Gender equality as a foundation for democratic participation

Democracy is a form of ruling or a system of governance that involves all the people and stakeholders of the system in making decision. Such decisions are related to the affairs of governance. Such joint decisions are generally taken through a system of voting to elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly or to the governance body.

Democracy is also defined as the government by the people specifically the rule of the majority. It is also defined as the system where the power to take the final call for a decision is the onus of the people. Such power vested in the people is exercised by directly or indirectly through a system of representation which elects representatives at regular periods of intervals.

There are four key elements in democracy according to political scientist Larry Diamond. The existence of a political system that allows to choose and replace government through free and fair elections.

The active participation of the people in politics and civic life

Human rights protection and Establishment of the rule of law

Gender equality is the term used to indicate equal rights for men and women in terms of both men and women receiving equal treatments in the society and in the eyes of the law. Gender equality prevents discrimination on the basis of sex or gender.

Gender equality also applies in democratic activities and democracy.

UNESCO defines gender equality as attempts to promote equality between women and men across the organizations. It views gender equality as but a necessary foundation for the creation of sustainable and peaceful societies.

Gender equality plays an important role in any democratic society. Democracy recognizes equal participation of all citizens. Gender equality on the other hand ensures that men and women have equal rights in society which includes the democratic system.

Hence, well established gender equality in the U.S. ensures women are able to freely participate in the democratic process of the country and have created a positiveimpact on the democratic system.

2.)

Introduction

Gender equality and democracy are intricately related. One of the major requirements for democracy is gender equality. As already discussed, democracy is ensured by the complete and equal participation of all the members of the society or stakeholders of a democratic system. Women and men are both expected to be parts of a democratic system. Therefore for a democracy to succeed both men and women need to participate in equal measure. This equal participation can be ensured through establishment of equal rights of both sexes. Hence, greater the degree of gender equality, greater is the effect of a democratic system.

By the term gender equality it is often meant to be referred to women's rights. Hence to certain degrees, gender equality often means equal right for women in the society.

A successful democracy is sustained and fostered by:

The greater participation of women in the political system has helped enrich the democratic quality

The inclusion of women issues in the agenda of political parties helps wide spread dissemination of gender equality issues and strengthens democracy by encouraging equal participation

Strengthening of women's voices through leadership position acquiring and active participation in the democracy

Thesis Statement

Participation of women in greater numbers in important roles and positions in the democratic system strengthens the U.S. democracy and fosters greater gender equality.

Topic Sentence: The greater participation of women in the political system has helped enrich the democratic quality in the United States.

Explanation: democracy is a process that demands the greatest participation of all sections of society and among all the stakeholders of democracy. Both men and women are integral members of a society as well as the most important stakeholders of democracy. Therefore it is critical that both men and women participate equally in the democratic process.

In the U.S. women political leaders have assumed important positions and roles in the democratic governmental set up. This participation of women has helped get more views in the democracy and thus has strengthened the democratic system.

The roles played by Condoleezza Rice, Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton in U.S. politics and government are examples of how gender equality has strengthened U.S. democracy.

Women's issues and gender equality issues need to be part of political agenda of political parties in a democracy like the U.S.

Explanation: the more people in power and especially women talk about gender equality the more it would have a positive effect in the society. This would help encourage more and more women to participate in the democratic process and thus democracy would be strengthened. When women in greater numbers get into the democratic system through the political route, there would be more and more women in the political parties who would talk about gender equality. Therefore the political parties would talks more about gender equality issues and women in greater number would be encouraged to participate in the political democratic process. This would ultimately strengthen the democracy as more stakeholders and society members take active part in the democratic processes.

Evidence:

It is critical that women participate in complete numbers and in an equitable manner public life as this would foster the cause of building and sustaining strong and vibrant democracies. An important focus of global development policy is the meaningful participation of women in national, local and community leadership roles. Tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and more sustainable peace is achieved through the participation of women in the political system. It has also been claimed that when there are more women participating in the democratic system, there would be more voices in the political parties for gender equality and political parties would talk more and more about this issue.