From palm tree to parliament: Training women for political leadership and public life

Abstract

Over the past two decades, I have worked in the field of developing women's political leadership in over 30 countries. In this article, I define what I mean by women's leadership, why I think there is a need to develop it, and the methods and tools that I have used to achieve this, in several different initiatives. At present, I am Chief Executive of Project Parity, an NGO established in 1996. Project Parity aims to achieve an equal proportion of women and men in political and public life, who share leadership and decision-making, to create a stable and peaceful, yet progressive, democracy. In its work, it uses tools, training techniques and insights gained from my involvement with two other organisations - Eyecatcher Associates and Shevolution.