Parliaments & Representatives
In order to achieve true parity, the U.S. needs affirmative actions—gender quotas established by law. This will ensure that women are selected, appointed and supported in politics.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two summers ago, we’ve seen the most significant setback in women’s rights in living memory. The end of Roe was a watershed moment, but the seeds of our current backsliding on women’s rights were planted long before the summer of 2022: State legislatures, dominated by men, had been steadily chipping away at women’s freedoms to make decisions about their bodies, health, and futures, for years. Once the Court, tipped to the hard-right by Trump-appointed justices, gave them the green light, those legislatures went even further, passing yet more laws that repress women and put their lives at risk, particularly women of color.
In this moment, the stakes of unequal gender representation in the halls of power are clearer than ever. The stakes are freedom or repression. Full citizenship or second-class. Life or death.
And the stakes of correcting this imbalance are clear, too. We need bold action to ensure that women finally have a meaningful role in shaping the laws under which we live, work, and make decisions about our own lives.
Read here the full article published by Ms. Magazine on 22 October 2024.
Image by Ms. Magazine
A member of the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Parliament has called for the full implementation of the 30% women representation at the regional body as enacted in the Supplementary Act on Enhancement of the Powers
The call is coming ahead of the symposium of the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA) on Wednesday, October 2.
The Nigerian parliamentarian, Dr. Ipalibo Harry-Banigo made the call on the sidelines of the ongoing Third Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament (Sixth Legislature) in Lome, Togo.
Harry-Banigo stressed the need for the regional body to mount pressure or sanction member states that failed to comply with the Act.
The Act requires each Member State to ensure that at least 30% of its parliamentary delegation is composed of women.
She said: “Each of the countries sends a list of representatives from their various parliaments to the ECOWAS Parliament and it is mandatory that 30% of the nominations from the national parliaments must be women,” adding that the list from member states must include the youth and people with disabilities.
Read here the full article published by The Nation on 1 October 2024.
Image by The Nation
Women MPs in London have made history after the region became the first to have a majority female representation in Parliament.
A new analysis by the Commons Library highlighted this regional milestone in making Parliament more representative of the country at large.
It states “Over half (51 per cent) London MPs are women, the only UK country or region where this is the case.”
This is the first time that this gender balance has happened.
Florence Eshalomi, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on London, told The Standard: “At a time when so many people are sceptical about politics, it is crucial that politicians reflect the society we represent.
“I’m proud to be part of this history and to inspire the next generation of young women and girls to see themselves as leaders.”
The Vauxhall and Camberwell Green Labour MP added: “Diversity is our greatest strength in politics, and as a Londoner I’m proud that our city is leading the way on this.”
At the General Election, Labour gained seven seats in London to increase its tally to 59, the Liberal Democrats were up three to six, Jeremy Corbyn won in Islington North as an Independent, beating Labour, and the Tories lost 11 to go down to nine.
Read here the full article published by The Standard on 14 October 2024.
Image by The Standard
Women are leaving Quebec politics not because of sexism or double standards or a lack of work-family balance, but because they feel underused in the process of government, according to a survey of 21 women who served in public life.
The study, titled Pourquoi les femmes quittent-elles la politique? (Why do women leave politics?) was conducted by author and historian Alexandre Dumas for the women’s committee of the Cercle des ex-parlementaires de l’Assemblée nationale after a wave of departures of women from politics in 2022.
The most common message conveyed by the interviews was that women feel they are no more than “potted plants” (plante verte) in the political process, a description that echoes a complaint made by former CAQ-turned-Conservative MNA Claire Samson.
In her final press conference in June 2022, Samson raised eyebrows when she said MNAs were no more than “potted plants” and she had worked harder when she was a 17-year-old waitress at the Da Giovanni restaurant.
Read here the full article published by The Gazette on 11 October 2024.
Image credits: The Gazette
The event featured insightful discussions on gender equality and the importance of diverse representation in parliaments.
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Opening Remarks: Ulrike Bahr and Petra Grimm-Benne emphasized the global landscape of gender and democracy, highlighting the need for diverse voices in representation and law-making to hold governments accountable.
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The INTER PARES Handbook, "Beyond Numbers: Stories of Gender Equality in and through Parliaments," was launched to explore the landscape of gender-sensitive parliaments. It highlights real stories of change, emphasizing that small actions can lead to broader impacts. Key contributors include Leena Rikkila Tamang from International IDEA, Silvia Erzeel, and Petra Ahrens
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Panel 1: Putting Gender on the Agenda: This panel focused on the role of critical actors in driving change and ensuring that gender issues are included in political debates. Speakers included Ulrike Bahr, Keiba Jacob Mottley, and Mihail Onea, who shared inspiring stories of advocating for women's interests and public engagement.
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Panel 2: Revealing Invisible Gender Inequalities: Panelists discussed how data and gender-sensitive scrutiny can uncover hidden inequalities. Fuziah Salleh, Mariadele Cucinotta, and Phuntshok Chhoden highlighted the necessity of using rules and procedures to advance gender equality.
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Panel 3: Diversity and Inclusion - Towards Impactful Youth Participation: This session explored how parliaments can better incorporate young people's views and ideas. Speakers Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Nicole Tepasse, Elaf AI-Najdafi, and Utaara Mootu discussed creating pathways for meaningful youth participation.
Overall, the event highlighted the vital role of gender-sensitive approaches in fostering inclusive and representative governance, demonstrating that small changes can lead to significant impacts over time.
Read here more about the event on 10 October 2024 by the Inter Pares Parliaments In Partnerships.
Women are voluntarily leaving politics not because of sexism, double standards or work-life balance, but because they feel under-utilised, according to a new study.
