Commonwealth MPs seek special fund for women in leadership

Commonwealth legislators want governments to establish a fund to co-ordinate and steer capacity-building for women leaders, and utilise resources for their empowerment, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) said.

The CPA also sought to encourage political reforms in Commonwealth countries to guarantee balanced representation and ensure equal access to campaign finances for both men and women.

A CPA communiqué presented to ministers attending the 8th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting (8WAMM) on 13 June 2007 stated: “This is a reminder to our governments of the critical need at this time to increase investment in gender equality and representative democracy.”

Under the Commonwealth’s Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015 (PoA), governments are encouraged to achieve a minimum 30 per cent target of women in government and decision-making bodies and where this has been achieved, to strive towards a 50-50 balance.

The CPA said it wanted governments to institutionalise gender equality to facilitate the PoA targets, which are in line with UN Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty by 2015.

The Association’s mission is to promote the advancement of parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance. It seeks to build an informed parliamentary community and to further co-operation among Commonwealth parliaments and legislatures.

8WAMM is taking place in Uganda from 11 to 14 June 2007 under the theme 'Financing Gender Equality for Development and Democracy'.

Secretariat Links:

• 8WAMM
• Gender

Related Websites:

• Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)