Parliaments & Representatives
The IPU grew in 2023 with the accession of the parliaments of Liberia and the Bahamas, its 179th and 180th Members respectively, as well as many observers and partners signing up to join or rejoin our global parliamentary community.
Read here more highlights of the year in the Impact Report 2023 published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on March 2024.
“For me, a better democracy is a democracy where women do not only have the right to vote and to elect but to be elected.”
Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile.
Amidst the ongoing 2024 general elections, the world’s biggest democracy is witnessing many disruptions, from leaders hopping from one party to another to parties and political parties making extravagant promises to woo their voters. However, one question remains unanswered with every election: When will women be adequately represented in Indian politics?
The continuous under-representation of elected women representatives in legislative bodies and decision-making processes has not only hindered the country's progress toward true equality and inclusive governance, but has also raised the question of whether we are truly democratic regarding electoral representation.
A recent study by Prajatantra, a non-profit, non-partisan organisation that seeks to democratise electoral politics by helping more people participate in electoral politics, has found out in their latest report on 'Political Entry in India' that dynasts, criminals, and crorepatis have enveloped 91.7 per cent of politics. The study further points out the pervasive gender-based gatekeeping issue in state assemblies: only 12 per cent of the elected representatives are women. More alarming is the revelation that out of the total women who get elected, 50 per cent of them have entered the arena through dynastic politics. This indicates a crisis in Indian society, where traditional roles, educational and financial barriers, and exposure deficit have created a political ecosystem that is operating without adequate representation from women's cohorts.
Read here the full article published by The Week on 20 May 2024.
Image by The Week
It’s no secret that women have made unprecedented strides in seeking and attaining elected office over the last decade. Twenty-eight percent of elected officials in Congress are women (compared to 19 percent 10 years ago), nearly one-third of our state legislature seats are held by women, and we have our first-ever woman vice president.
But while more women are winning elected positions, the looming gender bias within our political system persists. And according to a number of women elected throughout various levels of government — it’s one hurdle to win an election, but quite another to thrive in office.
That was the consensus among more than 60 women across the political spectrum — including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego — who were interviewed for a year-long reporting project by Cosmopolitan, “How to Succeed in Office.” The report was produced in partnership with Melinda French Gates-founded Pivotal Ventures.
Read here the full article published by MSNBC News on 16 May 2024.
Image by MSNBC News
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Gendered disinformation is being used across Africa as a tactic to silence critics and exclude women from online civic discourses, new research shows.
A new book ‘Digital Disinformation in Africa: Hashtag Politics, Power and Propaganda’ explores this further. It is written by Nkem Agunwa, a digital campaigner focusing on human rights activism based in Nigeria and member of the African Digital Rights Network (ADRN), hosted by IDS.
In an unprecedented year for elections in Africa – with 17 countries heading to the polls, the fear is that digital disinformation poses a rising threat to women’s political participation.
The book references the 2016 study by the Inter-Parliamentary Union of female lawmakers globally which revealed that 41.8 per cent of participants said they have been subjected to degrading or sexual images of themselves being circulate on social media. While gendered disinformation is not new, digital technology allows for collective and coordinated anonymous targeting of people with disinformation. As a result, digital spaces across Africa are increasingly being used to manipulate the public and spread disinformation, or to harass and intimidate individuals, creating an atmosphere of fear and distrust.
Not only does gendered disinformation keep women from participating in democratic processes, but as the book details, it directly threatens the fight for gender equality and inclusivity across Africa.
Read here the full article published by the Institute of Development Studies on 10 May 2024.
Image by Skorzewiak via Shutterstock
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Nearly half (47 percent) of women in local politics face threats and hate online, compared to 35 percent of their male colleagues. Female politicians from progressive parties are particularly often targeted, according to new research commissioned by the Cabinet.
Minister Hugo de Jonge of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, who commissioned the study, called the results “scandalous and unacceptable” in a letter to parliament, according to RTL Nieuws. This behavior, targeting women in particular, is “a threat to democracy,” he said.
The study showed that women not only have to deal with more online aggression and violence, but they also experience more consequences. One in ten women indicated that they have considered quitting politics due to online harassment. De Jonge called that disconcerting. “Women no longer choose politics or even quit the profession. Or they opt for self-censorship and decide to express themselves less. It makes democracy vulnerable.”
Strikingly, women from progressive parties are more often the target of online aggression and harassment. D66 women, in particular, seem to be a magnet for threats from right-wing extremists. D66 leader Sigrid Kaag announced her departure from national politics for this reason last summer. She said she could no longer subject her family to the “hatred, harassment, and threats” she faced due to her work.
Read here the full article published by The Netherlands Times on 14 May 2024.
Image by The Netherlands Times
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March 8, 1857 witnessed the uprising of female needle factory workers in New York City, who marched in defiance of perilous working conditions, meagre pay, and gruelling 12-hour shifts. This demonstration resonated across the Atlantic, reaching Europe with its message of solidarity. Building upon the momentum of the 1857 movement, by 1860, female needle factory workers succeeded in securing the legal authorisation to establish a union. Fast forward to March 8, 1908, when thousands of women employed in the garment and textile sectors of New York City renewed the call for equitable pay and a standard eight-hour workday by mobilising on the streets once more.
