New research by Washington State University political scientists indicates governments worldwide are making progress to promote women’s empowerment through policies and mechanisms intended to advance gender equality.
“Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women have been established by governments in nearly every country around the world,” said WSU Professor Amy Mazur, an international expert in gender equality policy. “They apply diverse strategies, but all with the same goal: to further promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through government action.”
Mazur will present findings from her recent large-scale study of institutional mechanisms in dozens of countries across North America, Europe and the former Soviet Union during a side session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women on March 17. Institutional mechanisms, often referred to as IMs, are agencies or governmental bodies formally established by statute or decree and charged with furthering women’s status and rights or promoting sex-based equality.
Begun in fall 2021, the study was sponsored by the Organization of Security and Cooperation of Europe (OSCE) Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and based on a survey of the 56 member states of the OSCE. Mazur designed and administered the survey with assistance from Season Hoard, a WSU associate professor in political science.