On November 8-9, the International Association of Women in Electoral Management, or WEM-International, hosted a General Assembly Meeting and Plenary Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. The event, the product of a multi-year effort made possible through support from Global Affairs Canada and facilitated by IFES Ukraine in close partnership with the IFES Regional Europe Office through support from USAID, assembled high-level delegates of election management bodies (EMBs) from 18 countries to discuss advancing gender equality and a strategic vision for future years.

First constituted in 2018 by European election commissions, WEM-International has become the only specialized global association of EMBs working to advance gender equality and boost equal representation of women and men in EMBs, particularly in leadership positions.

Highlights from the meeting and conference:

• Participants exchanged best practices in integrating gender perspectives into EMBs’ work and shared experiences of women’s leadership in election administration;
• New EMBs were admitted as members to WEM-International;
• WEM-International’s Executive Committee leadership was re-elected;
• Participants collaboratively developed the association’s strategic organizational vision for the next two years; and,
• A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, or SWOT, analysis identified opportunities and risks in WEM-International’ operations.

WEM-International encourages EMBs worldwide to become a member or a partner and work on gender mainstreaming in electoral processes.

IFES Ukraine congratulates WEM-International and its new members on the progress made during the General Assembly meeting and will continue to be partners in building WEM-International’s institutional capacity.