## Voting on Gender Parity

_IMF Blog, September 17, 2019_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Voting on Gender Parity](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/17/blog-voting-on-gender-parity)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/17/blog-voting-on-gender-parity/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/17/blog-voting-on-gender-parity/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/17/blog-voting-on-gender-parity/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Rasmane Ouedraogo
- Published: September 17, 2019

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### Overview
- Author: Rasmane Ouedraogo
- Date: September 17, 2019
- Context: Electoral violence occurs in many African countries, with thousands killed and displaced during election cycles.
- Near-term risk: Over the next year and a half, Presidential elections are scheduled in thirteen sub-Saharan African countries, raising fears that, as in the past, violent incidents or conflict may erupt again.

### Chart insight and empirical finding
- Nearly half the individuals surveyed say that they fear becoming a victim of electoral violence.
- That figure declines by a quarter if the female-to-male labor force participation ratio increases by 5 percent points.
- Interpretation presented: Women’s participation in the workforce could make election-related violence less likely in Africa.

### Analysis and rationale
- Any kind of exclusion is described as “suboptimal.”
- Women are framed as crucial partners in generating social cohesion and political legitimacy.
- Women’s participation in the workforce and at different levels of decision-making is said to help ensure that more and diverse members of the population are heard, and that those voices are engaged in electoral violence prevention and peacemaking.
- Current gap: The gender gap is very large in some African nations; women are still largely absent from peace processes and decision-making circles.
- Structural inequality in Africa is identified as a factor that could exacerbate electoral violence and its escalation.

### Policy recommendations
- African leaders should pay more attention to gender inequality.
- Adopt appropriate policies to ensure equal opportunities for all citizens.
- Provide women the voice they deserve to harness the potential win-win of reduced electoral violence and increased social cohesion.

*Source: Voting on Gender Parity — IMF blog, September 17, 2019*

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## References

- [recent IMF research](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2019/08/16/Gender-Equality-and-Electoral-Violence-in-Africa-Unlocking-the-Peacemaking-Potential-of-Women-48564)
- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chart-corrected-eng-september-10-gender.jpg](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chart-corrected-eng-september-10-gender.jpg)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/09/17/blog-voting-on-gender-parity_