Letter to members and associate members on IPU activities around IWD

To all IPU Members
Geneva, 16 April 2020
Dear President,
Dear Madam President,
It is my pleasure to share with you information about recent activities carried out by the
Inter-Parliamentary Union in March 2020 to mark International Women’s Day and the
25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. These activities
contribute to the overall objective to promote and achieve gender equality, in and
through parliaments.
We have published our annual flagship report ​Women in parliament: 1995–2020, 25
years in review​. This publication provides detailed information on women’s
participation in parliament around the world since the adoption of the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995. The publication analyzes regional trends
and country developments, recaps key lessons learned and proposes a way forward.
Over a 25-year span, the overall percentage of women in parliaments has more than
doubled, reaching 25 per cent in 2020, up from 11.3 per cent in 1995. However,
looking at the past five years, progress has slowed down as compared to the previous
5-year spans. The IPU will be using this publication to support parliaments and inform
action towards gender equality in parliament. You can find the report in English,
French and Spanish at
https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2020-03/women-in-parliament-1995
-2020-25-years-in-review​.
We have also released the 2020 edition of the ​Map on Women in Politics​ prepared in
partnership with UN Women. The ​Map​ provides a snapshot of women’s participation in
parliament, in the executive and in the highest spheres of political leadership among
heads of State and/or government and Speakers and deputy Speakers of parliament.
The ​Map​ was launched via a video by the IPU President, Ms Cuevas Barron, and the
Executive Director of UN Women, Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka. The video is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDmBA_kbFgQ​. The Map is intended to raise
awareness of progress as well as gaps in women’s representation in politics. By
allowing countries and parliaments to compare each other, it triggers political interest
and opens doors to questioning and action. The Map is available in English, French,
Spanish and soon in Arabic and can be accessed at:
https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/infographics/2020-03/women-in-politics-20
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Should you wish to receive hard copies of the ​Women in parliament​ publication and of
the ​Map​, we will gladly mail these to you as soon as possible.
./..
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In partnership with the State University of Arizona, UN Women, the World Bank and
others, we have launched a first series of videos on Sustainable Development Goal 5
(SDG 5) on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. The videos
provide ready-to-use tools for parliamentarians to build knowledge and awareness on
SDG 5 and to inform parliamentary action towards its implementation. They are
available on the IPU website at:
https://www.ipu.org/news/news-in-brief/2020-03/video-five-things-you-can-do-improve-
gender-equality-in-leadership​ and
https://www.ipu.org/news/news-in-brief/2020-03/video-women-peace-and-security​.
International Women’s Day was also an opportunity to renew publicly political
engagement in support of gender equality. The IPU President and the President of the
European Parliament, David Sassoli, issued a joint statement reaffirming their
commitment to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
(​https://www.ipu.org/news/statements/2020-03/statement-presidents-ipu-and-ep-intern
ational-womens-day​) Political messages were also sent through the IPU e-Bulletin of
March 2020 with its two press releases available at:
https://www.ipu.org/news/press-releases/2020-03/25-years-after-beijing-ipu-analysis-s
hows-gender-parity-possible​ and
https://www.ipu.org/news/press-releases/2020-03/in-2020-world-cannot-afford-so-few-
women-in-power​.
In times of crisis as the current COVID-19 pandemic, gender equality must remain
high on the global, national and individual agenda. The response to Covid-19 must
therefore be gender sensitive. This is why, in my capacity as Secretary General of the
IPU and as Chair of the Global Board of the International Gender Champions, I have
released an Opinion Piece titled ​COVID-19: What does it mean for gender?​ The
opinion piece is available at:
https://www.ipu.org/news/voices/2020-03/covid-19-what-does-it-mean-gender​.
We have also actively carried out a global campaign on Parliaments in times of
pandemic (​https://www.ipu.org/parliaments-in-time-pandemic​). Through this campaign,
the IPU provides regularly updated information on action taken by parliaments in
response to the crisis and to continue to function (virtually or physically) thereby
continuing to fulfil their mandate – a prerequisite to democracy and good governance.
