The Women Leading Effective and Accountable Democracy in the Digital Age (Women LEAD) is a US government initiative that convenes governments, philanthropy, civil society, and multilateral organizations to advance democracy and gender equality and women’s empowerment by supporting women’s participation and leadership in politics and public life, both on and offline.
This initiative builds on and harnesses shared commitments and priorities, including those laid out in the U.S. Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal, the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse, the Summit for Democracy Cohort on Gender Equality as a Prerequisite for Democracy, and the Network for Gender Inclusive Democracy.
Goals
The three goals of the Women LEAD initiative are to:
- Close the gap in women’s political leadership by supporting initiatives to build and sustain a diverse pipeline of women and girl leaders, including network development and efforts to strengthen the enabling environment for their safe and meaningful participation.
- Support and scale activities to prevent and respond to violence against women in politics and public life, both on and offline, including through rapid response funds that address technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and initiatives to counter gendered information manipulation.
- Establish the global Women LEAD Community of Practice (CoP) to foster coordination and collaboration between partners to address critical challenges that impede women’s and girls’ participation and leadership in politics and public life. Additionally, the CoP will strengthen actors and actions that support women and girls, in all of their diversity, to achieve their ambitions for inclusive, resilient, and accountable democracy.
The Women LEAD CoP is led by the Network for Gender Inclusive Democracy. CoP members will become members of the Network, which convenes key stakeholders to catalyze diplomatic and programmatic commitments to advance women’s civic and political participation and leadership.
How to Join the Initiative
The U.S. government invites partners to collaborate and commit resources towards advancing gender equity and equality and promoting technology that works for, and not against democracy. Eligible partners include country governments, the private sector, foundations, civil society, and multilateral organizations who are committed to advancing the goals of Women LEAD.
Partners can join the initiative by either:
- Making a direct commitment to an existing U.S. initiative focused on promoting women’s political participation and leadership, or
- Making an aligned commitment from their respective organizations that supports Women LEAD’s objectives. This can include new or existing activities or funds that support the initiative’s goals to advance women’s and girls’ civic and political leadership and participation globally, and counter the chilling effects of technology-facilitated gender-based violence against women in politics and public life.
Partner Activities
Initiative partners can:
- Join and actively participate in the Women LEAD CoP, including identifying at least one point of contact who will represent the organization in CoP meetings and supporting the development and activities of the CoP.
- Learn and share outcomes from their initiative-aligned and other relevant activities through the CoP.
- Pursue membership (for those government partners who meet the eligibility criteria) in the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse.
For further information on the Women LEAD initiative and how to join, reach out to WomenLEAD@state.gov. For more information on the Women LEAD CoP, reach out to genderdemocracynetwork@usaid.gov.
