on genderequality issues (n=13)Holding discussions with ministers on gender equality issues (n=14)Raising awareness on gender equality issues among parliamentary staff (n=12)Advocating for non-discriminatory, gender-sensitive working culture (n=12)Monitoring and evaluation of government policy and legislation (n=14)International networking (n=13)2.11.81.81.71.71.61.31.21.21.1

A second area of work for these parliamentary bodies has been in communicating with exter-nal stakeholders: raising awareness among constituents (considered ‘fairly effective’), with themedia (considered ‘fairly effective’), with civil society, business, academia (considered ‘fairlyeffective’), and with government ministers (also considered ‘fairly effective’). In Denmark, thenetwork of women politicians that operated in the Parliament between 2002 and 2007 ratedone of its successes as increased awareness of the need for a maternity fund.Less effectively run, however, were activities aimed at raising awareness of gender equality is-sues among parliamentary staff, advocating for a gender-sensitive work culture in parliament,monitoring and evaluating government policy, and working to promote more women to posi-tions of leadership in parliament. The rankings on this question suggest that the parliamen-tary environment in many OSCE States is resistant to this kind of change.Fundraising activities were the least frequently cited activities. Fundraising activities can behard to run, but it may be that they are also seen as ‘conflicts of interest’, or not as importantas other activities. In the case of Sweden, it was reported that the Reference Group tends tofocus on topics of common concern, or topics that are perceived as being of interest to largercommunities, including the staff of the parliament.As the case study from Estonia demonstrates below, some women’s parliamentary bodieschoose to engage in advocacy-related work, particularly in co-operation with civil societyorganizations, universities and research centres. In Estonia, this is in part because of thestrength of the relationship established between the Women’s Union and the broader women’smovement in civil society. These foundational relationships have given the Union a mandate toadvocate for and lobby on behalf of women beyond the confines of the parliament itself.

Case Study 6: Women’s Union of the Estonian ParliamentThe Women’s Union (Riigikogu Naisteuhendus) was first established in 1998, a period in whichwomen’s political activism was on the rise in Estonia following the restoration of its independ-ence. During those years many women’s associations, both political and non-political, wereformed in Estonia, drawing attention to a variety of gender equality and equal opportunityissues within civil society and political life. As women’s participation in public life increased,a roundtable bringing together representatives of women’s associations was convened by theRiigikogu (the Estonian Parliament). This roundtable served as the impetus for the establish-ment of a permanent cross-party structure – the Women’s Union – within the Parliament itselfduring the VII Riigikogu.

The Women’s Union is currently composed of all 20 women elected to parliament followingthe 2011 elections, and meets regularly once a month. Like all other parliamentary associa-tions (there are currently 47 of them within the Riigikogu), the Union operates according tothe Parliament’s Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act. Not formally recognized by theParliament, the Union operates as an informal group, with the positions of Chair and DeputyChair rotating every two months among its cross-party members. This process of rotationserves to strengthen leadership skills among all members of the Women’s Union, and alsoenhances mutual respect and understanding between the members. While there is no formalrestriction on men participating in – or becoming members of – the Union, no man has yetexpressed a desire to do so.As the Union is not established by a resolution of the Parliament, it does not have the samepowers as other parliamentary bodies to play a formal role in the legislative process, and theRiigikogu does not provide the Union with any administrative or research support. No stra-tegic plan or annual plan is drafted, and the Union tends to work on issues as they arise. TheUnion’s members promote women and family issues, debating them across party lines withinthe Union. Press releases are regularly published on the Parliament’s website, and good cover-age of the Union’s activities is given by the Estonian media.As the Union does not receive funding from the Estonian Parliament, it has mainly focused onadvocacy work on women, family, and children’s issues, in partnership with civil society organi-zations, universities and research centres, focusing on the promotion of public debates on gen-der-related issues rather than directly influencing policy and legislation. Research papers andstudies are also commissioned from university centres and civil society institutes. An exampleof this co-operation is a recent initiative, jointly organized with the NGO ETNA Eestimaal(funded by the Open Estonia Foundation), to support small businesses for women in rural areasof the country. Although this will not necessarily result in any legislative change, this co-oper-ation has resulted in the betterment of the lives of women members of the electorate.

Survey respondents were also asked to provide examples of achievements of women’s parlia-mentary bodies (see Table 5.2). Most commonly, respondents provided examples where thebody had tried to influence legislation and policy, and where they had held discussions withrelevant stakeholders.Table 5.2 Reported achievements of women’s parliamentary bodies in the OSCE regionInfluencing legislation and policyFinlandThe Network played an active role in the process to accord a universal right to day care forchildren under 7 years and in the adoption of legislation concerning the provision of micro-loans to women entrepreneurs. The Network has also been active in promoting genderbudgeting within the parliament.The Advisory Group played a key role in lobbying for the adoption of the Law on GenderEquality (26 March 2010).The Equal Opportunities Group helped organize a series of awareness raising roundtables,including the Roundtable on “Strengthening political parties through the involvement ofwomen,” 1 March 2012.Roundtable on abortion and family planning, 27 April 2012.Roundtable “Women’s participation in the parliamentary elections of 2012 in Ukraine”,31 May 2012.It has also played a role in advocating for the adoption of the draft law “On Amendments tothe Code of Administrative Offences for the settlement of the question of responsibility forviolence in the family”.

The women’s parliamentary body in Kyrgyzstan has played a key role in lobbying for theadoption of the Family Code, Code on Children, as well as in advocating for amendmentsto the Criminal Code and the constitutional law on Election of the President of the Republicof Kyrgyzstan and Deputies (MPs) of the Zhogorku Kenesh (Parliament) of the Republic ofKyrgyzstan.The Club played a critical role in the adoption of the Law for Equal Opportunities of Womenand Men in 2012.It supported the promotion of three national strategic plans on gender budgeting, domesticviolence and violence against women, and UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.The lobbying efforts of the Women’s Caucus in Albania helped secure amendments to theElectoral Code, which introduced a legislated gender quota requiring a minimum percentageof the less-represented gender on candidate lists.

Holding discussions with relevant stakeholdersEstoniaFranceThe Women’s Union organized a conference on issues of local governance; ideas resultingfrom this conference were presented to the committees of the Parliament.The delegation has published a number of reports on issues examined by the NationalAssembly, such as political parties; civil rights (e.g. inheritance law, divorce); social rights(e.g. equal pay, professional equality between men and women, women and retirement,part-time work); protection against domestic violence; the situation of women prisoners;women’s rights (e.g. contraception, abortion).The delegation publishes an annual report on its recommendations to improve legislationand regulations in its specific areas of competence. For example, these reports have been inareas such as the professional equality between men and women, part-time work, womenimmigrants, and abortion.The delegation also organizes hearings, and can hold meetings with its counterpart in theSenate.The women’s parliamentary body in Poland has co-organized conferences and debateswith civil society and self-governing bodies on raising the age of retirement for women andon cervical cancer prevention, and members participate in the annual Polish Congress ofWomen. It also helped organize the Disabled Women’s Awards Gala event organized withparliamentary groups for disabled people.

The role of parliamentary and political party systemsThe political party system can have a substantial impact on the collaborative work of cross-party bodies and on the ability of these bodies to achieve their objectives. In evaluating theimpact of political parties on the efficacy of women’s parliamentary bodies, respondents wereasked whether women’s parliamentary bodies in their parliament had been able to gain sup-port on a range of issues across party lines, and to rank their level of effectiveness in doing so(see Table 5.3). The survey uncovered a number of policy areas on which women were able toachieve cross-party support. These predominantly relate to non-discrimination, equal oppor-tunities, violence against women and the equal representation of women in parliament (rated,on average, as ‘fairly effective’). It may be because these areas are not particularly divisivealong party lines that women have been able to find sympathetic ears within their parties onthese issues.The results also show that it has been more difficult for women’s parliamentary bodies to reachagreement across party lines on issues relating to women’s bodies (achieving agreement onissues related to reproductive rights, prostitution and trafficking was rated, on average, as‘somewhat effective’).

