In 2022, the United States revoked the right to abortion, Afghanistan deprived women of education, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict exposed Ukrainian women to increased gender-based violence. This period of strong instability and degradation of women’s conditions is doubly marked by the threat of women’s leadership and participation in political life, according to the United Nations (UN). In this context, it is essential to remember that democracy, peace and prosperity require the full participation of women in political decisions and actions.
International relations are marked, like the entire political sphere, by a residual presence of women in high decision-making positions. Currently, only 13 countries are governed by a female head of state, while 22% of foreign ministers are women. At the UN, only 4 women lead one of the 15 most important agencies.
It should be remembered that women’s access to political power is above all a right. Regardless of their skills, efficiency or political orientation, women have the same right as men to take part in decision-making processes.
Moreover, it turns out that the involvement of women in international relations is decisive in the protection of vulnerable populations and the construction of lasting peace.
The impacts of female governance
Parity in politics is not just a matter of inclusion quotas. This is a sine qua non for the implementation of relevant and effective policies. Management teams cannot grasp all of the issues and actors concerned by a problem without being made up of a wide variety of points of view. During reconciliation processes, the participation of women in the negotiation of peace agreements increases their sustainability and effectiveness by 35%. In question, the question of gender is better taken into account, involving more women in the construction of a de facto more democratic and inclusive society.
Admittedly, not all female political leaders necessarily act in favor of the status of women. But because of their experience of power relations, women leaders tend to be more sensitive to gender issues and encourage more inclusive measures.
The situation of women in the United States, Iran or Afghanistan requires that political actors be integrated into the national and international framework of the situation.
In question, the latter take greater account of the specific needs of women, all the more crucial in a context of geopolitical instability and the recession of certain rights.
Recently, it was the women Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom who sought to mobilize the international community around the protection of women in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
There is no question of female political hegemony or the eradication of male leaders, as some fear. The parity of the authorities only aims to introduce a diversity of perspectives into decision-making. What is the value of a decision made by a minority of white men for the plurality of genders and races that constitute the population? The countries that fought the COVID-19 pandemic the best were among the most equal in the world, like Germany, Denmark or New Zealand. The construction and implementation of political solutions can only benefit from the wealth of points of view, expertise and experience provided by the parity of the governing bodies.
The male homogeneity of political power must be recognized as such. The lack of diversity of political actors benefits those who are represented, and obstructs understanding of everyone’s situation. In fact, women tend to be erased from the general interest, in the name of the myth of male political neutrality: “Start looking at men as men”, says the writer Cynthia Enloe. We must consider men as men, and understand the importance of a political power representative of reality.
“Never forget that all it takes is a political, economic or religious crisis for women’s rights to be called into question. Simone de Beauvoir’s words have never been so relevant, at a time when we are witnessing a historic setback in women’s rights in various regions of the world. The low integration of women in the political and international sphere is directly linked to the situation, and the advancement of parity will determine the state of equality and prosperity in the world.