While girls and young women believe meaningful participation in politics is important, they continue to face various barriers to their political participation, including being afraid to speak out about their views and thinking that politicians would not listen to them.
The finding comes from a new research by development and humanitarian organization Plan International, which looks at the political participation and representation of girls and young women. The 2022 State of the World’s Girls Report, titled “Equal Power Now,” is based on a large-scale survey of almost 29,000 girls and young women aged 15 to 24 from 29 countries spanning all regions, income levels and civic contexts.
The respondents include 1,000 girls and young women from the Philippines. The report also contains in-depth interviews with 94 girls and young women across 18 countries, including participants from a longitudinal study, Real Choices, Real Lives.
In the country, girls and young women see their political participation as important for emphasizing social justice, education and health in political decisions (65 percent) and improving the situation of girls and young women in society (57 percent).
It is noted that political participation in this context is defined as the voluntary activities that girls and young women undertake, within formal political spaces or via established political institutions, to influence policy-making processes. It is also defined as taking an active role in identifying and addressing challenges in their communities and, in the broader context, participating in activities that are considered political, be it in workplaces, educational institutions and media.
Many are already engaged in some form of political activity that pursues change in the issues they care about, mostly in their local councils.
Voting but not running
Globally, the most common way girls and young women participate is through voting. Locally, while voting was one of the more common participation activities (49 percent), it is only ranked third compared to following politics on social media (54 percent) and following politics in different media (50 percent). The lowest-ranked participation activity of girls in the Philippines is running for political office at any level (8 percent).
The research also found that while girls and young women care about politics and believe meaningful participation in politics is important, they continue to face various barriers to their political participation, such as: feeling like politics isn’t open to them (27 percent); being afraid to speak out about their views (26 percent); thinking that politicians would not listen to them (26 percent); and, not understanding enough about political issues (20 percent).
Insights from the qualitative interviews reveal how norms linked to both age and gender create barriers: not being listened to or taken seriously is the most common concern for girls across both the survey and the interviews and results in a diminished sense of political worth.
“[No] matter what we say, they won’t listen,” said Reyna, 15. “For example, when someone came to complain, nothing happens…”
The research likewise pointed out leadership is still configured in the male image. Women leaders struggle to be taken seriously and, when in power, are judged more harshly than their male colleagues.
“Women leaders are underestimated,” said Darna, 16. “Many think they won’t be able to make it. That’s the challenge I see.”
Stigmatized
A total of 907 respondents said that when trying to participate or engage in politics, they feel that female politicians are often judged by the way they look or dress (34 percent), and that female politicians suffer a lot of intimidation and abuse (19 percent). Meanwhile, global findings from the survey pointed out that regardless of their experience of political participation, respondents associated the word politics with the formal political sphere. For many, even, particularly among the activist group, it was a negative term.
With these realities in mind, the confidence of girls and young women to participate tends to be higher when they are following television broadcasts about a social, political or economic issue; discussing or debating an issue with a member of their community; or posting online content to take a stand on an issue they are passionate about. But they expressed the lowest confidence if they were to stand as candidates in an election.
The research makes clear that girls care about political issues. Yet, girls are underestimated, tokenized, and silenced when they try to intervene. Girls are discouraged from participating in politics because of their age and gender. As young people, they’re dismissed as being too immature; as girls, they are held back by gender stereotypes and inequalities.
The ‘critical role’ of girls in policy-making
In light of the findings from Equal Power Now, Plan International Philippines emphasizes its commitment to work with government, powerholders, and organizations to foster, champion, and support safe, inclusive and sustainable pathways to participation for girls and young women.
“The role of girls and young women in shaping the development of our local and global communities can no longer be denied,” said Plan Philippines Country Director Ana Maria Locsin. “With local and global issues surrounding politics, health, education, and social welfare becoming increasingly complex, we need now, more than ever, for girls’ voices to be duly recognized in formal decision-making spaces, as is their right.”
Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality Chairperson and Senator Risa Hontiveros stressed the importance of strengthening girls’ and young women’s political participation and decision-making power.
“For one, I am witness to the critical role girls play in our policy-making, from the strengthening of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act to the passage of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law. It is our girl advocates, our girl witnesses, who’ve made our legislation stronger,” Hontiveros said. “We’ve been able to successfully craft campaigns and push for a wide range of measures simply by listening to what our girls have to say. [May] we all be reminded not only to listen to our girls just because we should, but also to recognize that our girls perspectives, their particular experiences, and their points of view are crucial elements in our pursuit of a more just more gender-equal world.”
n Note: The names of the girls and young women in this report have been changed to ensure anonymity. All research findings can be found at plan-international.org/equal-power-now.