On 1 March 2024, together with the University of Pittsburgh and #ShePersisted, we launched the revamped Equal Future platform, on women’s representation and leadership in politics and public administration in Europe and Central Asia. 

The event was opened by Raquel Lagunas, Head of Gender, UNDP, and featured keynote speeches by Ivana Zivkovic, Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator and Director for the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States, and Tanzila Narbaeva, Chairperson of the Senate, Uzbekistan. Ana Landa, Global Manager of the UNDP Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions, and Muge Finkel and Melanie Hughes, Directors of GIRL at the University of Pittsburgh, shared their insights on the importance of gender responsive public institutions and increased women’s representation and leadership in public administration, while Sarah Hesterman, Project Manager at #ShePersisted, addressed the challenges of gendered disinformation and violence against women in politics, stressing the need for global collaboration to counteract such threats. 

The event underscored women’s critical role in fostering inclusive and equitable societies, and emphasized the pivotal contribution of the Equal Future platform in leveraging data-driven insights, resources, stories of women leaders, and collaborative opportunities to increase women’s representation in politics and public administration, and enhance the gender responsiveness of public institutions.