Symposium by GQUAL on CEDAW’s GR40: Having a Seat at the Table Is Not Enough; Women Are Ready to Thrive

[Leticia Born is Associate Director of Programs for Latin America/Global at Co-Impact and holds a Master’s in International Development Studies from the University of Amsterdam with a focus on gender]

Close your eyes and picture this: you are a Black Brazilian woman, standing center stage as you receive your law degree from a reputable university. You hold your breath when you hear your name. You can see from afar your mother, younger brother and your three-year-old son shouting your name, but you can’t quite hear them as you are trying to get a grip of your emotions. You are the first woman in your family to graduate from college. Only you know how much you have struggled to arrive at this moment and it feels unfair that this is just the first step towards a career.  

Colleagues have put you down with racist and misogynistic remarks, and your university did not make any effort to provide you some flexibility. You navigated this rigid institution counting on your unbelievable persistence and backing of those that you could trust. A scholarship was key, but you longed to receive more support to arrive with more confidence and easiness at this decisive moment.  

You know that you have slim chances of reaching your goal of a state court leadership role, given only 6 of 27 of them in the country are held by women, all white. You feel it has been such an intense journey just to reach this moment. There is so much expectation on you, and as you grab your diploma and struggle to smile, you just wish you weren’t so exhausted.   

*** 

The lack of women within power in the law and justice sector is commonly described as a “glass labyrinth”, marked by multiple discriminatory factors that hinder career mobility or, rather, make these barriers invisible. The literature that speaks to the condition of “outsiders within”, led by Black feminist authors, shows that the situation of women in spaces of historical non-belonging, for reasons of gender and race, places them in the condition of “being without being there”, or of being an “odd one in the nest”. However, the argument here is that it’s precisely this occupation that brings benefits to rigid institutions that historically neglect lived experience of women and other oppressed groups.  

Let’s call her Helena – the not-so-fictional protagonist of this story. For you, the reader, I suppose you agree that she deserves a chance in her career and that her decisions would definitely represent and positively impact other millions of women like her in the long term as she knows best. Sufficient evidence demonstrates that investments towards women in leadership contributes to bolstering the work of local women’s organizations, including women’s professional associations in law and others, so that women are able to bring their unique and lived perspectives to decision making, which often tends to prioritize social justice, gender equality and societal benefits writ large.  

Yet, the percentage of women in leadership positions remains shamefully low in key sectors—and the situation is even worse for Black women, not only in Brazil but worldwide. 

Helena’s experience at university will be twice-fold challenging to say the least as she ascends in her career not only due to the absence of incentives but mostly as a result of informal components that shape decision-making within institutions, such as the authorization of public examinations, nominations for senior management positions, and the support to candidates running for positions of power that are still strongly influenced by male-dominated relationships and dynamics that are not explicit.   

Moreover, women face additional challenges such as inflexible work environments, a lack of family-friendly policies, and workplace harassment and hostility. Limited access to influential networks and mentors further restricts women’s advancement into leadership roles.  

To contribute to shifting this scenario, we at Co-Impact, a global philanthropic collaborative, are committed to advancing gender equality and women’s leadership, through our Gender Fund, launched in 2022.  

Why do we think women’s leadership is vital? It’s about representation, yes, but we do not stop there. Women in decision making roles can also serve as role models, inspiring other women and girls to strategize in overcoming the barriers and creating a more inclusive and equitable environment where women can thrive and contribute to decision-making processes. Their actions also tend to bring a more balanced, nuanced and inclusive perspective to policies and strategies that address the needs of diverse populations.  

But most importantly, our experience has shown us that initiatives need to work simultaneously on individual as well as institutional factors. A review we commissioned identified three main areas that together have shown to be effective in supporting and sustaining women’s leadership: gender parity policies; strengthening women’s professional networks and training; and institutional reforms supporting women. And our hope is to bring in more philanthropic actors in this mission, as this is a generational change that needs to be well resourced.   

And we have reasons to be hopeful.  

In the Brazilian Justice System, for example, women hold only 25% of decision-making roles, with Black women making up only 12%. In entry-level positions, women make up 46%, but Black women only 16%. So we know that Helena will have slim chances, to say the least. Within the selection process in this system, barriers have resulted in lower approval rates for women in the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office (between 37% and 41%), despite a balanced proportion of male and female applicants (between 48% and 50%). In the 2022 Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office competition, women comprised 44.1% of applicants but only 19.4% of those approved.  

Despite this stark reality, Co-Impact’s program partner, Justa, a feminist think-tank that operates within the political economy of Justice, has come to an incredible realization by legally requesting information that is not public – that between 2025 and 2030, there will be at least 657 lifetime positions of power to be opened within the Brazilian justice system, with courts reaching almost 60% renewal due to retirement, in addition to 3 vacancies in the Supreme Federal Court and 6 in the Superior Court of Justice.   

The opportunity requires action now. Promoting women’s leadership is not only urgent, but it also requires ensuring that women candidates have real opportunities to assume such positions, which would represent a significant shift with repercussions for decades: the average age of a woman judge is 47 years old and, if promoted, she will likely leave that position with retirement, at age 75. This presents a real opportunity to change the legal landscape of Brazil so that having more Helenas increases the likelihood of addressing issues faced by women just like her. 

Another reason to remain hopeful comes from another Co-Impact Program Partner, GQUAL. For 10 years, they have been working to advance gender parity across international institutions, including tribunals, monitoring bodies and various other international spaces – key to human rights and international justice. Within the institutions they monitor, they have observed significant advances, including a 65% reduction in the gender gap, a 204% increase in the number of women running for international positions, and a 34% increase in the number of women candidates from Africa and Latin America. Most significantly, their leadership in the advocacy work leading to the adoption of General Recommendation 40 by CEDAW Committee, which will have implications for years to come, was remarkable.  

As we prepare for years ahead, during which we are witnessing the backsliding of women’s rights and the rise of anti-rights movements, we need to do more. Philanthropy has a crucial role in expanding pathways for women to lead in law by funding organizations and leaders that are doing vital work in securing space, autonomy, and agency for women’s insights and contributions that will result in better laws.