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CONCEPT NOTE

WORLD WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS’ FORUM

“From Representation to Influence in the Decision-Making Process”

Date: 12-13 October 2026

Venue: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Background:

Since the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, considerable progress has been achieved in advancing women’s participation and representation in decision-making processes across political, economic, and social spheres. Policy commitments, including the introduction of quota mechanisms, alongside sustained advocacy efforts, have contributed significantly to increasing the number of women in leadership and decision-making positions. In Mongolia, comprehensive legal and policy reforms aimed at promoting gender equality have yielded measurable results. Following the 2024 parliamentary elections, women represent 25.4 per cent of Members of Parliament, positioning Mongolia among the leading countries in the region in terms of women’s parliamentary representation.

Despite these achievements, important gaps remain. Women continue to be underrepresented in political parties, public administration, and corporate leadership. Moreover, their participation does not consistently translate into substantive influence over policy formulation, resource allocation, and institutional decision-making processes. Persistent structural barriers, including entrenched gender stereotypes, unequal access to leadership networks, the disproportionate burden of unpaid care and domestic work, and inequitable distribution of resources continues to limit women’s ability to exercise leadership and authority effectively.

In this context, the World Women Parliamentarians’ Forum will serve as a high-level platform to support the 2025 IPU Plan of Action for Gender Parity in Parliaments and to explore practical ways to transform representation into meaningful influence. Increasing women’s representation, while necessary, is not sufficient. Greater emphasis must be placed on ensuring that women’s participation leads to tangible influence and measurable impact on policy outcomes and development processes. Women parliamentarians are uniquely positioned to drive this transformation. As key actors vested with the authority to set legislative agendas, shape policy directions, enact reforms, and establish accountability mechanisms, they play a critical role in advancing gender-responsive governance and in translating representation into meaningful influence.

The forum of women parliamentarians under the theme “From Representation to Influence in the Decision-Making Process” aims to achieve following objectives:

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Objectives:

• To examine, from multiple perspectives, ways to strengthen women’s participation in decision-making as a meaningful and influential force. It will serve as a platform for sharing effective policies, strategies, and best practices, while formulating recommendations and calling for concrete policy directions and actions at the regional and international levels;

• To identify the gap between women’s representation and their substantive influence in decision-making and leadership positions;

• To examine the key barriers that limit women’s ability to influence policy and decisions and to exercise authority in a meaningful way;

• To highlight effective policies, strategies, and good practices that promote women’s substantive equality and influence;

• To foster dialogue on gender-responsive governance and inclusive leadership, with a view to strengthening multi-stakeholder participation;

• To facilitate the exchange of experiences and inform the development of policies and actions at national, regional, and international levels.

Forum Structure:

The forum will consist of the following segments: an opening session, plenary sessions, thematic panel discussions, interactive dialogues, and a closing session.

Key Discussion Themes:

• Gender quotas and representation frameworks, including quota design, candidate support mechanisms, and the implications of different electoral systems;

• Legal and institutional frameworks to ensure and sustain women’s meaningful participation and influence in decision-making processes;

• Leadership development and capacity-building initiatives;

• International experiences, comparative perspectives, and lessons learned.

Expected Outcomes:

• Strengthened and more effective mechanisms to promote women’s representation and participation, including transparent and accountable quota systems;

• Development of evidence-based policy recommendations;

• Increased engagement of citizens and civil society, fostering an enabling environment in which women’s voices can meaningfully inform and shape decisions;

• Practical ways to support the 2025 IPU Plan of Action for Gender Parity in Parliaments.

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Participants:

• High-level international representatives and policymakers;

• Representatives of government institutions, parliaments, and local authorities;

• Partners and representatives of civil society, including women’s organizations, emerging women leaders, youth leaders, and women in leaders from the private sector.

Additional information:

The meeting format is 1 (Head of delegation) + 2 official delegates.

The organizers will cover local expenses (accommodation and local transportation) of the Head of Delegation during his/her stay in Ulaanbaatar for three nights, from 11 to 13 October 2026.

The accompanying delegation needs to book their own hotel rooms beyond the hospitality format.

Shuttle bus services will operate between the main venue, hotels and airport.

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