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ODIHR side event to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69): Male Politicians as Transformative Actors for Gender Equality in Politics

Meeting

Date:
Location:
New York, United States of America
Organized by:
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in cooperation with the European Union, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Germany and Lithuania
Source:
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
Fields of work:
Gender equality

About

In 2025, OSCE participating States, alongside the rest of the world, are marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, a central set of international norms on women’s rights and gender equality. Reflecting on the last 30 years, the OSCE region has seen far-reaching improvements in women’s full and equal participation in politics and decision-making.  Women’s representation in national parliaments reached a record high of 31.6 per cent at the end of 2024. However, the picture is more complex when looking at women’s representation in national governments, local government, councils or at municipal and city level; there are no clear trends that cover the entire OSCE region. Although there has been progress, the OSCE as a whole OSCE region is far from achieving gender parity.

There is a strong history  of engaging men on improving gender equality in many areas of life, such as preventing and addressing violence against women, but there have been few programmes and policies specifically targeted at male politicians. This side event will focus on engaging them to counter gender equality backsliding and promote gender equality within politics, political parties and elected office.

Moderator

Yulia Netesova, Chief of Democratic Governance and Gender Unit, OSCE/ODIHR

Opening remarks

  • Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations in New York
  • Tea Jaliashvili, ODIHR First Deputy Director

Panel

  • Saara-Sofia Sirén, Chairperson, Employment and Equality Committee, Eduskunta (Parliament) of Finland and 2025 OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Special Representative on Gender
  • Laurynas Šedvydis, Chairperson, Human Rights Committee, Seimas (Parliament) of Lithuania
  • Dag Schölper, Executive Director, Bundesforum Männer (Federal Forum for Men), Berlin, Germany

Presentation

Sarajevo Tool for Engaging Male Politicians in Achieving Gender Equality in Politics, Saša Gavrić

For more information, please contact Saša Gavrić, ODIHR Adviser on Gender Issues, at sasa.gavric@odihr.pl.

Live stream

[embed:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIghygAA3_c]