Historian Alexandre Dumas was commissioned to conduct the study titled “Why do women leave politics?” by the women's committee of the Cercle des ex-parlementaires de l'Assemblée Nationale after a wave of departures in 2022.
According to his interviews with 21 former elected women, they had the impression of playing the “office plant”, he explained in parliament, borrowing the famous expression of former CAQ MNA turned Conservative Claire Samson.
At her last press briefing in June 2022, Samson shocked many by declaring that MNAs were treated "like plants" in the Salon bleu and that she had personally toiled harder as a 17-year-old at Da Giovanni.
According to Dumas, Samson — who was outraged at having to ask pre-scripted questions in parliamentary committee — “perfectly illustrates the frustration provoked by the feeling of playing a ceremonial role.”
“Women who leave politics ... feel that their skills are not recognised and that they have no other use than to be present in the House to ensure a quorum, ... in other words, to play the role of 'office plant'”, Dumas wrote.
Read here the full article published by CTV News on 11 October 2024.
Image credits: CTV News
Caribbean countries face complex development challenges shaped by socio-political, economic and environmental factors. These are experienced differently by women and men due to gender inequalities that intersect with variables like class, age, race and disability. Parliaments are responsible for ensuring that citizen interests are widely represented and for developing and monitoring policies. This includes policies to meet commitments like the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To fulfill their roles of oversight, representation and lawmaking, parliamentarians require analytical tools that account for gender and other inequalities.
This portal features toolkits that unpack the gender dimensions of development challenges related to climate change, economic and political inequality, and violence. It includes videos, checklists, policy briefings, infographs and campaign ideas to assist you in scrutinizing laws and budgets, promoting women's leadership, and engaging your constituents to achieve development outcomes that are equitable and sustainable.
This portal is a joint initiative of ParlAmericas and the UN Women Multi-Country Office - Caribbean. It is designed for self-guided online learning and additionally includes resources that can be used for in-person trainings. It features toolkits on gender equality issues developed for parliamentarians in the Caribbean.
Click here to visit the portal.
Journeys from Exclusion to Inclusion: Marginalized Women’s Successes in Overcoming Political Exclusion identifies critical factors preventing marginalized women’s inclusion in customary and democratic decision-making structures and describes how women have worked in overcoming barriers to their participation.
The report’s ten case studies gather knowledge and practical experience from around the world, drawing upon reform efforts to identify ways in which women can impact on political processes through their participation in politics. The report details specific strategies marginalized women and their supporters have adopted, ranging from direct action strategies in Somaliland to ‘soft’ advocacy strategies in Cambodia.
Gender quotas aim to increase women’s parliamentary representation. However, the effectiveness of quotas varies. This article explores this issue further by examining the case of Poland, where gender quotas were introduced in 2011. The Polish case presents an interesting puzzle. Although the overall number of women candidates increased almost twofold in comparison with the pre-quota period, this translated into only a slight increase in the number of women deputies in 2011 and 2015. Hence, the impact of quotas was limited. However, the partisan analysis shows that there was a significant variation among individual parties: whereas some parties promoted wholeheartedly women’s access to political office, other parties did not facilitate it. By drawing on rational choice institutionalism, this article shows that institutions and preferences of political parties matter for the effectiveness of gender quotas. In the case of ineffective gender quota policy, political parties have a final say in women’s parliamentary representation.
Click here to access the paper.
A new generation of young women is ready and willing to participate in politics.
The UK general election in June 2017 saw a rise in voter turnout among 18- to 24-year-old women, with participation up from 44 to 53 per cent compared with the 2015 general election. However, so far there is little evidence to suggest that this will translate into higher levels of party membership and political representation among women. Despite making up half of the population and voting in the same numbers as men, on average only 34 per cent of women are a member of a political party, typically the first step into participating into local politics.
This is the first in a ‘pattern of thirds’, which runs through candidate selection and election, and then thins out dramatically at the top of local government, with women entirely absent among directly elected mayors and representing just 4% of the leadership of England’s new devolved institutions – the combined authorities.
This report argues that political parties and institutions must seize the recent increase in voter turnout among young women to dramatically increase the numbers of women going into local politics. This must be complemented by a series of radical reforms to improve the pipeline of women rising to the top in local politics, and to correct the absence of women at the top of combined authorities.
Click here to access the report.
Throughout this report, the authors offer a look at the unique strengths that women bring to policymaking and their impact on government is examined. They start by examining women’s representation in government, highlighting the underrepresentation of women both in the Pennsylvania state legislature and national offices. The link between women’s representation and state policy is articulated, and areas of concern are addressed. Sponsorship, bipartisanship, collaboration, and legislative success are each explored. They address questions specific to the role of gender in patterns of bill sponsorship in the Pennsylvania General Assembly by drawing on bill sponsorship data from Pennsylvania’s 2013- 2014 legislative term, as well as insights from women who served in the General Assembly at that time.
Click here to access the report.
This collection of essays addresses the glaring gap between policy commitments and actual investments in gender equality, ranging across sectors and focusing on development aid, peace-building and climate funds. Casting a spotlight on the application of gender-responsive budgeting in public budgetary policies, systems and processes, the contributions to this volume explore the chequered trajectories of these efforts in Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Andalucía. Critiquing systems of finance, from adherence to neo-liberal macroeconomic fundamentals which prioritise fiscal austerity, the book makes a compelling case for reframing and re-prioritizing budgets to comply with human rights standards, with a particular view to realizing women’s rights. The authors highlight the paltry funding for women’s rights organizations and movements and examine the prospects for making financing gender responsive. The specific policy, strategy and technical recommendations and the connections across silos which articulate the authors’ suggested operational levers will appeal to researchers, practitioners, students, policymakers, gender equality and human rights activists alike.
Click here to access the book.