Fifty women and men, including elected officials, legal professionals, journalists and students, explored the issue of gender parity in elected and appointed positions, during a March 7 panel discussion at the U.S. Embassy. The discussion, hosted by the Embassy in collaboration with the Chadian IVLP alumni association Amicale des Visiteurs Internationaux Tchadiens (AVITE-USA), was held to commemorate International Women’s Day. In his opening remarks, Chargé d’Affaires Richard Bell emphasized, “the more women actively participate in public life, the better for everyone.” Panelists Appoline Moudalbaye, president of AVITE-USA, and Clarisse Nehoudamadji Nailar, Chair of the Cellule de Liaison et d’Information des Associations Féminines, provided an overview of the history and current status of participation by women in the public sphere in Chad, before opening the discussion to participants. Among the topics raised were Chad’s 2018 gender parity decree and the make-up of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), where two of the 30 nominees are women.