The #BlackWomenDecide (Pt. #MulheresNegrasDecidem) initiative focused on producing data-driven indicators on black women’s political participation while monitoring black women's candidacies in Brazil.
Problems and Purpose
In the context of the 2018 elections in Brazil, the Umunna network launched the #BlackWomenDecide (Pt. #MulheresNegrasDecidem) initiative. In a country where black women represent 27% of the population, according to Ummuna’s co-founder Ana Carolina Lourenço, the initiative aimed at demystifying ideas about the electoral participation of black women.[1] The project, supported by the Smart Citizenship Foundation (Span. Fundación Ciudadanía Inteligente), was two-fold: first, it focused on producing data-driven indicators on black women’s political participation to be showcased in an online platform and, thus, increase citizen engagement in the electoral process. Secondly, it involved monitoring and following-up on black women's candidacies.
Background History and Context
On March 14, 2018, the same day of the assassination of Brazilian councilwoman and human rights activist Marielle Franco, a group of five women of color founded the Umunna network. Its objective was to connect black women interested in the discussion of institutional politics and engage them in the electoral debate so they ended up launching this initiative in pursuit of their aim.
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
Participant Recruitment and Selection
Methods and Tools Used
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
The co-founders of Umunna, experts in topics of political participation, gender studies and intersectionality, led the research and production of these indicators to later contrast them with official data on political representation, share of the electorate, etc. The content was later visually represented in the platform mulheresnegrasdecidem.org and using the #mulheresnegrasdecidem for citizens in Brazil to interact with and share.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
Analysis and Lessons Learned
See Also
References
[1] Mulheres Negras Decidem. http://mulheresnegrasdecidem.org/