As acknowledged during the recent Italy-led G20, the empowerment of women is an international issue of undeniable importance. Making the transition from awareness to profound changes in rules and practices requires the creation of global networks at political, diplomatic and governmental levels – in other words, in all decision-making processes.
The greater contribution of women is also needed in sectors such as peacekeeping and peacebuilding in situations of crisis or significant instability. Indeed, some positive changes have begun to emerge in international mediation and conflict resolution; the female factor must be viewed in the contexts both of diplomacy and local situations where women are directly involved, and often against their will.
This is true of the Mediterranean region as well as of the geopolitically closely linked Sahel, both of which are battered by serious forms of conflict. Women are a key factor in social change in these unstable yet dynamic situations, especially if political conditions manage to create at least some margins of freedom and opportunity. For example, women’s greater access to a digital connection would make a significant difference in countries where education lags behind, especially when it comes to girls. These are aspects that Europe should in mind when drafting African aid and collaboration policies, given the enormous challenges and opportunities the continent represents for Europe. This general criterion could also be applied to sectors such as micro-credit, agricultural aid, healthcare facilities and many others.
The case of Tunisia post-2011 is proof of women’s transformative role in the most tragic and difficult stages of budding democratic transitions. Direct civic participation is obviously an indispensable ingredient and, in that sense, women’s strong participation can prove decisive – both at the protest stage as well as during the national reconciliation that must follow.
In other cases, political transformation is a question of addressing the social exclusion of women in markedly patriarchal societies. Conditions in Afghanistan, especially following the withdrawal of the international presence, is the most tragic example of social and political degeneration aimed at depriving women of their most basic rights. Moreover, the entire the society will eventually pay the price of a repression that, at the same time, has robbed it of a human resource of exceptional socio-economic value.
The problem of women’s reduced presence is obviously a serious one in economically advanced countries as well. Emblematic is the high technology sector where studies estimate female representation in the field of cybersecurity at around 10%. A greater female contribution is also critical to environmental policy, which intersects with technological innovation, but also with manufacturing and consumption. Certainly, the success stories of some women in high positions in government, the corporate world and multinational agencies can set the pace for broader-based and transversal evolution, since their visibility contributes to changing widespread biases and to encouraging further development, even without the aid of formal quota mechanisms or other gender balance incentives.