Campaign Finance and Women’s Representation in Latin America

While financial resources can be an obstacle to any potential political candidate, the impact is particularly acute in preventing women from running for office. Politics dominated by money is, more often than not, politics dominated by men. 

The Inter-American Dialogue, International IDEA, and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy are pleased to present a new study on the role of campaign finance as an obstacle to women’s political participation and representation in Colombia, followed by an open discussion with participants. 

Despite taking significant steps towards a more gender-balanced political system –notably the recent adoption of female representation quotas— Colombia, like many other Latin American countries, continues to struggle with the legacies of pervasive social, economic and political inequality that disproportionately affect women. The study gauges the effect that campaign finance has for aspiring female leaders, and puts it in the context of broader social and cultural barriers that hinder women’s political activism throughout the region. The Colombian experience also offers insights on how new regulations and incentives can help bring about a more inclusive political system.

Follow this event on Twitter at #Gender$Politics and @The_Dialogue. 

Speaker 

• Kevin Casas-Zamora, Senior Fellow and Director of the Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program, Inter-American Dialogue

Commentators

• Ellen Weintraub, Commissioner, US Federal Election Commission 
• Angela Rodríguez, Executive Director, Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, Colombia

Moderator

• Massimo Tommasoli, Permanent Observer to the United Nations, International IDEA

 

Co-sponsored by International IDEA and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy