Working Together
In 2019, OGP launched Break the Roles, a campaign asking all of us to strengthen the gender perspectives in our commitments and increase women’s voices across open government.
Our goal was for at least 30 percent of members taking meaningful action on gender and inclusion by the end of the year. Prior to the campaign, of the nearly 4,000 open government reforms, covering everything from extractives to anti-corruption, less than two percent dealt with gender.
Thanks to our members and partners not only met this goal but gender and inclusion were also the most popular issues areas addressed in incoming 2020 Action Plans.
Our collective results include:
- First time gender related commitments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, and the Philippines
- 18 gender commitments cutting across core OGP priority policy areas, including public service, justice, open contracting and beneficial ownership
- In Sierra Leone, Argentina, Afghanistan, and Mexico, representatives from women’s organizations participated in national steering committee leadership or in multi-stakeholder groups
- Italy, Afghanistan and Luxembourg were among those who conducted a gender review on their actions plans.
- Open Gov Week activities the UK, Canada, Sri Lanka, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Argentina, Honduras, Nigeria, and the Philippines held panels on gender inequality in open government.
- New partnerships were forged or strengthened with global organizations such as Women Deliver, Open Heroines, OSCE, and UNDP and OGP members including the governments of Afghanistan, Argentina, Canada, Italy, Kenya, and South Korea
- At OGP 2019 Global Summit, former Irish President Mary Robinson introduced the campaign, and there were eleven sessions with a gender-specific lens, including two sessions hosted by Open Heroines.
- For the first time at the summit, a majority of speakers identified as women, and a Feminist Open Government side event was attended by 180 participants.
This campaign is just one step in our journey to addressing gender issues in how we work with governments and civil society. In 2020, we’ll work with our members to further integrate gender and inclusion across their commitments, and we will be following up on results from commitments already made.
Join OGP as we continue to learn from our own experiences and build a broader coalition on gender and inclusion.
Ania Calderon
Executive Director of the Open Data Charter
Jen Bretaña
OGP Government Point of Contact for South Cotabato, Philippines
Ruth Kendagor
IRM researcher for Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya
Silvana Fumega
Research and Policy Director of the Latin American Initiative for Open Data
Danilo Manzano
Director of Diálogo Diverso
Shyamala Gomez
Executive Director at the Centre for Equality and Justice
Suneeta Kaimal
Chief Operating Officer, Natural Resource Governance Institute
Minister Young Chin
Minister of Interior and Safety, South Korea
Mary Francoli
International Experts Panel (IEP) Chair
Voices
This series highlights the voices of open government reformers advancing gender and inclusion in their fields.
Mary Robinson was the first woman president in Ireland and went on to serve as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She shares her experience of being a woman in leadership and how ensuring citizens have clear and easy access to justice is a key part of opening government work.
Halla Tómasdóttir ran for president in Iceland and almost won. As CEO of The B Team, Halla is an avid advocate for inclusive and diverse leadership in government, business, and beyond.
Dagia Aka began advocating for anti-corruption reforms at the age of 15. Since then, he has become one of the youngest activists in the world pushing for more open and transparent governments.
Resources
A reflection on what OGP has learned over the past year and where we hope to take inclusive open government in 2020.
A guide for the OGP community to be more intentional, strategic, and ambitious in how we bring women, girls, and gender diverse perspectives into the co-creation process and implementation of commitments.
The Feminist Open Government Initiative aims to use research and action to encourage governments and civil society to champion new initiatives leading to gender advancements in open government.
The Break the Roles message is clear: if we want to see better more responsive, more transparent and more accountable government, we must take deliberate steps to ensure that all voices are included in open government.
Share your stories on social media with #BreaktheRoles
The Open Gender Monologues allow women, men, gender queer, and LGBTQ+ people working in open government to express themselves on topics of gender in a safe space for people to talk, listen, and learn.
For International Day of the Girl Child, we asked open government and inclusion champions to share their inspirational and actionable advice with the next generation of open government leaders.
Without the perspective, experience and expertise of women, decisions often get made by elite groups removed from daily challenges, and our policies suffer as a consequence. Learn how OGP plans to advance gender equality throughout the partnership.
See how OGP members are working to be more intentional, strategic, and ambitious in bringing the perspectives of women and gender groups into open government.
Gender Coalition
As part of the campaign, OGP will convene a gender coalition that will bring together a dedicated group of global leaders on open government and gender equality. This group will help build political momentum behind gender and inclusion within open government practices and commitments.
Coalition Guided By
Africa Freedom of Information Centre
B Team
CARE International
Center for Global Development
Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Government of the UK
Equal Measures 2030
Hewlett Foundation
Hivos
International Development Research Centre
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Open Contracting Partnership
Open Data Charter
Open Heroines
Oxfam
Técnicas Rudas
United Nations Development Programme
Afghanistan
Argentina
Canada
Italy
Kenya