Parliaments & Representatives

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.

The importance of having women serving in Congress is still not fully appreciated or understood. In order to document women’s contributions to governing and understand how women are navigating the contemporary environment of party polarization, the Center for American Women and Politics, with support from Political Parity, embarked on a major research study of the 114th Congress.

Click here to read the report. 

Promoting the participation of young people in political life is becoming a higher priority worldwide. Over one third of the 169 targets established as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relate to young people and the importance of their empowerment, participation and well-being. Twenty targets across six SDGs – relating to hunger, education, gender equality, decent work, inequality and climate change – specifically focus on youth.

In 2014, recognizing the absence of systematic data and information on youth representation in parliaments, the IPU designed a first-of-its-kind database on the subject, to collect the relevant data through parliaments. The result was the first report on youth participation in national parliaments, which was published in October 2014 and updated in 2016. This 2018 report provides updated information on the percentages and genders of parliamentarians under the ages of 30, 40 and 45, as well as the latest information on special mechanisms designed to encourage or enhance the participation of young people in national parliaments. 

This regional study seeks to take the initial findings of a 2016 IPU report further, focusing specifically on the situation in parliaments in Europe. It is the result of close collaboration between the IPU and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and is the first in a series of regional studies that the IPU wishes to conduct on the subject. The study also broadens the scope of the research to include harassment and violence against female parliamentary staff.

Based on interviews with 123 female MPs and parliamentary staff in Council of Europe member States, the survey continues the work already carried out to provide figures and document a range of sexist and violent behavior against women in parliaments. It also seeks to assess the extent and highlight the particular forms of such abuse in Europe. The study therefore aims to break the silence and persistent taboos and to contribute to the fight against gender-based behavior and violence wherever they occur.

Click here to see the report.

IPU launched New Parline, a new version of its online open data platform on national parliaments. The platform is intended for MPs, academics, civil society, the media, and all those interested in parliaments as the core institution of democracy.

The IPU has been collecting data on parliaments since its inception in 1889, including information on women’s participation in politics since 1945. Through New Parline, the IPU has pooled all of its data into one hub, allowing the user to see trends over time, as well as compare progress or regression between different regions of the world.

New Parline contains information on the structures of parliament’s working methods, including the representation of women and youth. Much of the data is unique. Most of the information on the platform comes from national parliaments directly. The IPU updates it regularly to take into account changes that result from elections and other circumstances. The data covers a wide range of themes; for example, the number of chambers, the number of women MPs, the number of laws initiated by parliament and the average age of MPs.

Click here to see the database.

The International Congress of Parliamentary Women's Caucuses took place on 9-10 September 2018 in Dublin Castle, Ireland.

The conference brought together parliamentarians from across the globe to discuss issues facing women and how parliamentarians can work to address them. Parliamentarians came from more than 40 countries, including Argentina, Malawi, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan and the United States. The keynote speaker was the Right Honourable Harriet Harman QC MP, of the UK Labour Party, and the congress also heard from Professor Mary Beard. A panel chaired by author Martina Devlin discussed their vision for women in 2118.

The attendees at the Congress adopted the Dublin Declaration, a proposal for action on women in politics. The declaration includes a commitment to working across party and ideological lines in pursuit of gender equality.

Click here to read the Dublin Declaration.