From Bolivia to Kyrgyzstan, some countries are proving that, with the right rules and political will, real progress towards gender parity in parliaments is within reach.
Slow progress, but with snapshots of inspiration: that’s the picture to emerge from the IPU’s recently published annual Women in parliament in 2025 report. Based on data from the 49 countries that held parliamentary renewals for 62 chambers last year, it is the definitive barometer of women’s representation in parliament.
Overall, the report paints a worrying picture of the world’s progress towards the goal of gender parity in politics. Women hold 27.5% of national parliamentary seats worldwide after a mere 0.3 percentage point rise from 2024’s rate. The proportion of women Speakers of Parliament, meanwhile, has dipped by almost 4 percentage points on the previous year.
Yet, despite sluggish progress at the global level, countries across all seven continents continue to make strides. They set valuable examples that we hope to see emulated by others in the coming years.
Hear from women leading change in the political space share their experiences and insights.
Explore a wide-range of audio-visual resources on key topics of gender equality.
Hear from a diverse list of panelists and guests as they reflect on critical issues pertaining Women in Politics.