HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A women's wing, sometimes also known as a women's group or women's branch, is an auxiliary or independent front or faction within a larger organization, typically a
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
, that consists of that organization's female membership or acts to promote women within a party. These wings vary widely in type, form, and affiliation. Membership may be either optional or automatic for all female members within the organization. The most common intention is to encourage women to join formal power structures, but different women's wings serve different purposes depending on variable circumstances.


In politics

The
United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...
defines women's wings within political parties as "internal sections that aim to strengthen women's representation and participation within the party and in the political process in general." Women are significantly underrepresented in political positions globally, on both local and national levels. Forming a women's wing is one method which may be used to combat this under-representation, through promoting women and women's interests within a political party, and ensuring that women's voices are heard in government. They may also work to combat barriers against women's political participation. These obstacles can include lack of resources, legislative barriers against female participation, exclusion from governmental decision-making by fellow politicians, sabotage, intimidation, and
political violence Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a State (polity), state against other states (war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-st ...
.


Structure

Women's wings vary in structure, but most successful women's wings have a strong relationship with their affiliated political party. In some cases, members of the women's wing may hold "leadership positions in the party's executive committee," and therefore situate themselves as a crucial part of the party's affairs. Some women's wings may also hold a level of autonomy from their associated political party in order to "allow members of the women's wing to feel comfortable raising issues that may initially be controversial or make male leadership uncomfortable." Funding provided for the women's wing may either be allocated by the associated political party, or independently raised by the women's wing. Women's wings may exist on all sides of the political spectrum.


Effect

Women's wings throughout the world have achieved significant strides towards increasing women's representation and political power within government by a variety of means. Since different barriers towards women's participation in government exist in different locations, individual women's wings have had to adapt to their own circumstances in order to achieve their goals. In
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
, the Candlelight Party's women's wing "sought to promote women within the party, lobbied for the introduction of internal quotas for governing boards, provided training for women candidates, and conducted civic education and voter outreach," with the percentage of women in Cambodian parliament increasing from 3% to 22% from 1993-2009. In
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
, the women's wing of the G17 Plus party has lobbied for consideration of female candidates for appointed positions, promoted electoral campaigns for female candidates, and funded workshops for women interested in politics or activism. In
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, women's representation in parliament has risen from 4.6% to 23.5% from 1990-2011, largely in part due to the efforts of the SDP Democratic Women's Forum, a women's wing within the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
, that helped encourage women into leadership roles and addressed women's issues through legislation. Women's wings can be highly successful in improving women's representation in short amounts of time, though the opposition they may face can detrimentally affect their progress.


Potential issues

Women's wings face numerous obstacles and potential pitfalls that can negatively impact their level of effectiveness in promoting the inclusion of women in politics. In some cases, a women's wing may face a lack of autonomy from their associated political party that mitigates their power and authority. The United Nations Development Programme states that it is crucial for women's wings to ensure that they are not isolated by addressing only gendered issues. In some nations, such as
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, female politicians are often automatically relegated to a women's wing where they are "made to concentrate on what are seen as specifically 'women's issues' such as dowry and rape cases." These "women's issues" are typically issues seen as gender-specific or highly associated with the traditional role of women according to societal gender roles. Systems such as this are representative of the women's wing being sidelined by its affiliated party, creating further obstacles towards equitable political engagement by women. Mandated membership may put women's wings at risk of being sidelined in this manner, though it can also allow for women to present a more unified voice more easily.


See also

* Youth wing *
Student wing A student wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization that is formed in order to rally support from students and focus on student specific issues, typically of those attending college or university. Stu ...
* LGBTQ wing


Footnotes

{{reflist Political terminology