This campaign has been complemented with additional guidance for parliaments,
including on human rights and on gender-responsiveness facing Covid-19. You will
find enclosed the “​Gender and COVID-19: A guidance note for parliaments​”. This note
is available on the following link:
https://www.ipu.org/gender-and-covid-19-guidance-note-parliaments
I am sure you will be interested in sharing these resources and tools widely in your
Parliament/Organization and among your networks. I am hopeful that you will find the
data, analysis, guidance and appeals contained in these documents useful as you
pursue efforts to further gender equality.
I would welcome receiving information on how you have used or will use these
resources so that we can duly reflect your actions in future reports and amplify the
message through social media and other means of communication.
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As gender equality and women’s rights and empowerment are an all-time priority, the
IPU will continue its work towards these critical objectives beyond the special occasion
of International Women’s Day and throughout 2020 and the years to come.
I look forward to doing so in continued cooperation with you.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Chungong
Secretary General
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Gender and COVID-19: A guidance note
for parliaments
In times of pandemic, women and men are affected differently. Failing to take on
board gendered dimensions of the emergency response will exacerbate existing and
persisting inequalities and create new ones. This could amplify the crisis and increase
its current and future impact and its costs for women and for society as a whole. The
Ebola outbreak from 2013 to 2016 and the Zika outbreak in 2015 and 2016 had
countless impacts on women’s lives as they became infected through their carer roles,
died as a result of the redeployment of resources away from women’s reproductive
health and had little say in the policy responses.
Twenty-five years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, gender equality
and women’s rights cannot afford setbacks and should not become victims of COVID-
19. On the contrary, the response to COVID-19 cannot be deemed efficient and
sustainable if it is not built on gender-responsive decisions and actions.
COVID-19 and women
Women are the mainstay of the essential services needed to withstand and cope with
the pandemic. Some 70 per cent of the health workforce caring for those affected is
made up of women. Women are also caring for those affected as heads of household
and working in grocery stores and pharmacies. This means that women are on the
front line and at high risk of infection.
The crisis and some of the measures to contain or respond to it can also put women's
lives, health and safety doubly in jeopardy. Violence against women has already
reached epidemic proportions in all societies, with 137 women killed every day globally
by a member of their own family. The level of domestic violence and sexual
exploitation further increases as a result of confined living conditions, economic stress
and fear about the virus. We have also learnt from previous epidemics that resources
should not be diverted from essential sexual and reproductive health services,
otherwise the rights and lives of women and girls are disproportionately impacted in
such crisis situations. During the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, more women died of
obstetric complications than of the disease itself.
The world is experiencing not only a public health crisis but also an economic crisis.
This economic downturn will disproportionately affect women and increase
vulnerabilities. Women workers are more likely than men to have the lowest paid and
least protected jobs, often in the informal sector (particularly in agriculture, cleaning
and catering sectors and domestic work). They are disproportionately excluded from
contributory and tax-financed health coverage and from social benefit protections,
such as pensions, social insurance, paid sick leave, or parental and care leave. They
are most likely to be the first ones to lose income that is crucial for them, their families
and their communities and societies at large.
As social distancing and movement restrictions lead to increased use of digital
technologies, greater vigilance is required around the fact that women and girls have
less access to internet and digital literacy and are more targeted by gender-based
online violence. Women leaders – such as women in politics, women human rights
defenders, bloggers, journalists, activists, etc. – are at particular risk online. Studies
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conducted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on violence against women in
parliaments have shown that social media are the main channel for threats.
With home confinement, school closures and remote work, the household is becoming
the central place where domestic, professional and parental responsibilities converge.
Will this be an opportunity to better distribute domestic chores and childcare among
women and men so that both can continue their professional lives? Or on the contrary
will women continue to take on the majority of unpaid domestic and parental tasks to
the detriment of their paid work life?
By addressing gender equality in today’s response, we limit the impact of the
pandemic and pave the way for a smoother recovery and a better future.
Placing gender equality at the core of the parliamentary response to COVID-19
As parliaments reorganize their means of functioning and adapt their work to the new
realities imposed by COVID-19, it is crucial that their decisions and actions be gender-
responsive.
Below are some key issues and questions that – if considered and addressed – could
transform gender-neutral or gender-blind parliamentary adaptation strategies into
gender-responsive ones.
