Working Together
Break the Roles is a campaign asking all of us to strengthen the gender perspectives in our OGP commitments and increase women’s voices across open government. OGP’s goal is to encourage at least 30 percent of members to take meaningful action on gender and inclusion in 2019.
Our members have made nearly 4,000 open government reforms, covering everything from extractives to anti-corruption, yet less than two percent of these reforms have dealt with gender.
This campaign is just one step in our journey to addressing gender issues in how we work with governments and civil society. In the coming months we’ll work to build the capacity of OGP staff and key stakeholders to conduct gender-based analysis and integrate the findings into their work.
Join OGP as we continue to learn from our own experiences and build a broader coalition on gender and inclusion.
Voices
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Mary Robinson was the first woman president in Ireland and went on to serve as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She shares her experience of being a woman in leadership and how ensuring citizens have clear and easy access to justice is a key part of opening government work.
Halla Tómasdóttir ran for president in Iceland and almost won. As CEO of The B Team, Halla is an avid advocate for inclusive and diverse leadership in government, business, and beyond.
Resources
In 2019, we're calling on the OGP community to be intentional, strategic, and ambitious in how we bring women and girls into the co-creation process and implementation of commitments. Advance women’s participation in open government and expand gender commitments with these actions.
The Feminist Open Government Initiative aims to use research and action to encourage governments and civil society to champion new initiatives leading to gender advancements in open government.
The goal of open government is accountable, responsive, and inclusive governance. If we want to change the rules of the systems we live in to ensure it reflects the needs of all citizens – men, women, and a spectrum of gender groups – we have to break the stereotypical roles that stand in the way of our collective advancement.
The Open Gender Monologues allow women, men, gender queer, and LGBTQ+ people working in open government to express themselves on topics of gender in a safe space for people to talk, listen, and learn.
The Break the Roles message is clear: if we want to see better more responsive, more transparent and more accountable government, we must take deliberate steps to ensure that all voices are included in open government. We must all take action – now.
Without the perspective, experience and expertise of women, decisions often get made by elite groups removed from daily challenges, and our policies suffer as a consequence. Learn how OGP plans to advance gender equality throughout the partnership.
Share your stories on social media with #BreaktheRoles
For International Day of the Girl Child, we asked open government and inclusion champions to share their inspirational and actionable advice with the next generation of open government leaders.

Gender Fact Sheet
OGP is working to streamline gender into open government commitments...
Break the Roles Coalition
As part of the campaign, OGP will convene a gender coalition that will bring together a dedicated group of global leaders on open government and gender equality. This group will help build political momentum behind gender and inclusion within open government practices and commitments.
Coalition Guided By
Africa Freedom of Information Centre
B Team
CARE International
Center for Global Development
Department for International Development
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Government of the UK
Equal Measures 2030
Hewlett Foundation
Hivos
International Development Research Centre
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Open Contracting Partnership
Open Data Charter
Open Heroines
Oxfam
Técnicas Rudas
United Nations Development Programme
Afghanistan
Argentina
Canada
Italy
Kenya