The first ever Commonwealth Women’s Forum was held on 24 November in Malta, prior to the 2015 CHOGM.  As part of the event, CLGF co-hosted a gender workshop along with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Speaking at the workshop Mayor Alison Zerafa, who was representing CLGF as a member of the Local Councils Association of Malta and Mayor of Cospicua, said that there is a growing need to look at ways in which we can encourage more women to get involved in political leadership, to strengthen the skills and capacity of women as well as the relationship between women leaders across the different spheres of government.

“We need to ensure that we develop effective local leaders with the skills, understanding and capacity to meet the needs of their local communities and at the same time strengthen the principles of democratic accountability, transparency and representation which underpin elected leadership at all levels” she said.

Highlighting the new SDG 5 to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, to encourage women’s participation and provide equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making,  she said, “Women’s under-representation in the local sphere clearly contravenes global principles and commitment to participation and inclusion, but it also means that local communities are missing out on the different approaches and understanding that women bring to local decision-making that help make them more representative of the whole community”..

Participants at the forum called on member governments to meet a 50% target for women in leadership across political and public life, and in the private sector. They also called on heads of government to recognise this pilot forum as a platform to transform the mainstream processes with effective monitoring to be observed by member states of all 53 Commonwealth countries. Commitments to gender equality and women empowerment should take centre stage and be high on the agenda.

Read A call for action on gender equality beyond 2015. http://bit.ly/1RebqfP