Women Congress Labour Party of Kenya -LPK

In 1985 the Kenya Government had to seek Hon. Julia Ojiambo to lead the Kenyan delegation to the Third United Nations Conference on Women in Nairobi. When it comes to the rights of women, the Labour Party of Kenya does stand out strongly. LPK was the first political party in Kenya to adopt in its Constitution a 50:50 gender parity rule. This was to ensure that the leadership of the party evened out on gender at both NEC level and across the party branches. The struggle to ensure gender parity in terms of representation has not been easy but it is worth noting that the Constitution now recognizes the rights of women fully and has great emphasis on affirmative action in all elective assemblies and bodies in the land. However a lot of work remains to be done in order to actualize the gains in the Constitution. Our Ideology
The Labour Party Women Congress espouses the principles of Social Democracy. The Vision of The Women Congress
We envision governance in the Kenya and across the African region as an affirmation of excellence, integrity and accountability, gender equality and representation, sustainable development and peace. The Mission of The Women Congress
The Labour Party Women Congress, encourages informed and active participation in political activities by women, through increased understanding of major public policy issues, and to continuously influence public policy through education (conferences, seminars, education materials, professional and personal relationships, and networking at both the county and national levels) and advocacy. Our Goal
Our goal is to create a critical mass of competent, committed and effective women leaders at local and national levels and to develop a responsible female citizenry at the base who, together, will work to transform politics and governance for the common good. Women leaders without an organized base run the risks of tokenism and co-optation; women’s organizations without responsible women leaders can easily fragment or be co-opted. We Believe in
Respect for Individuals
The value of Diversity
The Empowerment of the grassroots both within the Women Congress and nationwide
The Power of Collective decision making for the common good. PARTICIPATION: Encouraging everyone who shares our vision to offer their talents and passion and to participate in this movement. CONTRIBUTE: Our success will depend on effective and expedient planning, writing, creating, acting, researching, public speaking, relationship building and networking. Everyone will be expected to contribute to at least one of these activities but all contributors are asked to commit to only what they can do and to honor any commitment they make. Objectives of The Women Congress.

• To train and educate women on the responsibilities of good citizenship, and encourage them to register, to vote, and to learn and understand the functions of government.
• To encourage women to engage in political education, voter registration, forums and seminars.
• To educate and encourage women to seek elective and appointive offices at all levels of government.
• To engage in research and fact-finding on critical issues uniquely affecting the quality of life of women and youth.
• To develop and advocate public policy positions at every level of government.
• To participate in the formation and development of public policy that impacts on women, their families and communities.
• Fighting Poverty and Promoting Economic Empowerment of Women and Entrepreneurship
• Advocate for Improved Women’s Health, Reduce Maternal Mortality and Address HIV/AIDS inappropriate burden on Women and girls on infections, spread and increased workload, as well as unequal access to ARV’s, good nutrition and formal medical services.
• To Identify Women’s role in mitigating climate change, as custodians of the environment, making sure they benefit from the new global packages to fight climate change