Women in Government Fellowship 2023 for Indian citizens

Applications are open for the Women in Government Fellowship 2023. The Women in Government Fellowship is a six-month programme that is focused on capacity-building, training, and mentorship of women in politics. It seeks to enhance and improve the quality of political participation of women.

The fellows will undergo in-person workshops, intensive virtual learning sessions, and hands-on mentorship by seasoned women politicians. This three-pronged approach will provide an academic grounding of democratic frameworks and policy-making, up-skill them with practical know-hows of electioneering, build the fellows’ personal brands through personalised Public Narrative trainings by coaches from Harvard Kennedy School, and learn the ropes of politicking directly from a mentor who is undergoing the realities and tackling the challenges of being a woman in public office.

The objectives of the programme are:

To equip with skills and strategic knowledge to effectively run for office, legislate, and govern.
To develop a deeper understanding of the nuances and challenges of the Indian democratic system and various political theories, and to gain exposure to policy-framing under renowned practitioners and domain-experts.
To provide mentorship to navigate the labyrinth of the political world directly from seasoned women politicians.
To build a network of women leaders, policy experts, and campaign professionals to form partnerships and draw upon shared knowledge and exchange best practices.

Scholarship

A nominal admission fee of INR 35,000 will be charged although the overall program cost is INR 200,000/person. However, financial constraint should not be an obstacle for application. Admission fee waivers (up to 100% scholarship) are available on merit-cum-means basis.

Eligibility

Open to women who have contested election at any level i.e college, university, RWA, local govt, MLA, etc.
Women in nominated political party positions for at least 3 months.
Women who have worked in civil-society/media/policy organisations for at least 12 months.
Women who are/were LAMP/Acumen/Gandhi/Teach for India Fellows and aspire to join politics.
Must be an Indian Citizen.