What elections around the world mean for gender equality

This is an election super year: A record number of voters are set to head to the polls across at least 64 countries and the European Union. But with gender issues becoming increasingly politicized and a swing to the right predicted in some of those elections, what might it mean for women's and girls’ rights? “We see cycles [of gender equality] and of course, the cycles are affected by the political environment … The elections that are coming up are really very serious,” said Taroub Harb Faramand, founder and president of WI-HER, an international consulting firm focused on equity and inclusive development. Speaking during a Devex Pro event on the state of gender equality, Faramand highlighted three key areas of concern when it comes to elections: barriers to women participating in the vote itself, the inclusion of women in political office, and what the results of an election mean for issues related to gender equality. When it comes to the latter issue, “I’m concerned about what’s going to happen in the EU,” she said, where parliamentary elections are taking place in June. “There’s a prediction that it will move to the right. This will directly affect funding going to reproductive health and other issues related to sexual violence, [as well as] issues related to migration which directly affect equity and equality.” There are also significant concerns about the situation in the United States, where former President Donald Trump is expected to go up against incumbent Joe Biden. During his previous term, Trump promoted policies that did not support women’s sexual and reproductive rights, with global consequences. However, Kehinde Ajayi, director of the gender equality and inclusion program at the Center for Global Development, noted that while the focus is often on presidential elections and the highest levels of leadership, “it is [also] critical to think about lower levels of government,” such as mayors, governors, or county leaders. “On gender equality issues, we’ve seen some striking cases at a city level [of] a mayor really making big progress towards doing something,” she said. “And I think increasingly in a lot of lower- and middle-income countries, the administration at lower levels is getting stronger. So [it’s worth] really paying attention to that, looking for opportunities besides the president and the national level to support gender equality efforts.” Catch up on the full event below.