[ Democratization ] ODIHR presented its “Gender Equality in Elected Office: A SixStep Action Plan” at a conference in Belfast on ways to increase the political representation of women in Northern Ireland, 9 March 2012. (OSCE/Shiv Sharma) facilitating the sharing of good practices and concrete measures to increase women’s political participation among authorities and civil society representatives in participating States. Women’s opportunities to access political office are often determined by political parties. As the “gatekeepers” of women’s participation, political parties manage processes related to candidate nomination, the allocation of campaign resources and promotion to key campaign positions. Thus, April saw the launch of the Office’s “Women in Political Parties” project, aimed at expanding political stakeholders’ knowledge of the range of voluntary measures available to increase the number of women as political party leaders, decision makers and candidates. ODIHR partnered with civil society organizations in five pilot countries — Albania, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova — to identify both good practices in promoting and barriers to women’s involvement in political parties. The findings will provide essential material for the Handbook on Measures to Promote Women’s Participation in Political Parties, to be published in 2012. In June, ODIHR published its commissioned baseline study Gender Equality in Elected Office: A Six-Step Action Plan, as part of its continuing support for the development of evidence-based research to build the capacity of political stakeholders and gender advocates to influence political and policy agendas. The study provides an overview of trends in women’s political participation in the OSCE region and presents a concrete framework for assessing and promoting women’s political participation. The Office presented the study at a number of events organized in OSCE participating States in 2011, and the resource continues to serve as a useful tool for developing concrete measures for promoting women’s participation in political and electoral processes. The Office’s work in 2011 to support capacity building to promote women’s political participation included co-operation with OSCE field operations and other partners, including central election commissions and gender equality bodies. ODIHR contributed to a roundtable and training event on 27 and 28 June in Podgorica on women’s representation, organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, that highlighted the important role young party members play in promoting gender equality within political party structures. On 22 November in Sarajevo, in co-operation with the Parliamentary Committee on Gender Equality, the Gender Equality Agency and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, ODIHR organized a conference on increasing women’s participation in public life. From 2 to 4 December in Yerevan, ODIHR initiated a pilot roundtable and training programme for political party ODIHR Annual Report 2011 31