Gender mainstreaming and women’s participation and leadership in
parliamentary decision-making on COVID-19
For policymaking to be as inclusive and efficient as possible, mapping and securing
the participation of both men and women is a must. At a time when parliaments and
their structures are meeting in a reduced capacity, often with a reduced number of
members, it is vital to secure the participation of women at all levels and their
leadership in the decision-making and oversight committees, units and/or task forces
put in place in parliament to respond to the crisis. Equal participation of men and
women, women’s leadership and a clear gender-mainstreaming mandate are key to
ensure the inclusivity and efficiency of such parliamentary mechanisms.
Just as important is the inclusion of women’s voices and the contribution of women’s
organizations, women representatives of labour market sectors, women working in the
informal sector, women caring for the ill, and so on, in all parliamentary deliberations
during the COVID-19 crisis: to this end, virtual witness testimony via
videoconferencing technologies, among other methods, would be a useful
contribution.
Continued functioning of existing gender equality committees and the inclusion of
gender equality in the mandate of new special parliamentary committees set up to
scrutinize the government’s COVID-19 response are also essential to guarantee an
accountable institutional commitment to gender mainstreaming and, ultimately, an
efficient parliamentary response to the pandemic.
Key questions to consider:
Are both women and men participating in parliamentary decision-making on COVID-
19?
• Are there women participating at all levels in the crisis and decision-making
committees, units and/or task forces put in place in parliament?
• If parliament has reduced the number of MPs allowed to sit, are women MPs
included among those allowed to sit? Is there a balance between men and
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women? If not, what is the proportion of women and how can it be enhanced
towards equality?
• In exercising its oversight functions, is parliament ensuring that there is a
balance between men and women or proportions as close as possible to
50/50 in the task forces and other mechanisms created on COVID-19 at the
State/Executive level?
• Are the voices and concerns of women in society included in the deliberations
and decisions of parliamentary committees, units and/or task forces on
designing and implementing the pandemic response? For example, are
women’s organizations, women representatives of labour market sectors,
women working in the informal sector, women caring for the ill, etc., being
heard and consulted by parliamentary committees and/or task forces,
including by using virtual witness testimony via videoconferencing
technologies?
Do parliamentary committees have a gender equality mandate?
• If some parliamentary committees are still meeting, including remotely, are
gender equality committees meeting and contributing to all mitigation
strategies from a gender perspective?
• If new special parliamentary committees are created to scrutinize the
government’s COVID-19 response, is scrutiny from a gender perspective
included in their functions? Do they have the necessary capacities and
resources to implement gender responsiveness?
Examples of parliamentary initiatives
The Chamber of Deputies of Argentina is allowing parliamentarians from vulnerable
groups to participate in committee meetings via Zoom:
https://www.diputados.gov.ar/prensa/noticias/noticias-podio/noticias_1241.html
On 5 April, the National Assembly of Djibouti set up an ad hoc support and follow-up
committee to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The newly established committee
comprises 20 per cent women parliamentarians, slightly below the proportion of
women in the National Assembly, which stands at 26.5 per cent:
www.ipu.org/parliaments-in-time-pandemic
COVID-19 and gender-responsive legislation
Laws adopted by parliament to allow the government to take measures to mitigate the
impact of COVID-19 should be gender-responsive. Emergency assistance measures
for the health and economy sectors, hospitals, doctors, workers, small businesses, the
self-employed, families, and the socially disadvantaged must be informed by sex-
disaggregated data, building on a gender-based analysis of the situation. A detailed
understanding of rates of infection and mortality among men and among women, for
example, or information on who are the main beneficiaries of economic measures
taken to respond to the crisis will help better shape policies and laws such that they
efficiently address the needs of both men and women.
Key questions to consider:
• If laws are adopted by parliament to allow the government to take measures to
mitigate COVID-19 for people and the economy, do those laws include a call
and provisions to ensure that mitigation measures are gender-responsive?
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• If emergency assistance measures for the health and economy sectors,
hospitals, doctors, workers, small businesses, the self-employed, families, and
the socially disadvantaged are taken, are they being designed based on sex-
disaggregated data and are they responsive to the specific needs of women?
• When adopting legislation or amending standing orders to allow essential
parliamentary work to be pursued, do adaptation measures take into account
the specific situation and needs of women members of parliament and staff?