In five parliaments (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary and Kyrgyzstan),respondents noted that the nature of political party functioning in parliaments can impact thedegree to which women’s parliamentary bodies achieve positive outcomes. To this end, one ofthe respondents to the questionnaire noted that the political behaviour of Albanian parties isvery restrictive and hinders party members and MPs from collaborating with each other ondifferent issues (see Case Study 1, above). MPs in Canada voiced a similar frustration.Women have been trying [to work together] for decades; unless they’re in a national crisis, it doesn’thappen (Canada).As party leadership support is often needed in order for women party members (indeed, forall party members) to engage in cross-party initiatives, a political environment characterizedby a high level of political party discipline can make it challenging – but not impossible – forwomen to come together across party lines. Highly polarized political environments, on theother hand, can have a very detrimental effect on opportunities for women’s parliamentarybodies to engage in their work, and may prevent the establishment of such bodies in the firstplace. Political polarization can generate extreme forms of party discipline that go beyond theconventional parameters of party allegiance. Under normal circumstances, allegiance to partyfactions can help create stability and stimulate debate in legislatures. In polarized environ-ments, political party discipline can prevent all forms of cross-party communication, dialogueand co-operation.One strategy for dealing with strong party discipline and political polarization is to focuson issue-based co-operation. In this case, women’s parliamentary bodies, or women MPs in-terested in establishing cross-party co-operation, may be more effective if they select issueson which their parties do not have a strong stance. Likewise, at the beginning of cross-partydialogue at least, women may wish to avoid issues that involve strong ideological dimen-sions upon which parties differentiate themselves (e.g. abortion). Some parliamentary commit-tees have established processes whereby ‘dissenting reports’ are issued on committee topics.

Empowering membersConsistent with the earlier finding that women’s parliamentary bodies in OSCE participatingStates tend to be less interested in actively undertaking capacity building of their womenmembers, less than half of those surveyed reported on the need to run training activities (seeTable 5.4). Where they did, trainings on definitions and application of gender equality, gendermainstreaming and gender-sensitive parliaments were the most commonly cited. Some par-liamentary bodies were interested in enhancing parliamentary skills such as chairing meet-ings and using parliamentary procedure. Very few were concerned with learning how to builda voter base (Albania only) or forging issue-based coalitions (Armenia only).Table 5.4 The need for capacity building Definitions and application of gender equality, gender mainstreaming and gender-sensitive parliamentsChairing meetings and other leadership skillsParliamentary proceduresPublic speaking, negotiation and persuasion skillsLegislative draftingRepresenting and championing constituents’ interests in ParliamentConflict resolutionBuilding a voter baseForging issue-based coalitionsNote: The total number of answers is greater than ‘n’ because respondents could choose multiple options.654322211

sentation. Since then, the Network has remained an informal voluntary network to which allwomen MPs automatically belong regardless of party affiliation, organizing its work accordingto its own internal rules.Overall, the primary aim of the Network is to assemble women MPs from across party lines todiscuss questions of particular relevance to women, and to promote equality between womenand men as well as women’s rights. In particular, the members aim to ensure that women’sperspectives are included in all legislative work in general, and that legislation conforms togender equality principles. Seminars and meetings on issues like equality and co-operationbetween women are often arranged. In past years, the Network has been successful in draftingamendments to the law on gender equality (1994), and the right of children to day care (1997).The Network also sends representatives to international conferences on equality and women’srights, and emphasizes international co-operation as a key networking tool among womenMPs. To this end, the Network co-operates closely with civil society organizations and womenMPs from other countries. Speakers are also invited to the Network’s meetings so that womenMPs can learn more about current political issues. The Network has occasionally met withthe network of men MPs that was established in 2010 in the Finnish Parliament. One of thesubjects that the male network has focussed on is empowering men to prevent and combatdomestic violence; for its part, the Women’s Network has been active in raising awareness ofdomestic violence and violence against women.To help organize its activities, the Network prepares an operational plan and budget eachyear, benefitting from one part-time assistant who is currently recruited from outside theParliament. The Parliament’s internal research service and International Unit are at the dis-posal of the Network. Also, like many other collaborative groups inside the Finnish Parliamentthat operate on a similar basis, the Network receives funds from the Parliament to cover thecosts of meetings and events.During the period of the first woman Speaker of the Parliament (who served from 1994 to 2003)amendments were passed regarding the working conditions of the Parliament. As a result,an internal agreement on the duration of parliamentary debates was reached, limiting longplenary sessions in order to make it easier for both male and female MPs to combine their par-liamentary mandate and family life. These gender-sensitive parliamentary reforms have beenhelpful in creating a better work-life balance in the Finnish Parliament.As in other countries characterized by a high level of gender equality development, the ap-proach to women’s issues in Finnish politics has changed in recent years, focusing more onspecific forms of legislation such as gender budgeting. Women MPs engage in more targetedaction in support of gender equality, in part due to the widespread gender awareness prevalentin Finnish society and politics.

Perhaps because these bodies have often been formed with the support of women’s movements,some women’s parliamentary bodies have effectively consulted with gender experts in thecommunity on a range of issues. This was certainly the case in Estonia and Poland.Political party discipline can make it challenging for women to co-operate across party lines,but does not constitute an obstacle per se. Political polarization, however, can make cross-party communication virtually impossible. The research also showed that disagreement ismore likely when cross-party bodies communicate or lobby around issues relating to women’sbodies, such as reproductive health, prostitution and/or trafficking. Where political tensionis evident, women parliamentarians may wish to consider alternatives to formalized, cross-party caucuses (even if their aim is to facilitate cross-party co-operation and trust), focusinginstead on informal networking and co-operation with external actors, such as civil society.Alternatively, women can choose to focus on issues on which their parties themselves do nothave strong ideological or political stances.

Connecting with communities of interestSurvey respondents were asked to rank the effectiveness of their interactions with bodies andorganizations both inside and outside parliament. The results suggest that relationships arebuilt along two fundamental requirements for women’s parliamentary bodies: first, the needfor information and publicity; and second, the need to build partnerships that make changepossible.Overwhelmingly, parliamentary bodies surveyed regarded their interaction with civil societyorganizations as quite effective. This suggests that civil society organizations continue to bean important and reliable source of information and support for women’s parliamentary bod-ies, and that without the support of these organizations, women’s parliamentary bodies do notfunction as effectively. In particular, as noted in chapter 3, women’s parliamentary bodies havederived a strong sense of legitimacy from their connections with women’s movements. Often,it has been because of the efforts made by these movements that women have been elected toparliament in the first place, so there is a fundamental need to continue, and sometimes for-malize, that relationship once women hold positions of formal or public power.Other information and publicity sources that were considered effective included the media(2.2), national women’s machinery (1.7), other bodies of the parliament dealing with genderequality (1.6) and universities and research institutes (1.5).We need a large campaign publicised in the mass media, to continuously raise awareness on gen-der issues, show best practice examples and international success stories (Albania).

Table 6.1 Interaction with other bodies and organizationsCivil society organizations (n=14)The media (n=13)Political party(s) of Government (n=13)Other organs of the Parliament (e.g. Executive body) (n=13)National women’s machinery (n=12)Other parliamentary bodies dealing with gender equality in the Parliament (e.g. committee) (n=14)Political party(s) of the Opposition (n=13)Universities and research institutes (n=13)International organizations (n=14)Independents (n=13)Women’s parliamentary bodies in other countries (n=12)The Ombudsperson (n=13)Other women’s parliamentary bodies at the sub-national level (n=13)Scale: A weighted index was developed, whereby a score of 4 represents ‘very effective’; 3 represents ‘fairly effective’; 2represents ‘somewhat effective’; 1 represents ‘not at all’; and 0 represents ‘there is no relationship’.2.32.21.91.81.71.61.61.51.51.41.31.21

The case of Slovenia discussed in chapter 3 highlights the fundamental importance of workingwith women’s organizations outside the parliament, including women’s wings of political par-ties and the wider women’s movement. It also reveals that sometimes, it is easier for coalitionsto be built between like-minded actors across a range of institutions, than between womenfrom different sides of the political spectrum in parliament. Furthermore, co-operation withcivil society can also build the legitimacy of women’s parliamentary bodies in the eyes of thepublic. For example, as noted below in Case Study 8, the participation of members of the PolishSejm’s Parliamentary Group of Women in the annual Polish Congress of Women, the largestgrassroots gender equality initiative in the country, has provided the Parliamentary Group ofWomen with more visibility and credibility.

