GenderSensitive Parliaments and COVID19 Recovery 2021 March 2021

Gender-Sensitive Parliaments and COVID-19 Recovery 2021 March 2021

What is a gender-sensitive parliament? A gender-sensitive parliament is premised on the principle of gender equality – that is, that both men and women have an equal right to participate in its structures and processes, without discrimination and without recrimination. A gender-sensitive parliament responds to the needs and interests of both men and women in its structures, operations, methods and work. While research shows that women in parliament have promoted the gender equality agenda, this objective must be understood as the responsibility of the institution as a whole – and of men and women alike.

A gender-sensitive parliament is one that… ü Promotes and achieves equality in numbers of women and men ü Develops a gender policy framework tailored to its national context ü Mainstreams gender equality through all its work ü Fosters an internal culture that responds to the realities of MPs’ lives and their need to balance work and family responsibilities ü Acknowledges and builds on the contribution made by its men members who pursue and advocate gender equality ü Encourages political parties to take a proactive role in gender equality ü Equips parliamentary staff with the capacity and resources to promote gender equality

How has COVID-19 impacted parliamentary processes from a gender perspective?

Parliamentary processes and COVID-19 The pandemic changed the way parliaments operate. While some processes have the potential for gender-inclusivity, others do not. Exclusivity Inclusivity Disruption of formal processes can cause reversion to past, exclusive practices Virtual voting promotes participation of PWDs and those with caring responsibilities Women face steeper tech adaptation curves in low-resource countries Women can combine care-taking and political career aspirations Online violence and harassment against women in politics increased Virtual engagement creates more personal connections with constituents

How do we facilitate genderresponsive COVID-19 recovery in parliament?

Strategies for parliamentarians The current COVID-19 crisis brings great challenges, but it also creates an opportunity to address and redress existing imbalances and inequalities and build fairer and more resilient societies in the long run. Here’s how: Gender-mainstream parliamentary procedures and decision-making Oversee government pandemic response and budgeting from a gender perspective Ensure special parliamentary committees have a gender equality mandate Ensure gender balanced representation in COVID-19 task forces Enact genderresponsive legislation Communicate and raise awareness on COVID-19 and its gendered effects Ensure new ways of work in parliament are gender-sensitive Demand for sexdisaggregated data

Globally, there are Good Practices we can learn from… Chile Georgia Uganda • has a Gender and COVID-19 Working Group as well as a Gender Policy Coordinator in parliament • conducted a gender selfassessment workshop in parliament which contributed to the passing of legislated gender quotas • has a strong women’s caucus that led to the creation of genderresponsive legal reforms in family law and employment Australia Colombia Tanzania • Legal reforms will be enacted so that politicians are no longer exempt from rules on sexual harassment in the workplace • In March 2021, the two houses dedicated a whole day prioritizing bills on women and gender equality on their agendas • MPs work to mandate the gender mainstreaming of budgets and the collection of gender-disaggregated data Mexico • A Parliamentary Gender Working Group for COVID 19 ensures that government measures are implemented with a gender perspective

Thank you!