A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO INCREASING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO ELECTORAL JUSTICE Introduction 2022 was a watershed year for women’s representation in government: For the first time, women held seats in the national legislatures of every country in the world.1 Despite this progress, women remained woefully underrepresented in politics globally, constituting just 26.7 percent of parliamentarians. 2 Only six countries – not all of which have multiparty political systems – have reached parity (or beyond) in their national legislatures, and fewer than one-third of United Nations member states have ever had a woman head of state or head of government. 3 Further, only 22 percent of electoral management bodies (EMBs) are chaired by women. 4 Increasing these numbers requires improvements to the legal, social, economic, and electoral environment in each country. Free, fair, and inclusive elections are essential to advancing women’s equal and meaningful participation in political and public life. Yet the different needs of men, women, and people of diverse gender identities are often overlooked in the analysis, planning, implementation, and – the subject of this guide – adjudication of electoral activities. Elections that are not sensitive to the different needs and experiences of people of all gender identities 5 cannot fully engage women and nonbinary people as voters, candidates, and election administrators. Addressing this significant gap will require efforts by all electoral stakeholders and at all stages of elections, including by making efforts to understand whether electoral dispute resolution (EDR) processes meet the needs of women. Gender-sensitive electoral justice sends an important message to prospective women leaders and all future political candidates about respect for the rule of law. It is essential to increasing women’s representation. “The way that electoral disputes are managed is a key factor in determining whether an election is free and fair. Women and men should have equal access to the dispute resolution process.” - IFES’ Gender Equality & Election Management Bodies: A Best Practices Guide Electoral justice involves the means and mechanisms available in a specific country or community, or at the regional or international level, for ensuring that each action, procedure, and decision related to the electoral process complies with the legal framework. Electoral justice also encompasses processes to protect or restore electoral rights and the opportunity for people who believe their electoral rights have been violated to file challenges, have their cases heard, and receive rulings.6 An effective EDR system can provide a means of redress for violations of electoral rights and a mechanism for remedying flaws in electoral processes. Effective EDR strategies also can help to minimize political instability and election-related violence and support peaceful political transitions. Research on the acceptance of election results suggests that both the rules that are in place to govern an electoral process, and the public’s experience with the institutions and individuals administering those rules, are important to overall perceptions of an 1 Inter-Parliamentary Union. (n.d.). Women in Parliament in 2022. Women in parliament: Global and regional averages. (n.d.). New Parline: The IPU’s Open Data Platform (Beta). Clancy, L., and Austin, S. (2023, March 28). Fewer than a third of UN member states have ever had a woman leader. Pew Research Center. 4 Few women at the top of electoral management bodies worldwide | International IDEA. (n.d.). Www.idea.int. 5 While people of all gender identities experience challenges in accessing electoral justice, this guidebook focuses on how electoral justice processes can better serve women. However, women are not a homogenous group, and women from different backgrounds and identities might have different experiences and needs with respect to electoral justice processes. In particular, women who also belong to other marginalized groups – for example, women with disabilities; women who are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer community (LGBTQI+); women from rural areas; Indigenous women; women from ethnic and religious minorities; young and older women; and others – might face compounding discrimination when they seek electoral justice, and they often face unique challenges that result from this compounded discrimination. 6 International Idea. (n.d.). Electoral Justice: An Overview of the International IDEA Handbook. 2 3 7