Case Study 8: The Polish Parliamentary Group of Women48In April 1991, Polish women MPs established the Parliamentary Group of Women (PGK) to bet-ter advocate, both within the Parliament as well as in civil society, for the adoption of legisla-tion related to the equal status of men and women.Formally recognized by the Parliament, the PGK includes women MPs from across party linesand is officially re-formed after each parliamentary election. The Group receives support fromthe Parliament, and is represented in both the Sejm (lower house) and the Senate. Largelyinclusive in terms of cross-party membership during its first years of activity, the PGK wasable to discuss difficult issues such as abortion and violence against women, also establishingfruitful co-operation with civil society organizations. In this regard, following a PGK sugges-tion, a Forum of Co-operation between the Parliamentary Group of Women and civil society

women’s organizations was established. The Forum discussed, among other things, the billon the equal status of women and men, provisions regarding the dissolution of marriage, andpreparations for the harmonization of Polish legislation with EU standards in the context ofPoland’s efforts to join the European Union.49After focusing its activities on the introduction of a legal gender quota for many years, theGroup was re-established in January 2012 following the October 2011 parliamentary elections,gathering 50 members across the political spectrum (albeit, without representation from thelargest conservative opposition party, Law and Justice). According to its Declaration, the Groupintends to work on adapting Polish legislation to international standards on gender equality,mainly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action. In June 2012, the PGK supported the Ministerfor Equal Treatment in her efforts to have the Polish government sign the Council of Europe’sConvention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.In addition, Polish women MPs have consistently aimed to co-operate with women’s move-ments in Poland. Several members of the PGK participate in the annual Polish Congress ofWomen, a gathering of Polish women and gender advocates from across all sectors of Polishsociety. When first established in 2009, the Polish Women’s Congress gathered thousands ofwomen (and men) to share their discontent over the under-representation of women in Polishpolitics. They proposed the introduction of parity on electoral lists, guaranteeing half of allpositions to women. After a series of political and parliamentary discussions, the desired par-ity (50 per cent of female and male candidates) was not achieved. Nevertheless, the idea ofequalizing political chances for women and men as electoral candidates remained importantfor women’s NGOs. Thanks to their determination and co-operation with the ParliamentaryGroup of Women, a 35 per cent gender quota was introduced. The new Electoral Code of 2011guaranteed both women and men at least 35 per cent of positions on the electoral lists. If anelectoral committee does not fulfill this requirement, the list will not be registered.Most recently, the PGK has supported the submission of a legislative initiative to the Sejmconcerning draft amendments to the Electoral Code to introduce a ‘zipper’ system. The zippersystem requires, in addition to the 35 per cent gender quota, that women’s and men’s namesbe alternated on candidate lists. This amendment is considered a concrete and positive movetowards meeting the expectations of the women’s movement and gender activists in Poland.

Until elections in 2005, the PGK was dominated by deputies from ruling parties. However, in the years from 2005to 2007, the body lost its inclusive character and divisions emerged between those espousing more progressivevalues, and those committed to more traditional ones. This inhibited the activities of the PGK, which had beenforced to adopt a short-term approach, becoming more of a forum for discussion rather than a legislative advo-cacy group. During the next parliamentary term of 2007–2011, despite the presence of women MPs with moreprogressive viewpoints, the PGK adopted a rather passive stand, focusing on topics such as women’s health-care and the gender pay gap, and avoiding more controversial issues such as reproductive rights like abortion.When the PGK proposed a set of amendments to the Standing Orders of the Sejm aimed at the establishmentof the Standing Committee for Equal Status of Women and Men, the proposal to establish the committee wasultimately rejected by the Sejm, attesting to its weakened influence within Parliament.

of the women’s movement – can help legitimize and give credibility to women’s parliamentarybodies. Together, the two sectors can more effectively advocate on issues of mutual concern.The Polish case study also demonstrates that women’s parliamentary bodies need to buildrelationships with the ‘power brokers’ in parliament. Table 6.1 above shows that relation-ships with political parties that form Government (1.8), organs of the Executive (1.7) and theOpposition (1.5) were considered somewhat effective. By ranking these relationships relativelyhighly, women’s parliamentary bodies are acknowledging that they need the parliament andother public institutions to implement the changes they themselves can only recommend.Challenges can be overcome through coordination and collaboration between executive and legis-lative powers (Georgia).In Georgia, where a national women’s machinery body has not yet been established, it hasbeen very important for the Advisory Group on Gender Issues (also referred to as the GenderEquality Council) of the Georgian Parliament, headed by the Deputy Speaker, to establish andmaintain relations with representatives of the Executive on gender-related issues.Relationship building with political party leadership is also important. In Moldova, whereattempts are underway to establish a cross-party women’s caucus, respondents noted thatwomen MPs interested in establishing a caucus first discussed the initiative with their partyleadership in order to build party support. This process resulted in the elaboration of a jointstatement of shared principles and goals regarding institutionalization of communication be-tween women parliamentarians. Obtaining the buy-in and support of party leaders is deemedcritical to the eventual establishment of a woman’s caucus in Moldova.In addition, this study has found that many women’s parliamentary bodies in OSCE participat-ing States have benefited from co-operation with and support from international organizationsas well as international NGOs. Support can range from the provision of financial and techni-cal assistance, to the facilitation of access to communities of expertise and experience. Forexample, OSCE field operations have provided support to women’s parliamentary bodies in theWestern Balkans, Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, mainly through their parliamen-tary support programmes (PSPs).International support can be important, and even critical, to the establishment and runningof women’s parliamentary bodies. Nonetheless, international organizations can be most help-ful when they serve the role of facilitators and supporters, rather than as drivers of initiativesto establish such bodies. Women parliamentarians and/or parliamentary gender advocatesshould remain the primary driving force, in co-operation with party leadership, parliamentaryleadership and civil society, where appropriate.

Parliaments have an essential role to play not only in ensuring that gender mainstreaming, asa strategy, is implemented by Government, but also in monitoring and evaluating that imple-mentation. International organizations have recommended that mechanisms be developed toassist parliaments in performing this oversight role.50These mechanisms include women’s par-liamentary bodies, dedicated parliamentary committees on gender equality, or parliamentarycommittees that include gender/women’s affairs among a number of other related portfolios.Table 6.2 Gender mainstreaming mechanisms in Parliament A multi-functional parliamentarycommittee (e.g. committee on socialaffairs, human rights and genderequality/women’s issuesPersonal initiative ofa parliamentarian(e.g. co-operation with civil society)A specialized parliamentary committeeon gender or women’s issuesA gender equality commissionA body that brings women togetherA gender equality body establishedin the Parliament’s Secretariat/AdministrationA research body capable of analysingdata from a gender perspectiveA mechanism for collecting and/oranalysing sex-disaggregated data14Albania, Armenia, Canada, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Georgia,Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia,TajikistanAlbania, Belgium, Canada, Bulgaria, Finland, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Serbia, Slovak Republic, TajikistanAustria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, the former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine*Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, France,Liechtenstein, Slovenia, SpainAlbania, Canada, Estonia, Finland, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia, Norway, PolandAustria, Finland, Germany

Parliaments surveyed by this study more commonly noted that gender mainstreaming wasleft to a multi-functional parliamentary committee (for example, one that included in its remitsocial affairs, human rights and gender equality) and/or the initiative of individual parliamen-tarians (see Table 6.2). These parliaments are diverse in terms of the parliamentary system inplace, the level of parliamentary development (gender mainstreaming mechanisms have beenestablished in well-established parliaments such as Canada, Finland, Norway and Portugal,as well as those less developed, such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan), and in theirproportion of women parliamentarians (ranging from 12 per cent in Georgia to 42 per cent inFinland).The level of parliamentary development does seem to have an effect on whether the parlia-ment has established what might be classified as ‘more sophisticated’ gender mainstreamingmachinery, such as a specialized parliamentary committee on gender equality, a gender equal-ity commission, or a technical body established in the parliamentary administration. Thesebodies have been created in Austria (28 per cent women), Belgium (38 per cent), Denmark (39per cent), Finland (42 per cent), Germany (33 per cent), Spain (36 per cent), Canada (24 per

cent), France (27 per cent) and Sweden (46 per cent), where women’s representation is high, andwhere there is a sustained commitment to gender equality – both in the parliament and in thewider community.No parliament surveyed reported on the existence of a ‘temporary parliamentary commit-tee on gender or women’s issues’, and three reported a mechanism for collecting or analys-ing sex-disaggregated data. Women’s parliamentary bodies were never identified as the solegender mainstreaming mechanism in existence in the parliament. As noted, in addition tothe women’s parliamentary body, other mechanisms included multi-functional parliamentarycommittees or specialized committees on gender equality.In terms of parliamentary gender equality policies, of the legislatures surveyed, the parlia-ments of Austria, Canada, Kyrgyzstan and Spain reported the existence of a ‘Gender EqualityPolicy’; a‘StrategicPlan’ was cited in Austria, Georgia, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia, Slovenia and Sweden. These policy frameworks are important not only becausethey might set objectives for the parliament in terms of gender mainstreaming, but also be-cause they outline a clear direction for how the parliament, through its various mechanisms,might work as a whole on gender equality. This is an area in which there is a great deal ofscope for improvement. The Speaker’s Reference Group on Gender Equality Issues establishedin Sweden (see Case Study 9 below) provides a positive role model in this regard.The focus on the gender dimension has to be actively part of the daily political arena, otherwise itwill fail (Finland).

