What will it take to reach gender parity in political
participation in a post-COVID-19 world?
A parliamentary event organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women
at the 65th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in line with the priority theme
Women's full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of
violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls
Tuesday 23 March 2021, virtual event
INFORMATION NOTE
During the 65th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), whose
priority theme is
Women's full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as
the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls,
the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women are organizing a parliamentary meeting entitled
What will it take to reach gender parity in political participation in a post-COVID-19 world?.
The Parliamentary Meeting will take place on Interprefy on
23 March 2021.
Given the online form of
this year’s CSW, the meeting will be held at two different times on the same day. Members of
Parliament are only expected to attend one of the two sessions.
Meeting option 1: 23 March 2021 from 9.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. ET (or 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. CET)
Meeting option 2: 23 March 2021 from 12.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. ET (or 5.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. CET)
.
Objectives
In keeping with its strategy of contributing to major international forums to introduce a parliamentary
dimension into the proceedings of intergovernmental organizations, the IPU is organizing this one-day
meeting with UN Women in order to provide a forum for debate between parliamentarians from all over
the world, and to contribute to the deliberations of the 65th session of the CSW.
The impacts of crises are never gender neutral, and COVID-19 is no exception. Beyond the public
health crisis, COVID-19 has become a full-fledged economic and social crisis. Rampant inequalities,
including in the participation of women in political decision-making and leadership, have once again
been revealed and further exacerbated. An effective response to and recovery from the pandemic and
its social and economic consequences requires strong and sustained leadership, action and the
participation of everyone affected. The international goal of achieving balanced power between
women and men in decision-making is more crucial than ever and parliaments have a key role to play
to scale up political will and transformative actions towards gender parity in political participation.
The Parliamentary Meeting will offer a platform to take stock of recent developments in women’s
participation in parliament, explore the impact of COVID-19 on women’s access to parliament in 2020
and identify priority parliamentary actions to further progress towards gender parity in political
participation.