As part of the Global Democracy Coalition Forum ahead of the Summit for Democracy, Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and Demo Finland are organizing a webinar to bring attention to the critical role of women´s political leadership in securing and strengthening democracy.

WFD´s recent research with the Global Institute for Women´s Leadership at King´s College in London showed that where women take part and thrive in politics, the whole of society benefits.

Subsequent WFD research found that women´s candidate selections and election success is supported by targeted training that enables women to build up campaigning skills, networks that provide guidance and mentorship based on previous campaigning experience, and effective relationships with local parties. We also found that to support women leaders to act on their motivations and prepare for political life, they need to provide opportunities for skill development and resources as well as tackle the barriers that hinder women´s ability to use these.

These are insights that WFD and Demo Finland use in their programmes worldwide that support and promote women´s political leadership. In this webinar, we will consider why women´s political leadership is so essential for democracy, women´s experiences of political leadership, and what the speakers would like to see in the outcomes from the Summit for Democracy.