Case Study 9: The Swedish Speaker’s Reference Group on Gender Equality IssuesThe Speaker’s Reference Group on Gender Equality Issues is a parliamentary group within theSwedish Parliament (the Riksdag). It consists of the Speaker and eight parliamentarians, onefrom each political party represented in the Parliament, as well as eight substitute members.The key objective of the body is to raise and discuss issues on gender equality across the workof the Riksdag.The Reference Group was initially established as the Speaker’s Network for FemaleParliamentarians in 1995 by the then Speaker, Birgitta Dahl (Social Democratic Party), fol-lowing a meeting to which she invited seven female MPs, one from each of the seven partiesthen represented in parliament. The original purpose of the Network was to discuss how bestto use the high representation of women in the Swedish Parliament (at that time, 41 per cent),to raise awareness on gender issues and build the capacity of women MPs. Breakfast meetingsand seminars on wide-ranging gender equality and democracy issues were arranged. In 2006,the Network was renamed the Speaker’s Reference Group on Gender Equality Issues by theSpeaker Per Westerberg (Moderate Party), to reflect a shift in focus from understanding genderequality issues as women’s issues, to issues that concern both men and women.The rules of procedure regulating the Reference Group and its activities are stipulated in theGender Equality Action Plan of the Swedish Parliament 2006-2010and theGender Equality ActionPlan of the Swedish Parliament 2010–2014.In these action plans, the Reference Group is recog-nized as a key organ of the Riksdag to promote gender equality. It is also noted that the bodyis provided a gender secretariat comprised of two parliamentary staff (civil servants) withgender expertise, responsible for research and administrative support. The Group also has itsown budget provided by the Parliament.

The eight members of the Reference Group are nominated by their respective parties andappointed for one parliamentary term. In the current 2010–2014 term, all members of theReference Group are women. In order to promote a more gender-balanced group, however, eachparty is asked to nominate two members, one regular member and one deputy member. Thus,the current composition includes the eight regular members (all women) and eight deputymembers (three men and five women).The Reference Group schedules meetings on a regular basis; it normally meets twice a semes-ter to plan its activities. It meets in the Speaker’s Office, and the Speaker chairs the meetings.The dates of the meetings and seminars are decided upon at the first meeting of every term,and a notice as well as an agenda is distributed to the members by e-mail one week prior to thenext meeting. Where a permanent member is unable to attend the meeting, a deputy membermay substitute.The Reference Group has no formal powers; it may not draft or review legislation, add items tothe parliamentary agenda, or monitor the implementation of government policies. Rather, theSpeaker’s Reference Group has evolved into a meeting point for gender equality spokespersonsand a forum for discussion and raising awareness inside the parliament on gender equality is-sues. It normally decides on themes and topics for various seminars to be arranged. Decisionsare made after deliberation and by consensus. Hence, no formal decisions are made, and deci-sions are not taken by a vote. While formal minutes are not taken, the secretariat does takeinformal notes.One member of the Reference Group described it as “an excellent arena … to raise gender re-lated problems that might take place in the Parliament, but also an excellent platform for rais-ing awareness of gender related problems in society that need to be discussed in Parliament.”Another member noted that, “the body provides me with a recognized platform to act asa spokesperson for gender equality issues”.The Speaker’s Reference Group has three main sets of activities: arranging seminars and work-shops in the field of gender equality for parliamentarians, party officials and parliament staffmembers; arranging a large public seminar at Almedalen; and conducting additional activities,including support to MPs on issues pertaining to gender equality. It also meets with foreigndelegations.The Reference Group has developed relations and contacts with other bodies, both inside andoutside Parliament. It co-operates from time to time with the Male Network of the SwedishParliament and the Network Against Discrimination and Honour Related Oppression.Four of the eight members of the Reference Group are also members of the Committee on theLabour Market, which is one of the 15 parliamentary committees. One of the key responsibili-ties of the Committee on the Labour Market is to consider issues relating to equality betweenwomen and men insofar as these matters do not fall to any other committee. It also preparesappropriations falling within expenditure area 13 on integration and gender equality.The combined membership means that many members of the Reference Group are also keylegislators in the field of gender equality, with a special mandate to decide on the state budgetfor gender equality issues.The Speaker’s Reference Group also has extensive contacts with international counterpartsincluding the FEMM Committee (Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality) in the

As highlighted in the case study on Sweden above, four members of the Speaker’s ReferenceGroup are also members of the Standing Committee on the Labour Market, which is taskedwith initiating gender equality legislation and other issues. This means that what the ReferenceGroup cannot do, a related body can. Moreover, this relationship is co-ordinated under theGender Equality Action Plan that is revised in every parliamentary term. The Action Plannotes that a gender equality plan shall be established by the Riksdag Board for each term andthat there shall be a gender secretariat. The Action Plan maps out activities for every parlia-mentary year, notes who is responsible for the implementation of the activities, and describesthe ways in which the Action Plan is to be monitored and evaluated. The Secretary General ofthe Parliament is responsible for the Plan and implementation is undertaken by parliamentarystaff with gender expertise. The development of strategic policy documents as well as theinstitutionalization of relations with key gender-related organs of the Swedish Parliamentclearly enhances the impact that this body has on the process of parliamentary gender main-streaming.The question remains, then, how these bodies can best co-operate with each other, how theyshare information, and how they distribute the ‘work load’ on gender mainstreaming.

Formalizing parliamentary relationshipsHalf of the women’s parliamentary bodies surveyed have not institutionalized a relation-ship with the gender equality parliamentary committee (where the latter exists). An institu-tionalized relationship might take the form of regular meetings between the two bodies ora work plan with areas of agreed upon collaboration. The Swedish Reference Group, describedabove, is one example of a women’s parliamentary body that has institutionalized relationswith parliamentary committees, in this case the Standing Committee on the Labour Market,and has noted that this formalized relationship has enhanced the influence and impact ofthe Reference Group. Institutionalized relations between women’s parliamentary bodies andrelevant parliamentary committees have also been noted in the case of the former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia and in the women’s parliamentary body recently established in Bosniaand Herzegovina (see Case Study 10 below).

In terms of these bodies’ relationships with counterparts in other countries, the results sug-gest that regional co-operation has worked well in the Western Balkans and in some countriesof the South Caucuses (for example, Georgia). In these regions, there is a sense that parlia-ments have much to offer each other on the basis of a shared social and political cultureand level of parliamentary development. These parliaments are also interested in maintaininga connection with the European Parliament.A second form of international co-operation is evident between more established parliaments,such as Finland and Austria, and those where parliamentary democracy is in a phase of devel-opment. The Finnish Network, by establishing a relationship with international organizations,has been able to share some of its lessons learned with other parliaments in the OSCE region.Likewise, parliaments have also received support from other legislatures, through activitiessuch as study tours and peer-to-peer exchanges among parliamentarians, allowing for an ex-change of good practices and lessons learned.One emerging trend may be the establishment of women’s parliamentary bodies at local ormunicipal levels that are linked in some way to national bodies. In the Western Balkans, therehave been initiatives to develop relationships between the central and municipal levels. In thisregard, as illustrated in Case Study 3, the Women’s Caucus of the Assembly of Kosovo providesa successful example of co-operation between the national level and the local level, where lo-cal women’s caucuses have been established. Through the organization of conferences, round-tables and other activities, members of the national-level Women’s Caucus and those of thelocal caucuses can share their perspectives on issues of mutual concern, and also inform oneanother about developments and issues arising at local or national level specifically.More recently, in March 2013, a women’s parliamentary body was established at entity level inBosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina); a national level women’sparliamentary body does not yet exist (see Case Study 10 below).

Case Study 10: The Women’s Parliamentary C lub at entity level in Bosnia and HerzegovinaIn March 2013, women MPs of the entity-level Parliament of the Federation of Bosniaand Herzegovina (FBiH) established a women’s parliamentary body entitled the Women’sParliamentary Club. In contrast to other examples presented in this study, the Club has beenestablished at entity as opposed to the state level, reflecting the specific governance systemin Bosnia and Herzegovina.51The first structure of its kind to be established in the country,the initiative brings together women MPs from across party lines, and has benefitted fromthe strong support of the international community, in particular the International RepublicanInstitute (IRI) and the Embassy of the United States. The Women’s Parliamentary Club gathersall 21 women MPs currently serving in the House of Representatives of the FBiH.The Women’s Parliamentary Club was officially launched to the public on 4 March 2013, duringan event co-organized with various international organizations, including the OSCE Mission toBosnia and Herzegovina and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).More than 200 MPs, politicians, and representatives of both international organizations andcivil society attended the event, including the Ambassador of the United States to Bosnia andHerzegovina. The Club was formally recognized as an official parliamentary body by plenaryvote in late April 2013. However, as is the case for other bodies presented in this study, theClub does not currently receive any budget or administrative assistance from the parliament.In order to address this lack of resources, the Club intends to put forward a proposal for fund-ing during the next budgetary cycle. In the meantime, international donors, including theAmerican Embassy and IRI, will support the body. In addition to this, the Club will be sup-ported by an assistant, who will be responsible for facilitating the work of the body.The leadership structure of the Club reflects the unique political set-up of Bosnia andHerzegovina, with a division of power between each of the three different ethnicities recog-nized in the Constitution of the country. At present, the Chair is a representative of the mainopposition party, Ms. Hafeza Sabljaković; the two Deputy Chairs are reserved to representa-tives of the remaining two ethnicities. All positions are designed to last for the entire parlia-mentary mandate.The Women’s Parliamentary Club is also in the process of drafting several working documents,including a Strategic Plan and an Annual Action Plan. This drafting process benefits from thesupport of IRI, civil society and several NGOs active in the field of gender equality. The prin-cipal objective of the Club is the promotion of women parliamentary candidates. For example,the Club intends to advocate for the introduction of reserved seats for women MPs, to ensuretheir future representation in the parliament. At the same time, members of the Club havealso decided to advocate for a larger representation of women in executive positions, as thepercentage of women’s representation in these positions remains particularly low in Bosniaand Herzegovina.The Club also intends to co-operate closely with relevant parliamentary committees, in par-ticular the Committee on Gender Equality, the Committee on Labor and Health Insurance,and the Committee on Refugees and Displaced Persons; all of these committees are currently

