Background

Public policy and political climate around the world reflect inequitable gender and socio-economic disparities. Despite making up roughly 49.9% of the global population, women currently make up 22.9%  of parliamentarians globally, and minority groups will continue to be disproportionately underrepresented. Continued structural impediments (e.g., limited access to information, lack of mentorship, and limited experience) will result in continued restricted access for entry into a policy or political career.

The greatest impact of these disparities will occur among young women who come from underserved communities. Even when studies continue to indicate that early exposure to career choices plays an important role in shaping a young woman's career aspirations, girls living in poverty have limited options for policy-related learning and engaging with female role models in the public or private sectors. Ultimately, the perceived inaccessibility of policy and governance domains will continue to perpetuate cycles of exclusion and underrepresentation of women in those fields.

Girls in Global Policy is a student-led social initiative that aims to dismantle these barriers through accessible, early-stage interventions. By offering curated learning resources, interactive workshops, and mentorship sessions with women leaders in policy and politics, the initiative will seek to build awareness, contributing to greater gender equity in public decision-making.