Overseeing the government’s COVID-19 response from a gender perspective
As mentioned above, structures set up to oversee government action during the crisis
need to be gender-sensitive in their composition, mandate and working methods.
Gender-responsive oversight will achieve a more effective review of the impact of
actions taken, as analysing policy, measures, programmes and spending through a
gender lens will help address the needs of women and men without discrimination.
Key questions to consider:
• Are women who are caring for the ill and providing other essential services
being recognized for their role and fairly compensated, supported and
equipped with protective equipment?
• Are resources being diverted from life-saving health-care services for women,
including safe maternal and newborn care, and access to contraception and
other reproductive health services?
• What is being done for the most vulnerable women to ensure they can access
food, water, information and health services?
• Is specific financial support being provided to sectors that may not benefit
from social protection and unemployment benefits, such as the informal
sector?
• With the increased risk of domestic violence, what is being done to ensure
that women have access to protection, resources and shelters as essential
services? What is being done to curb the impact of the outbreak on support
services for survivors, particularly health-care, police and justice services?
How can women facing domestic violence call for help or escape when full
time at home with violent partners? Have concrete actions to protect women
survivors of violence and respond to their needs been adapted and included in
the emergency measures against the pandemic?
• Are there strong policies and codes of conduct in place to address the
endemic violence against female health workers and sexual harassment in the
health and social sectors?
• With schools closed, what measures have been taken to protect girls at risk of
sexual violence?
For tips on overseeing government action from a gender perspective, please see:
https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2017-10/global-parliamentary-
report-2017-parliamentary-oversight-parliaments-power-hold-government-account
(particularly “Tips for MPs: Mainstreaming gender equality in oversight activities”, page
19)
Communicating and raising awareness on COVID 19 and its effects – the role of
MPs and parliaments
Media and other communication platforms are being used to reach out to constituents
to inform them of measures taken to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Such initiatives
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also facilitate exchanges with constituents on their experiences and needs and can
serve to identify the specific needs of women and girls.
Awareness-raising that focuses on social distancing and hygiene measures should
draw attention to the importance of sharing care responsibilities equally between
women and men. Male MPs in particular can highlight how important it is that men and
women share household and care responsibilities equally.
Speaking out in the media and on other platforms on the crucial role that women are
playing in responding to the health emergency, maintaining basic services and
supporting families raises awareness of and strengthens solidarity with and support to
women in their essential roles.
Key questions to consider:
• How can MPs reach out to constituents while promoting gender equality and
gender responsiveness?
• Are media and other communication platforms being used to reach out to
constituents to inform them of measures taken to respond to the COVID-19
crisis? Are such initiatives ensuring exchanges with constituents on their
experiences and needs, including the specific needs of women and girls?
• Is virtual outreach to community organizations, such as health centres, food
banks and women’s shelters, being used to identify the support required?
• If public awareness-raising on social distancing and hygiene measures is
being conducted by parliamentary leadership and MPs, are they also raising
awareness of the importance of sharing care responsibilities equally between
women and men? Are male MPs highlighting how important it is that men and
women share household and care responsibilities equally?
• Are parliament and MPs highlighting in the media and other platforms the
crucial role that women are playing in responding to the health emergency,
maintaining basic services and supporting families, so as to build awareness
of the need to demonstrate solidarity towards them and support them in their
essential roles?
Examples of parliamentary initiatives
The Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender
Equality, Evelyn Regner, issued a press release urging the European Union and its
Member States to increase support to victims of domestic violence during the COVID-
19 crisis: www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20200406IPR76610/covid-19-
stopping-the-rise-in-domestic-violence-during-lockdown
The IPU President, Mexican MP Gabriela Cuevas Barron, drew attention to the high
proportion of women in the health sector and to the specific situation of women in
unpaid or underpaid jobs, calling for investment in gender parity in the COVID-19
response: https://twitter.com/ipupresident
The Parliament of Timor-Leste, with the UN Development Programme, has produced
a public health video about COVID-19 and how to stay safe. The speakers are both
men and women and most of them are parliamentarians:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Hk4RXhCrI
Gender-sensitive parliaments in times of COVID-19
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In times of crisis, parliaments are crafting new ways of working, adapting to the new
reality. In this context, measures taken can gain efficiency by integrating a gender
perspective from the very beginning. Parliaments in times of crisis cannot ignore
gender equality. On the contrary, the crisis can and should be an opportunity to fast-
track decisions, processes and working methods that are conducive for parliament to
remain, be or become a gender-sensitive institution.