In 1909, following the precedent set by their predecessors, 30,000 US women workers initiated a 13-week strike advocating for similar demands. The following year, in 1910, the First International Conference of Socialist Women convened in Copenhagen, Denmark. During the second assembly of this conference, Clara Zetkin, a prominent figure in the German Social Democratic Party, presented a proposal. She suggested the establishment of an annual gathering specifically for working women, providing them with a platform to convene and share perspectives on a designated day each year.
Clara Zetkin's proposal led to the adoption of March 8 as Women's Day. However, it wasn't until 1974, 117 years later, that the United Nations officially recognised March 8 as International Women's Day. Today, we commemorate the protest of women workers in New York City on March 8, 1857 as International Women's Day.
Read here the full article published by The Daily Star on 8 March 2024.
Image by The Daily Star
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A historic law, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, mandates the reservation of one-third of the total seats in the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi for women.
In 2023, a historic law was passed to usher more women in governance. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, mandates the reservation of one-third of the total seats in the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi for women. But representation in leadership isn’t the only sign of gender parity in politics — active participation of the women electorate is also paramount.
So, how has India fared in both regards so far? India Today’s Data Intelligence Unit analysed the turnout data from 1962 to 2019 and candidates’ data from 1957 to 2019 and found a mostly positive trend.
TURNOUT GAP NARROWED
In 1962, men's turnout stood at 63.3 per cent, while women's turnout was notably lower at 46.6 per cent, indicating a considerable gap of 16.7 per cent. This gap fluctuated over the subsequent decades but generally narrowed. For instance, in 2014, men's turnout was 67.1 per cent, while women's turnout increased substantially to 65.6 per cent, resulting in a smaller gap of 1.5 per cent.
Read here the full article published by India Today on 13 April 2024.
Image source: India Today
A Qualitative Study on Violence against Women in Politics in Türkiye, prepared in cooperation with UN Women and Terra Development Cooperative, was introduced at an event organized in Ankara. A qualitative study, which provides important findings on the causes, occurrence, and consequences of violence against women in politics, was presented to the representatives from civil society organizations, public institutions, local governments, and political parties.
The Study on Violence against Women in Politics in Türkiye, which was started to be prepared by Prof. Dr. İknur Yüksel Kaptanoğlu, Project Coordinator of Terra Development Cooperative, together with her study team in 2022, was carried out within the scope of the project "Advancing Gender Equality and Women's Leadership in Political and Business Life” implemented by UN Women and financially supported by the Sweden through Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). In her opening speech, Swedish Ambassador to Ankara Malena Mård emphasized the importance of a political environment free from all forms of violence, especially for young people.
Click here to read the full report published by UN Women on 10 January 2024.
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A Glimpse into the Life of a Women in Politics: CEMR Unveils First Data Coming from 31 Countries
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) has released the first infographics showcasing critical insights from their latest report, "Women in Politics."
The data offer a visual snapshot of the representation of women in elected roles across various subnational levels. Additionally, a detailed breakdown of their portfolios at the local level is provided. The second slide of the infographics unveils the results of an anonymous CEMR survey involving 2,424 participants from 31 countries. Focused on elected women in local and regional European roles, the survey explores their experiences of violence in the political realm.
Click here to see the infographic published by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions on 14 December 2023.
Image by Council of European Municipalities and Regions
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For a country with a significant female population, Nigeria has been poor in ensuring gender parity in elected and appointed leadership positions. Since 1979, the country has practiced a presidential form of government, with a devolved form of government across three tiers—federal, state and local levels. Yet, despite the number of elective constituencies available, there has been little to no women elected to these positions. Nigeria has never elected a female president, vice-president or a governor in any of its thirty-six states. Women elected to the national legislature have been a scant percentage in any of the ten constituted sessions of either chamber, with none emerging as president of the senate and a roughly five-month stint for the only woman to emerge speaker of the house of representatives (Polgreen, 2007).
Click here to read the full report published by the Centre for Democracy and Development on 27 November 2023.
Image by Centre for Democracy and Development
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Are the preferences of women and men unequally represented in public policies? This simple yet fundamental question has remained largely unexplored in the fast-growing fields of women’s representation and inequality in the opinion-policy link. Our study analyzes gender biases in policy representation using an original dataset covering 43 countries and four decades, with citizens’ preferences regarding more than 4,000 country-year policies linked to information about actual policy change. Our analysis reveals clear and robust evidence that women’s policy preferences are underrepresented compared to those of men. While this skew is fairly modest in terms of congruence, women’s representation is driven mostly by the high correlation of preferences with men. When there is disagreement, policy is more likely to align with men’s preferences. Our analyses further suggest that women’s substantive underrepresentation is mitigated in contexts with high levels of female descriptive representation and labor market participation. In sum, our study shows that gender inequality extends to the important realm of policy representation, but there is also meaningful variation in unequal representation across contexts.
Click here to read the full article published by the Cambridge University Press on 26 October 2023.
Women’s Collective Ireland – Limerick are delighted to launch their new report Addressing Sexism in Politics: Creating Safe, Inclusive and Accessible Political Spaces for Everyday Women, this report is a collaboration between Women’s Collective Ireland – Limerick and TUS research group EDGE.
Since 2019, WCI Limerick has been working specifically to strengthen and increase women’s participation and representation in local politics. In that time, they have worked with over 150 women and were instrumental in the establishment of the Limerick Women’s Caucus, the first of its kind a local level in the country. This work and the feedback they have been receiving from women led them to draft this report.
Click here to read the full report published by the Women's Collective Ireland – Limerick on 17 October 2023.