chaired by women MPs who are also members of the Club. This co-operation is expected tofacilitate and support the process of introducing legislative change, as well as to raise genderrelated considerations with more political efficacy vis-a-vis the parliament of FBiH and thegovernment. The Club will also advocate for the creation of similar bodies in other parliamen-tary institutions in the country.Given the recent establishment of the Club, its members are in the process of learning success-ful practices from other countries in the region. To this end, meetings with women MPs fromSerbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have already been scheduled. In paral-lel, seminars and events will continue to be organized with the assistance of the internationalcommunity, making good use of the favourable media coverage and high interest accorded theClub during its first political steps.

ConclusionThe study has found that establishing a relationship between national women’s movementsand women’s parliamentary bodies can be of benefit to both parties. Women’s NGOs and gen-der activists can provide members of women’s parliamentary bodies with important data, re-search and statistics, while women’s parliamentary bodies can help channel civil society con-cerns into parliamentary processes.Women’s parliamentary bodies, however, also need to build relationships with the ‘powerbrokers’ within the parliament (including the Executive and the Opposition), and with therelevant parliamentary committee tasked with gender mainstreaming. This is important be-cause women’s parliamentary bodies are rarely attributed powers to make the change theyseek. Therefore, formalizing relationships between the women’s parliamentary body and therelevant, authoritative committee or other organs of the parliament can prove a successfulstrategy in implementing gender mainstreaming. The Swedish Speaker’s Reference Group onGender Equality Issues is a good example of a group that works closely with other gender bod-ies of the Riksdag, most notably the Standing Committee on the Labour Market.

Despite the significant achievements made by a number of women’s parliamentary bodies interms of promoting gender equality and women’s political representation, challenges remain.This chapter presents some of the challenges identified by representatives of women’s parlia-mentary bodies in the survey. These include a lack of resources, sustained stereotypes aboutthe role of women in society, and the influence of political polarization.Table 7.1: Challenges to the work of women’s parliamentary bodiesLack of resources (n=14)Cultural norms and stereotypes about women in society (n=14)Lack of support from party leaders to work across party lines (n=14)Lack of solidarity among women (n=13)Lack of dedicated support staff (n=15)Discriminatory or sexist working culture in Parliament (n=13)Lack of reliable information/research on gender equality issues, including a lack of sex-disaggregated data(n=14)2.121.71.71.31.10.8

The most frequently cited challenge of the bodies surveyed related to resources. As discussedearlier (see chapter 4), women’s parliamentary bodies are not provided with enough fundingto allow them to do the kind of outreach or research work they would like. A related challenge,although not ranked as highly, is the lack of support staff. Like any parliamentary structure,these bodies require staff to assist with logistics, planning, administration and continuity.The lack of parliamentary support, both financial and logistical, can make it very difficult fora women’s parliamentary body to run activities. A body requires, at the very least, a room inwhich its members can meet – preferably in the parliamentary precincts – but also a time tomeet that does not conflict with parliamentary business. A woman parliamentarian from the

Wisconsin State Assembly reported that chamber meetings were systematically scheduledat the same time as meetings of the women legislators. The response from the Assembly ofKosovo is illustrative as well:One of the main challenges remaining for the Women’s Caucus is that it does not receive sufficientfunds from the Assembly of Kosovo to be sustainable. This means that support to the Caucusmainly comes from international organizations such as OSCE, UNDP and NDI. [These funds are]important for the implementation of the activities of the Caucus.In these cases, dedicated structures for women MPs can consider other types of support – forexample, seeking in-kind support from the parliament in the form of a meeting room, hostinginformation about the structure’s activities on the parliamentary website, including activi-ties of the body in parliamentary outreach materials, or allocating part of the parliamentarybudget to procuring research materials and tools on gender equality issues that members ofthe body – and other MPs – can easily access.Very few structures for women MPs reported the existence of a gender secretariat, such asthat which supports the Swedish Speaker’s Reference Group on Gender Equality Issues. Whilerespondents did not consider a lack of reliable information or research of particular signifi-cance, where staff and resources are not attributed to the group, they will not be able to analysesex-disaggregated data or other research provided to them, due to time constraints and heavyworkloads.A second challenge is confronting gender-based stereotypes about women’s roles, responsibili-ties and capacities. Many women MPs find it hard to fight cultural stereotypes that positionthem as being less effective, and less legitimate, in that role than men. This resistance wascited in the responses from Albania and Ukraine:There exist strong cultural stereotypes about women even among the MPs and inside theParliament. The political parties, even when they declare themselves in favor of women’s participa-tion, have resisted amending the electoral law to include an article that would require “both gen-ders in every three names” (Albania).Women are under-represented in decision-making bodies of the parties and the elected offices inUkraine. Gender inequality remains a prominent feature of Ukrainian politics. This is despitea number of adopted laws, ratified international legal instruments, hundreds of round tablesand workshops. Work in the community is required to overcome existing patriarchal stereotypes.Political parties should be responsible for raising awareness on gender equality issues in the elec-torate through trainings, roundtables, public discussions. It is extremely important to demonstratethat women are on equal terms with men, that they can represent voters and hold positions ofleadership (Ukraine).Political polarization is a third challenge. Indeed, political polarization, which often results inmuch stricter party discipline, can have a negative impact on the collaborative work of cross-party bodies, or prevent them from being established in the first place. This is because womenare, first and foremost, members of their political parties to which they ultimately depend fortheir future political career. This is the case where electoral politics is fiercely fought by par-ties that seek to distinguish themselves from other parties on policy, and which do not valuecompromise and consensus. Women, just like men, can disagree on political ideology andmight decide to prioritize other political issues than gender equality ones.

Where the degree of political polarization is high, and political parties require their membersto vote along party lines and threaten those members with expulsion where they do not adhereto that line, there can be little scope for women (and men) to work together on gender issues.Moreover, to the extent that political parties do not allow it, women will not be able to showa sense of ‘solidarity’ on gender issues. As identified earlier (see chapter 5) and as is clear fromthe responses below, however, party loyalty trumps collaboration on some issues more thanothers.One of the major challenges is that the strong party structures and strong division between gov-ernment and opposition sometimes makes it difficult to work across party lines. [O]n some equalityissues consensus can easily be obtained, [o]n others not (Finland).The [women’s caucus] established in the 4th Parliament of Armenia was very passive. In my opin-ion, this was because of the strong political nature and party affiliation of women MPs. The solu-tion is to find common fields of interest – social, gender and family issues, education, and militaryservice – and to start active participation in these areas (Armenia).The Albanian experience with women parliamentary structures also highlights the role politi-cal polarization and the resulting high levels of political party discipline can play in hinder-ing cross-party collaboration. As described in Case Study 1, in a fiercely competitive politicalenvironment, the women of the Albanian parliament were not able to re-establish the Women’sCaucus. In similar conditions, the level of formality of, as well as mode of, organization andstructure acquires particular relevance. In fact, women’s parliamentary bodies have succeededwhere they have been able to devise a structure that mitigates the challenge of political par-ties requiring their members to abide by their ideology. In some bodies, this is achieved bybecoming active on issues that are not politically sensitive or on which party leaders have notdeveloped a strong stance. Moreover, women’s parliamentary bodies that are able to clarify (andin some cases, set in writing) a vision or strategic plan, have proved successful in keeping thenegative effects of extreme party discipline at bay.Resistance to women’s parliamentary bodies can be found among both men and women MPsthat are critical of bodies that introduce membership requirements based on sex. For example,a woman parliamentarian in a state-level legislature in the United States noted that: “I wouldbe highly offended if my male Senate colleagues had a caucus that I was unable to attend. Myallies are people with the same positions on issues”.52This is an issue that parliamentary structures for women MPs need to take into consideration,to ensure that the establishment of a body with membership restricted on the basis of sexdoes not undermine the broader goal of gender equality promotion. In these situations, a pos-sible solution is to consider including men as members of the women’s parliamentary body.As the example of Ukraine shows (Case Study 4), opening membership to men can be one wayof addressing the concerns identified above, particularly if the body is involved in awarenessraising and advocacy on gender equality in societies where gender-based stereotypes and dis-crimination are broadly entrenched, or where there is a need to stress that gender equality isnot a ‘women’s issue’ alone. Allowing men to join may also help protect such parliamentarystructures against complaints of unfairness.