Key questions to consider:
• In these extraordinary times, are MPs and staff supported in juggling their
work and household or family duties, without undue burden related to
gendered roles, including by allowing teleworking with flexible hours for both
men and women and granting paid leave to both men and women staff who
no longer have access to childcare?
• Are adequate resources, knowledge-sharing and equipment allocated to
facilitate teleworking for all MPs and staff so that men and women alike can
pursue their work in the best way possible?
• Are all meetings, including virtual meetings, taking place during office hours?
• Is pay for all staff guaranteed, including non-salaried staff who have been
asked to stay home or staff considered vulnerable to COVID-19 who should
stay home because of age or medical conditions?
• Is support and guidance offered to MPs and staff on how to make safe use of
digital technology in their work, including in cases of online violence, to which
women are more exposed?
Examples of parliamentary initiatives
In Italy, many parliamentary staff members are working remotely, and staff with
children under the age of 16 have been allowed to take parental leave while schools
are closed: www.ipu.org/parliaments-in-time-pandemic
The National Assembly of Ecuador adopted a regulation for the implementation of
virtual sessions and teleworking and trained permanent secretaries of parliamentary
committees on using videoconferencing systems; moderating virtual sessions,
including voting on proposals; and transmitting, processing and storing digital
information:
www.asambleanacional.gob.ec/sites/default/files/private/asambleanacional/filesasamb
leanacionalnameuid-20/transparencia-2015/literal-a/a3/2020-03-19-reglamento-
sesiones-virtuales-teletrabajo.pdf
Parliamentary action today for a better tomorrow
The current COVID-19 crisis brings great challenges, but it may also open windows of
opportunity to address and redress existing imbalances and inequalities and build
fairer and more resilient societies in the long run.
• By strengthening gender-mainstreaming capacity in parliament now, good
practice will not only have a positive impact on decisions taken and measures
designed today but will also become the way in which parliamentary business
is conducted in the future.
• Setting up a monitoring system to document the measures taken within
parliament will feed into post-COVID deliberations and decisions on how
parliaments can continue to function in a gender-sensitive and gender-
responsive way at all times.
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• If parliaments contribute now to ensuring health coverage for all, in line with
the IPU resolution on universal health coverage, this will have long-lasting
benefits for all, today and in the future.
• If parliaments take the opportunity now to challenge existing stereotypes and
the traditional division of work within households and in the economy, this will
support the economic empowerment of women and girls for years and
generations to come.
• Documenting now the essential role of women in the crisis response, in
society and in the economy, will help ensure that these roles are more
systematically acknowledged and taken into account in the future. This will
feed into the necessary cultural shift towards gender equality.
Useful IPU resources
- Plan of action for gender-sensitive parliaments
https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reference/2016-07/plan-action-
gender-sensitive-parliaments
- Toolkit for parliaments on gender-sensitive parliaments
https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/toolkits/2016-11/evaluating-gender-
sensitivity-parliaments-self-assessment-toolkit
- “COVID-19: What does it mean for gender?”
https://www.ipu.org/news/voices/2020-03/covid-19-what-does-it-mean-gender
- Guidelines for the elimination of sexism, harassment and violence against
women in parliament
https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reference/2019-11/guidelines-elimination-
sexism-harassment-and-violence-against-women-in-parliament
- Global Parliamentary Report 2017 – Parliamentary oversight: Parliament's
power to hold government to account
https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2017-10/global-parliamentary-
report-2017-parliamentary-oversight-parliaments-power-hold-government-account –
see in particular “Tips for MPs: Mainstreaming gender equality in oversight activities”
(page 19)
Share your experience with us and the parliamentary community:
We aim to develop this document further with examples of gender-responsive
parliamentary practices in times of COVID-19. Let us know what gender equality
measures and initiatives parliament and parliamentarians are taking in their response
to COVID-19 by writing to Zeina Hilal, Manager of the IPU Gender Partnership
Programme, at zh@ipu.org.