Description
Launched in September 2025 and led by Professor Gabrielle Bardall, the WDPF Chair explores the relationship between women, political power, and online violence, and how this shapes equitable and inclusive democracy.
The program focuses on the digital transformations reshaping women’s political participation: the rise of foreign interference amplified by generative AI; the growing intersection of technology, gender, and political finance—which has opened new lines of inquiry into online economic forms of violence and their solutions; the resurgence of authoritarianism; and the weakening of international protections and foreign assistance.
The Chair’s work is organized into three areas:
The Rhetoric of Hate: Documenting Online Violence Against Women in Politics
This area examines how online violence affects women’s political participation in a rapidly changing global environment. It considers the pressures created by rising authoritarianism, technology-driven foreign interference, and evolving digital political finance practices. The Chair analyzes how these forces combine to restrict women’s participation and undermine the quality and resilience of democracies, especially in Francophone contexts. The goal is to generate concrete data and analysis that deepen understanding of these threats and support efforts to make political participation safer, more inclusive, and more effective for women.
Between Laws and Rights: Institutional Frameworks and Political Inclusion
This area assesses the laws and regulations intended to protect against technology-facilitated violence against women in politics and evaluates their alignment with international human rights standards. In partnership with the Carter Center’s Digital Threats to Democracy Initiative, the Chair compares legal approaches across countries to identify strengths, gaps, and promising practices. The aim is to inform public policies and programs that strengthen women’s representation and trust in democratic processes.
Women’s Power and Politics: Democracy and Women’s Leadership
This area investigates how women’s political participation—and the obstacles they face—shapes the resilience and quality of democracy. It examines the links between political violence, civic engagement, and women’s leadership, and explores solutions to amplify women’s voices and influence in political life. The findings help guide policymakers, human rights actors, and international initiatives seeking to foster more inclusive and durable democracies.
Contribution
The FDPF Chair offers a distinctive contribution by analyzing democracy, security, and technology through a feminist lens, showing how these forces shape women’s political participation and democratic resilience. By examining how gender-based online violence weakens democratic outcomes—and how it is strategically deployed by authoritarian and patriarchal actors—the Chair addresses a critical blind spot in political research.
Its work provides essential tools and evidence to understand how legal frameworks, rights protections, and digital threats interact to influence political participation. This research supports the development of policies and initiatives that strengthen democracy and broaden political inclusion.
At the same time, the Chair documents women’s political participation in Acadian communities and across Canada, taking into account the evolving Francophone identity in the Maritime provinces. This analysis highlights the particular challenges facing official language minority communities (OLMCs) and how these shape women’s leadership. It also contributes valuable insights to Canadian policy debates—including foreign policy—where issues of democracy, rights, and Francophonie are gaining increasing prominence.