Overemphasis on the structure and organization of a women’s parliamentary body in termsof leadership or practical organization (setting the agenda, sorting out the logistics, inter-nal communication and so forth) can obstruct its ability to perform its designated func-tions, leaving most achievements at the initiative (and sometimes personal cost) of in-dividual parliamentarians. Notwithstanding the above, however, a lack of agreement onleadership procedures in cross-party caucuses in particular can stifle concrete action.53In these cases, a system of shared leadership among representatives of different parties couldoffer an effective solution, allowing women MPs to focus on objectives and activities.Another challenge encountered concerns the workload and political priorities of parliamentari-ans. The workload of MPs is often demanding, and leaves less time to dedicate to what might beseen as ‘extracurricular activities’. “[W]omen legislators are often very busy people, and settingaside the time to coordinate via a women’s caucus may be a luxury they feel they cannot afford”.54The assistance offered by international organizations, women’s movements, and NGOs couldrepresent an effective means of relieving the burden of advocacy or policy reform from womenMPs’ shoulders alone.Lastly, re-establishing women’s parliamentary structures following the end of parliamentaryconvocations can also pose a considerable challenge. This is closely connected with the natureof such structures, which are often flexible and not formally recognized by the parliament,leaving the responsibility for the re-establishment of the body on its members. More impor-tantly, however, parliamentary elections may result in incumbent women MPs that are mem-bers of a women’s parliamentary body not being re-elected, as was partly the case in Denmark.New women may take up parliamentary mandates, but may not necessarily wish to join or re-establish the body. Alternatively, as can be seen from the case study from Latvia below, womenparliamentarians that assume positions of power within the parliament may not have thetime to commit to a women’s parliamentary body, or may feel that such a body advocating forwomen’s political advancement may be no longer needed. Women’s parliamentary bodies thatkeep track of their achievements and record practical considerations regarding the functioningof the body can create an institutional memory that may serve to convince new women MPsto renew the body, or minimize disruption to the bodies’ activities in between parliamentarysittings.

women’s forums. Other goals included the enhancement of dialogue with NGOs as well as thepromotion of gender equality issues among the public.During the time of the 8th Saeima, the women’s group held the status of ‘parliamentary friend-ship group’. There are no formal records of many of its activities apart from a letter sent todiplomatic representation offices of various countries residing in Latvia, informing them of thegroup’s formation. Although the group formally elected a chairperson and deputy chairperson,there appears to have been a lack of leadership in setting both the priorities of the work as wellas in driving its agenda forward. The group did not enjoy any legislative powers, and there isno record of collaboration with the Sub-committee on Gender Equality of the Social Affairs andHuman Rights Committee.With the election of the 9th Saeima (2006–2010), the women’s parliamentary group was re-established with an increased membership: 20 of the total 21 women parliamentarians becamemembers. The group elected a new leadership that injected renewed energy into the work ofthe body. The group’s chairperson served in a voluntary capacity, with no remuneration. Themembership continued to reflect the composition of the parliament, with the exception of theone party that did not have any female deputies.During this period, the group forged a close co-operation with the women’s rights organizationMartathat promoted the adoption of a Law on Gender Equality. This law was discussed overthe course of the same parliamentary term (2006–2010), although the priority to mainstreamgender equality across all policy documents and applicable laws eventually took precedence.The group also actively engaged with small rural women business owners and promoted ini-tiatives that were geared towards supporting self-employment as well as life-long learning. Inaddition, the group focused on women’s health, with a particular emphasis on women’s repro-ductive health. Members actively engaged in discussion with social partners and NGOs withthe aim of channelling civil society concerns onto the parliamentary agenda. In the above-mentioned areas the group managed to raise awareness and achieve on certain occasions posi-tive legislative and budgetary changes.Among the group’s other activities was the establishment of a forum gathering members ofthe group and women entrepreneurs, who presented concrete proposals to the respective min-istries on how to promote women’s entrepreneurship by providing access to grants and otherforms of financing.In 2010, 22 women were elected to the 10th Saeima, but due to an election being called lessthan one year later, the group was not able to continue its work. The 11th Saeima was elected in2011 and included 23 women. However, by the end of 2012, the women’s parliamentary grouphad still not been able to resume its work.This can be explained by two main factors. First, there was little carryover from the 9th Saeimain terms of membership, as many of the current women members were elected to parliamentfor the first time. Second, despite their relatively small number (23 of 100 members) womenare well represented in parliamentary leadership positions. The Speaker and Vice-Speaker ofParliament are both women. Of nine legislative committees, four have women chairpersons,while two of the six oversight committees are chaired by women. One woman is the deputychairperson of the second largest faction, and three women are deputy chairpersons of com-mittees. Thus, of the 23 women parliamentarians in the present parliament, 11 women, or al-most half, occupy leadership positions in the parliamentary presidium, committees or factions.

Even when a parliamentary body for women has proven successful and achieved desired out-comes, it can be difficult to re-group in successive parliaments. As the above case study ofLatvia shows, it proved too difficult to re-establish the women’s group when the original wom-en members were not re-elected, and when the few women who were elected were subsequent-ly appointed to positions of parliamentary or political leadership.In this case, it may be worthwhile to encourage the members of women’s parliamentary bodiesto regularly produce a comprehensive report of their activities, lessons learned, and challengesencountered. This could be done at the end of each year, as a mechanism to assess progressmade and the achievements secured. Documented evidence of the impact of women’s parlia-mentary bodies can provide the impetus for renewal of such bodies even when there is a highturnover in women MPs following elections, or at least provide an institutional record of thebody’s achievements that may be of use to future women parliamentarians.

Democracy presupposes the equal participation of women and men. Yet across the OSCE re-gion, women continue to be under-represented in political and public life, particularly in deci-sion-making positions. To redress the historical bias of parliaments towards men, significantchange is required. This change would not only see the inclusion of more women in parlia-ment, but would also make parliaments themselves more responsive to the concerns, needs andinterests of women. Parliaments would become more gender-sensitive.Women’s parliamentary bodies can play a critical role in shifting the responsibility of makingparliaments more gender-sensitive from women MPs alone, to parliaments as a whole, includ-ing parliamentary leadership. ‘Gender mainstreaming infrastructure’, such as a women’s par-liamentary body, often has as one of its objectives the goal of ensuring that gender equality isaddressed across all areas of parliamentary work.This study investigated the existence of women’s parliamentary bodies in the OSCE region.The first contribution of the study is the development of a typology of women’s parliamen-tary bodies. The typology aims to systematize the plethora of organizational types that fallunder the category of a women’s parliamentary body. By classifying each type according towhether it is informally or formally structured, and whether it is advocacy focused (that is,concerned with advocacy on selected policy issues as well as with gender mainstreaming ina broader sense) or parliamentary focused (having as its main goal the scrutiny and influenc-ing of parliamentary legislation, through the tabling of amendments or promotion of genderequality issues within the parliamentary agenda), the study identified the most common typesof parliamentary bodies created in the OSCE region. Women’s parliamentary bodies that areparliamentary focused, such as cross-party women’s caucuses and voluntary networks or as-sociations, were most commonly identified.The organization, activities and relationships of these bodies were then examined. The studyfound that women’s parliamentary bodies in the OSCE region were largely ‘informal’ in nature(that is, they were not formally registered bodies of the parliament), but had formal operation-al mechanisms (agendas, internal rules, fixed leadership structures). Power-sharing arrange-ments (i.e., where leadership is shared among the political parties, either as joint members ofa board, or rotated chair positions) were seen as helpful in overcoming political party tensions.Men participated constructively in some of the women’s parliamentary bodies.Most women’s parliamentary bodies have been created with the common intention of influenc-ing policy and legislation from a gender perspective. Interestingly, however, these bodies often

