Parliaments & Representatives
Ugandan women as a special interest group remain on the sidelines of mainstream politics despite years of affirmative action, a new government report has revealed.
Released on Tuesday by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), the report titled, ‘Annual State of Equality Opportunities in Uganda FY 2022/23’, indicates while the number of women in elective positions has increased through ring-fencing of constituencies for them, little progress has been made in direct competitive politics.
Click here to read the full article published by Monitor on 9 November 2023.
Women have to ‘work twice as hard to get half as far’ as their male counterparts. A woman professional, for instance, has to prove that she is as competent, reliable and talented as her male colleague. This is leaving aside the disproportionate burden of housework, child and elder care many women tackle in their private lives. She must accomplish all of this while never seeming too authoritative, too threatening, too aloof, too familiar, angry, frustrated or impatient because her hold on success is precarious. She may get ahead as long as she complies with a pattern of femininity that is acceptable in a patriarchal society. After all, failure for her, unlike success, comes twice as easily for half the mistakes.
Click here to read the full article published by The New Indian Express on 6 November 2023.
The current brouhaha surrounding comments made by two senior Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) parliamentarians about the physical attributes (or lack thereof) of a female People's National Party (PNP) constituency candidate has once again brought into sharp focus the oftentimes puerile and petulant posturing of our politicians who should know better.
Click here to read the full article published by the Jamaica Observer on 3 November 2023.
While celebrating 13 years since the promulgation of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, Katiba Institute highlighted several achievements, some of which demonstrated a greater involvement of women in politics and decision-making. From no women governors in 2013 to seven in 2022, Kenya has undeniably witnessed gradual increase in election of female candidates in other political positions, including eight deputy governors, three senators, 115 MCAs and 29 MPs.
Click here to read the full article published by The Standard Digital on 2 November 2023.
WOMEN’s Affairs minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, yesterday bemoaned the imbalance between men and women in politics saying this undermined the principles of democracy and social justice.
Mutsvangwa, who was opening the 5th edition of the Women in Local Government Forum congress, said the decline in women's participation showed that Zimbabwe remained a patriarchal society.
Click here to read the full article published by NewsDay Zimbabwe on 3 November 2023.
Six years after Sigrid Kaag was catapulted into the highest ranks of Dutch politics, police keep a constant watch over her home. Cameras sweep across the back of the property while every piece of mail sent to her is screened before she can open it.
“Most people would still have the tendency to say, ‘Oh well, this is part and parcel of politics,’” said Kaag, the first deputy prime minister of the Netherlands. “I don’t accept that.”
Click here to read the full article published by The Guardian on 3 November 2023.
This year’s report looks back at 25 years of women in parliament on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing conference and its groundbreaking action plan for gender equality.
IPU analysis shows that gender parity is possible. The overall percentage of women in parliaments has reached 24.9 per cent in 2020, up from 11.3 per cent in 1995. In four countries (Rwanda, Cuba, Bolivia and the United Arab Emirates) women now account for 50 per cent or more MPs in their lower or single chambers compared with 1995 when no parliament had reached gender parity.
The IPU has tracked women’s participation in parliament for decades, allowing it to monitor historical trends, progress and setbacks.
Click here to see the report.
In late 2018 and early 2019 UN Women interviewed 87 per cent of the women who ran for Parliamentary election (75 of the 86 women; of the 113 women who registered to run, 86 made it on to candidate lists). This report summarizes their stories and experiences as candidates and looks at issues of: violence against women in politics, financial constraints and campaign management, media and image portrayal, violence harassment and discrimination.
Click here to see the report.
This GSoD In Focus showcases global and regional data around trends in and the progression of gender equality, based on data from the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices. The GSoD Indices are International IDEA’s measurement of democracy for 158 countries between 1975 and 2017.
The political position of women today is better than just 20 years ago. Trends in the GSoD Indices Gender Equality subcomponent show improvement in gender equality in every region of the world. Women are in more positions of political power, are more represented in the political sphere, have higher access to education and less barriers to civil society participation. In 1997, only 3 per cent of countries had a lower chamber legislature made up of more than 30 per cent women; in 2017, this had risen to 28 per cent of countries. These gains should be celebrated, although much progress remains to be made before most countries have a critical minority of women in parliament. Furthermore, progress with women in ministerial positions is slower. Although gender equality is a necessary ingredient for a healthy democracy, some of the countries in the GSoD sample have a high proportion of women in political office coupled with low levels of democratic performance overall. While these countries are often hailed for their high levels of gender equality, these gains need to be analysed critically, as women’s political agency within regimes that have democratic deficits may be limited.
Click here to see the report.
This map is a unique visual tool that captures women’s participation in executive government and in parliament on a given date—1st January 2019. The map of Women in Politics not only provides a country ranking for both ministerial and parliamentary representation, but also statistics on women in political leadership positions—Heads of State or government, women Speakers of Parliament, as well as ministerial portfolios held by women throughout the world. Borders are depicted and used on the map in order to present data. They are not the expression of any opinion concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries.
Click here to download the map in English.
The annual report provides an update and analysis of progress made and setbacks encountered by women in parliament further to elections and renewals held over a year. Produced every year on the occasion of International Women's Day (8 March), it presents data on women in national parliaments, regional and world trends, information on women presiding officers and women candidates. It also analyses mechanisms aimed at supporting women's access to parliament. The report is short and easy to read, providing a snapshot on the situation of women in parliaments worldwide.
Click here to see the report.
In January 2018, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) commissioned this rapid evidence review, the two broad aims of which were to identify: a) barriers to women’s participation in local and national government; and b) evidence of policies and practices, sometimes referred to as Positive Action Mechanisms, which have increased their levels of participation.
An established way of examining the barriers that women face to widening their political representation is to explore supply and demand issues. For the purposes of this review, supply and demand barriers have been collapsed into a typology comprising three overall themes: social and cultural barriers; structural and institutional barriers; and knowledge and information barriers.
Much of the literature and research suggests that gender quotas are the most effective method for increasing numbers of women and quantitative analysis has pointed to their broader impact for political engagement as they encourage more women to stand for election, and incentivise political parties to target women’s votes. However, although quotas increase the number of women elected, the evidence points to the fact that they do not necessarily ensure the success of women once elected, as quotas do not tackle the gendered practices of political institutions. The literature emphasises the need for quotas to be accompanied by a broader array of measures.
Click here to read the report.