An eight-step framework for the establishment of a women’s parliamentary bodyAs this study has highlighted, one size does not fit all when it comes to the establishment ofa women’s parliamentary body. Different types of bodies gathering women MPs exist acrossthe OSCE region; these vary widely in their activities, mandates, membership, resources anddegree of formality. Moreover, such bodies tend to adapt to (and reflect) the political dynamicscharacteristic of their parliamentary assemblies and national context, often achieving politi-cal successes in spite of significant challenges, because of the tireless work of their womenmembers.The study has identified a wealth of good practices that support the establishment of women’sparliamentary bodies and help avoid the potential challenges and obstacles that have beenpresented. Recognizing that each country context is unique, this study has developed an eight-step framework of action for parliaments and women MPs interested in establishing or re-vitalizing a women’s parliamentary body. It is important to note that, although the strategiesare presented in a certain order, MPs interested in establishing such bodies can select thestrategies most appropriate to their political context.1. Initiate broad consultations.The first step consists of initiating consultations amongwomen MPs, aiming to be as inclusive as possible. Initially informal, these consultationsshould serve to identify the existence of acommon interestin establishing a women’s parlia-mentary structure. Capitalizing onwindows of opportunity,such as the period where parlia-ments are formed following elections, women MPs should try to buildcross-party supportfor their initiative, involving all political party representatives in the discussions. Oncea shared commitment among women MPs to establish such a structure is achieved, moreformal consultationsshould take place, which may, if appropriate, also involve the parlia-mentary leadership, other gender mainstreaming organs of the parliament, women’s move-ments, interested civil society NGOs, international organizations and/or political partyleadership.2. Outline common goals and objectives.Once a common interest in establishing a bodyis identified, parliamentarians should identify common goals and objectives which can,on the one hand, unite them in their action across political party lines and, on the otherhand, help provide strategic direction. In politically-challenging environments in particu-lar, members may wish to chooseuncontroversial policy issues(for instance, the promotion ofgender equality, the advancement of women MPs, the delivery of better services to womenin society) as a vehicle to build cross-party co-operation and also to build support from ex-ternal bodies, such as parliamentary leadership. Issues where parties have a strong politicalor ideological stance may want to be avoided during the first steps in building cross-partyco-operation. The drafting of aStrategic Planwill also give women MPs solid ground on

which to proceed. If the parliament itself has developed a gender equality policy, the bodyshould take this document into account, and identify ways in which the body’s activitiesmay contribute to the parliament’s gender equality policy.3. Identify resources.Securing financial resources, as well as administrative and logisticalsupport, represents one of the main challenges for women’s parliamentary bodies. For thisreason, it is important that women parliamentarians identify the main sources of support,which should preferably be sustainable in the medium term. At the same time, womenparliamentarians should identify in-kind or other types of resources that parliaments canprovide, such as administrative assistance, meeting rooms, or access to outreach tools.Likewise, members of the women’s parliamentary body may consider reaching out to inter-national organizations as well as NGOs in order to secure financial and in-kind support.4. Define the structure.Once goals and objectives have been outlined, and women MPs haveconfirmed their commitment to the women’s parliamentary body, the fourth step involvesdeciding on the best organizational structure to suit the objectives and purpose of the body.This step may be politically sensitive (especially, for example, when deciding on issues ofleadership) and should be addressed accordingly, so as to avoid a breakdown or cessation ofco-operation at this stage in the process. As many of the case studies presented throughoutthis study demonstrate,leadershiparrangements can be settled in many different ways,and should aim to enhance cross-party trust. Likewise, themembershipof the body can bedecided upon according to different formulas, but should reflect the ultimate objectivesthe body wishes to achieve. The body should also take into consideration theinstitutionalrequirementsfor registering, formalizing or operating such a structure; these requirementswill vary from parliament to parliament. In order to find the most effective way to structurea women’s parliamentary body and avoid stalemate, it is advisable tolearn from successfulexperiencesin other OSCE participating States. Participation in international or regionalconferences on this issue, as well as study tours to other countries where women’s par-liamentary structures have been active for several years, could present women MPs witha wide range of options and suggestions on how to effectively define the structure of thebody and draft comprehensiverules of procedure.5. Agree on activities.After reaching agreement on the common goals and structure of thebody, the next step requires the identification of the activities the body wishes to imple-ment. In line with the agreed goals and objectives, women MPs may wish to focus onactivities that reappolitically‘marketable’resultsrelatively soon, so as to demonstrate bothwithin the body and externally what it is capable of achieving. These activities should alsobe designed to help women MPs obtain political support among voters, making the benefitsof their political action tangible to citizens. The women’s movement, NGOs, internationalorganizations, as well as elected women at the local level could participate in the draftingof anAnnual Work Plan,sharing the costs and responsibilities of activities wherever pos-sible. These Work Plans can also be submitted to political parties and to the parliament, sothat parliamentary and party leaders can build support to these bodies into their budgets,or provide other in-kind resources as appropriate. Such an inclusive approach will helpwomen MPs develop more effective activities, and will make the women’s parliamentarystructure known to the various communities of interest.6. Build relationships.At this point, the women’s parliamentary structure will be ready toimplement activities. To effectively do so, members of the structure should aim at estab-lishing formalrelationships with other parliamentary bodies,in particular with the parlia-mentary committee dealing with gender equality issues, if one exists. This will allow thebody’s members to better advocate for legislative changes and acquire the parliamentary

power necessary to present legislative amendments. At the same time, relationships shouldalso be fostered with similar structures present at the local level as well as with the widerwomen’s movement, civil society and gender expertsoutside the parliament.These relation-ships, together with the assistance of international organizations, will provide the newlyestablished women’s parliamentary structure with the necessary expertise to be able toimplement successful policies and activities.7. Develop a communication strategy.Given the under-representation of women parliamen-tarians in the media in many OSCE participating States, it is important for women’s par-liamentary bodies to consider developing an effective communication or outreach strategy.This may involvepartnerships with national or local TV channels/newspapersto report onthe achievements of the body, making the work of the body visible to the larger public.Promotion of the body’s work may be accomplished through the use of new social media,like Twitter, Facebook and possibly the parliamentary website. Moreover, the body shouldcelebrate its achievements,involving civil society in public events and visibility initiatives.8. Assess progress and evaluate results.Ultimately, each women’s parliamentary structureshould put in placemechanisms to evaluate and assess the impact of its activities,especiallynewly established ones. Using the adopted Annual Work Plan as a benchmark document,women MPs will benefit from drafting an annual report, analysing progress as well asshortcomings in implementing their initiatives, and using the results to plan activitiesmore effectively in the following year. Such a report will also help to create an institutionalmemory, which future women MPs will be able to draw upon.

Recommendations to women’s parliamentary bodies1. Establish consensus on issues and priorities and celebrate achievements.It is clearthat women’s parliamentary bodies have had some successes in influencing policy and leg-islation on specific issues, including gender equality laws and electoral laws. Limited andwell-articulated actions may be more effective than trying to address an extensive agenda.Moreover, irrespective of the issue pursued, it is important to celebrate achievements, andto keep the momentum for change alive.2. Develop and maintain strong relationships.Women’s parliamentary bodies need tobuild strong ties with men MPs, civil society, NGOs working on gender issues and thewider women’s movement. Their success lies in having communication channels with allactors willing to be involved in furthering gender equality. As identified in chapter 6, twokinds of relationships need to be built. First, relationships that provide the body with muchneeded sources of information and research, including from civil society, women’s partyorganizations, national gender machineries and academia. Second, relationships with the‘power brokers’ in parliament that can allow the recommendations of the body to be imple-mented, such as with the Executive, the Board or Bureau of Parliament, all parliamentaryparty groups and relevant parliamentary committees (not only those specialized in genderequality), need to be fostered.3. Balance the need for rules with the need for fairness.Parliaments are procedurally-based institutions. They rely on rules of procedure which have been unanimously agreed

to avoid unnecessary conflict. In turn, it is not surprising that the women’s parliamentarybodies examined in this study were similarly grounded in (unofficial) rules of procedure,particularly in terms of electing leaders and making decisions by vote.Moreover, given that most of the parliamentary bodies studied aim to work across partiesand could be considered ‘extra-parliamentary’ (in that they are not formal organs of theparliament), there may be scope to allow for a more equitable leadership structure. Chairsand Deputy Chairs could be rotated on a yearly or six-monthly basis across parliamentaryparties, or a system of ‘co-chairs’ could be established. Furthermore, consensus models ofdecision-making could be adopted.In a more politically contentious environment, women’s parliamentary bodies might alsoconsider strategies for dealing with political differences. Parliamentary committees, forexample, often are able to cater to partisan disagreement, by incorporating a ‘dissentingreport’. These bodies may wish to identify their own mechanism by which differences ofopinion can be acknowledged and accommodated, rather than always having to strive forconsensus and unanimity.4. Develop a Plan.The more organized a women’s parliamentary body, the more likely it isto have a plan of action. In a strategic plan, activities can be described and planned, par-ticularly with respect to their timeframe and who is responsible for implementing them.Check lists can be created. These strategic plans are important not only for the functioningof the body, but also to demonstrate to external stakeholders that the activities undertakenby the group have been monitored and evaluated. This is vital if the group needs to seekfunding – be it from the parliament or from external sources. Likewise, members of womenparliamentary bodies should seek to create an institutional memory of their work, in theform of an annual report or other similar documents. Such documents can allow membersto assess progress and celebrate achievements.5. Seek assistance from international organizations.International organizations, includ-ing the OSCE, are well positioned to provide support to women’s parliamentary bodies. TheOSCE can provide support through its parliamentary support programmes implemented bythe OSCE field operations, as well as through ODIHR, which serves as a ‘knowledge hub’ ofregional parliamentary developments.At the same time, women’s parliamentary bodies are encouraged to call on the expertise thatmany other international organizations and NGOs can offer, including, but not limited to,institutions such as the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International RepublicanInstitute (IRI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Council of Europe(CoE), UN Women, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), International IDEA, and bilateraldonor agencies and embassies. Such entities could provide training for women MPs as wellas facilitate the placement of gender experts with the body.

lative measures to facilitate the participation of women in decision-making in all spheres ofpolitical and public life.2. Provide resources to women’s parliamentary bodies. Parliamentscan also support thework of women’s parliamentary bodies by providing them with adequate resources, such asfinancial resources, support services or office and meeting spaces. The parliament can alsoconsider hosting the activities of the body on its website, creating an e-mail address for thebody, or supporting the body’s outreach and media activities, in order to promote the workof the body among the public. The parliament could also provide human resources supportto the body, including interns or other parliamentary support staff. Those determining theparliamentary schedule should take into account the scheduled meetings of these bodies, sothat members do not have conflicting responsibilities.3. Foster stronger and formal relationships among parliamentary bodies on gender equality.The work of women’s parliamentary bodies will continue to be marginalized ifthey are not taken seriously by other organs of the parliament. To avoid this marginaliza-tion, parliaments can establish stronger and more formal relationships between the women’sparliamentary body and the Executive (for example, through regular hearings or meetings),or between the women’s parliamentary body and specialized parliamentary committees(this could be done by defining a clear division of labour that is, for example, expressed inthe parliament’s Gender Equality Policy, or the rules of procedure).The rules of procedure might also allow the women’s parliamentary body to become formal-ly involved in the legislative process, by conferring it the power to initiate legislation, draftamendments to legislation, and/or monitor the implementation of legislation (including thebudget).

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In particular, the Decision calls on the participating States to:(…)2. Consider possible legislative measures, which would facilitate a more balanced participa-tion of women and men in political and public life and especially in decision-making;3. Encourage all political actors to promote equal participation of women and men in politicalparties, with a view to achieving better gender-balanced representation in elected publicoffices at all levels of decision-making;5. Develop and introduce where necessary open and participatory processes that enhance partici-pation of women and men in all phases of developing legislation, programmes and policies;6. Take necessary steps to establish, where appropriate, effective national mechanisms formeasuring women’s equal participation and representation;7. Encourage shared work and parental responsibilities between women and men in order tofacilitate women’s equal opportunities to participate effectively in political and public life.

Diana Culi, President of the Independent Forum for the Albanian WomenJordi Puy, Secretary of the Andorran Delegation to the OSCE PAElinar Vardanyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee onProtection of Human Rights and Public AffairsErmine Nagdalyan, Vice Speaker of the ParliamentGisela Wurm, Chairperson of the Committee on Gender EqualityThibaut Cardon, European affairs and interparliamentary relations,Belgian SenateDavorin Semenik, Secretary of the Gender Equality CommitteePenka Lyubenova, Adviser, Human Rights, Religion,Citizens’ Complaints and Petitions CommitteeNancy Ruth, SenatorHlaváček Karel, ResearcherGro Iversen, Secretary to the Committee on Gender IssuesLaine Randjärv, First Vice-Speaker of the Estonian ParliamentGunilla Carlander, Counsellor of International AffairsIsabelle Labernadie, Secrétariat de la délégation aux droits des femmes et àl’égalité des chances entre les hommes et les femmes de l’Assemblée nationaleRusudan Kervalishvili, Deputy Chair of the Parliament ofGeorgia, Head of the Gender Equality CouncilSibylle Laurischk, Chairwoman of the Committee on FamilyAffairs, Senior Citizens, Women and YouthKatalin Ertsey, MP, Green Party

Emma Bonino, Vice President of the Italian SenateSvetlana Ferho, Member of Mazhilis (Lower Chamber)Ainuru Altybaeva, MP, Vice-SpeakerRoza Aknazarova MP, and OSCE PA Vice-Chair of the Committeeon Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and EnvironmentVineta Porina, Head of the Latvian Delegation to the OSCE PAMarion Kindle-Kuehnis, Member of Parliament, Member of the OSCE PA DelegationLiljana Popovska, President of the Committee onEqual Opportunities for Women and MenLiliana Palihovici, Deputy Speaker, Parliament of the Republic of MoldovaArjen Westerhoff, Secretary to the Dutch Delegation of the OSCE PAHotvedt Bjørnar, Senior Adviser, International SecretariatJolanta Cichocka, Senior Administrative/Project Assistant, OSCE/ODIHRElza Pais, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on EqualityAnca Constantin, Parliamentary Advisor, Secretary of theRomanian Delegation to the OSCE PA (the Senate)Sanja Pecelj, Secretary of the Committee for Humanand Minority Rights and Gender EqualityAnna Okruhlicova, Senior AdviserAndrej Eror, Research Section, SecretaryMaria Del Carmen Quintanilla Barba, President of the Equality CommissionIngrid Tollin, Secretary of the Swedish Delegation to the OSCE PABibidavlat Avzalshoeva, Member of ParliamentOlena K. Kondratyuk, Member of ParliamentRobert A. Hand, Secretary of the U.S. Delegation to the OSCE PA

Information noteThis questionnaire was prepared for the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and HumanRights (ODIHR) as part of an ongoing project on “Strengthening Parliamentary Structures forWomen MPs in the OSCE Region”.Parliamentary structures for women are recognized as important forums for representing wom-en’s interests and – often – for influencing political agendas within parliaments. Accordingly,in co-operation with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) and the Special Representative ofthe OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on Gender Issues, OSCE ODIHR aims to identify the widevariety of parliamentary structures for women MPs in existence in the OSCE region, collectgood practices in establishing and running such structures, and highlight the impact of thesestructures on parliamentary agendas and working environments.Your support and infor-mation is critical to the success of this project, and we thank you in advance for your co-operation!

SECTION I: FOR ALL PARLIAMENTSPresence of gender mainstreaming mechanisms1. Does the Parliament have a Gender Equality Policy or Gender Equality Strategic Plan? ☐ No☐ Yes, Gender Equality Policy(date adopted _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ )☐ Yes, Gender Equality Strategic Plan(date adopted _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ )☐ A specialized parliamentary committeeon gender or women’ issues☐ A multi-functional parliamentary committee(e.g. committee on social affairs, human rightsand gender equality/women’s issues☐ A temporary parliamentary committeeon gender or women’s issues☐ A gender equality commission☐ A gender equality body established in theParliament’s Secretariat/ Administration☐ A research body capable of analysingdata from a gender perspective☐ A mechanism for collecting and/oranalysing sex-disaggregated data☐ Personal initiative of parliamentarian(e.g. co-operation with civil society)☐ A body that brings women together☐ Other (pleasespecify):

7. How is the body structured? (Pleasetick the most applicable response and provide details)Please provide details as appropriateMeetings☐ Regular meetings scheduled during each parliamentary session☐ Meetings scheduled only as required☐ Formal meeting minutes are keptLeadership and Organization☐ Leadership positions (Chair, Deputy Chair) elected by group☐ Leadership positions remunerated☐ Leadership positions rotated across different parties,different chambers, old/new MPs☐ Fixed term for Chair (e.g. 1 year)☐ Sub-committees can be established☐ Governing organ established☐ The body has internal procedural rules☐ The body has established positions (e.g. Treasurer, Secretary,Public Relations Officer, etc)Agenda☐ No agenda circulated☐ Agenda prepared and circulated to all members before eachmeetingStaffing☐ The body has no permanent staff☐ Research staff provided by Parliament☐ Administrative staff provided by Parliament☐ Support staff provided by civil society/internationalorganizationsResources☐ Members pay a financial contribution to the body☐ The body is allocated funding by the Parliament☐ The body is allocated a meeting room by the Parliament☐ The body receives support from civil society/internationalorganizations☐ The body receives budget support from political partiesHow many?How many?How many?What positions?How rotated?How long?If yes, on what?Which position?Who is the current leader?How often?